Parting Ways

May 12 - 14

After our whirlwind Washington visit, Day Dreams set out on Monday on their summer adventure north to Quebec and New England.  Our paths diverge here as Garry and I will spend the month of June visiting family in Michigan, Illinois and Seattle, WA and then the rest of the summer exploring the Chesapeake (all those places we missed on the way south last fall).  We stayed an extra day in DC doing chores like laundry, cleaning and provisioning for a couple of weeks of anchoring before we leave the boat for a month.








So on Tuesday we left the helicopters and tour boats of DC behind and headed down the Potomac.

First stop was just a short hop (just 13 miles) back down the Potomac at Mount Vernon.  Anchored across the river from the dock to avoid the tour boat traffic, we had a beautiful view of the historic mansion.  We finished lunch and deployed the dinghy for a little recon mission.








The dock attendant gave us the scoop on tying up and getting tickets to tour the mansion, museum, education center and the working colonial farm.  Information in hand, we'll come back tomorrow and spend the whole day.









Wednesday the wind picked up and we weren't comfortable leaving the boat unattended, so took a down day just reading, etc.  No schedule to follow..............

Thursday dawned sunny and calm - the perfect day to spend touring this lovely property.

Like the Capitol, the cupola atop the mansion was under renovation.  Carriages would pull up to this front entrance bringing a constant stream of visitors.






There were numerous outbuildings on either side of the main house for all of the activities needed to maintain the home --- stables, smokehouse, storage, spinning/weaving, blacksmith, and quarters for the labor force, both slaves and free men.

The plantation was very self sufficient -- not only with crops like wheat and hemp and herds of both cattle and sheep, but also with 2 large gardens which produced the fruits and vegetables needed for the table.

Perusing one of the vegetable gardens.
I think my silver pony tail would have fit
right in the hairstyles of the time!

After lunch with George in the Mt. Vernon Inn, we cruised through the extensive education center and exhibits.  We stopped to visit the tomb where both George and Martha are buried on our way to the "colonial farm".









Though George was a soldier, statesman and ultimately the first president of United States, he considered himself first and foremost, a farmer.  While still farming with oxen and mules, he utilized crop rotation and fertilization well ahead of his time.

After a very full day, it was time to head back to Waterford anchored across the way.

Doing DC!!

May 4 - 12, 2015

We are docked at Capital Yacht Club in the heart of DC.  Although they are under construction, even the temporary facilities (bathroom, shower, laundry) are very good.  We have a great view of the Washington Monument with a few cranes mixed in!

Decisions, decisions.............

And right next door, a great fish market that supplied us with more than one night's dinner. 

Our bikes took us almost everywhere except the National Zoo (a metro ride).  Here is the list of all the sights we took in:

Of the 42 most visited US National Monuments:

      #1   Lincoln Memorial

        3   Vietnam Veterans Memorial

        4   National World War II Memorial
        6   Korean War Memorial
        7   Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
        8   FDR Memorial
        9   Thomas Jefferson Memorial
       21   Arlington House (Custis Mansion)
       26   Washington Monument

But that's not all:

      Arlington National Cemetery
            Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and changing of the guard
            JFK grave site, Eternal Flame
      US Marine Memorial
      The National Mall
             70th Anniversary of VE Day, World War II Air Show
      National Bureau of Engraving and Printing
      US Capitol
      The Library of Congress
      The Supreme Court
      White House
      Smithsonian
            National Air and Space Museum
            National Museum of Natural History
            National Zoo
      National Gallery of Art
      US Botanical Gardens
      Ford's Theater
      National Archives

I would challenge anyone to pack in as much as we did in one week.  And there were still places we  didn't see.  I'll let the pictures tell the story ............




                                                     






                       Washington Monument





       
Lincoln Monument

 Jefferson Monument
        View from the top of
               Washington Monument

Martin Luther King Jr. Monument

















                     The National World War II Memorial
                          where each state is recognized by a pillar
                          surrounding a fountain.


     


     
         

This group of World War II veterans arrived by Honor Flight from Peoria, IL (near our
      home town)for the 70th anniversary of VE Day,the end of the war in Europe.

Fighter group

To celebrate, 56 vintage airplanes
did a "fly by" over the National Mall

Bomber

T


The black and white stripes identified them as Allied Forces to the Allied anti-aircraft units --- to avoid being shot down by mistake.












Arlington National Cemetery was definitely a highlight of our trip.  Gazing across the sea of headstones marking the graves of those who have died to preserve our freedom is a sobering experience indeed.









We arrived just as a group of school kids from Charlevoix, MI laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  The ceremony concluded with the bugler playing Taps -- heart-rending!

And the Changing of the Guard..............
    The tomb is attended 24 hours a day,
    365 days a year, no matter the weather,
    changing every half hour.









Near Arlington is the US Marine Memorial --

Korean War Memorial

Not just military history, but current, working government sites.....................

This was as close as we could get to the White House ---- didn't have an invitation, so we lunched at the Obama's favorite Mexican restaurant instead.

The Capitol Rotunda

Imagine sitting down with a good book here in the Library of Congress reading room.

Or staging a protest outside the Supreme Court

Add to all of that, the museums, galleries and gardens .................

The Wright Brothers flying machine at the Air and Space Museum






And my personal fav -- the Museum of Natural History

The Hope Diamond  ---- do I have a birthday coming up?????














                   The beautiful Botanical Garden




No trip would be complete without a visit to the
                   National Zoo






Buddha?????











Since I'm partial to turtles,
thought I'd end with this old guy

 What a week!  Boating and biking was definitely the way to go.  Everything was bike'able except the Zoo, which was only a Metro ride away.  Memories of this trip will be with us for a very long time.

Wrapping up April

April 17 - May 3, 2015

Moving steadily north, we opted for the Virginia Cut instead of the Dismal Swamp route that we'd taken on the way south.

Monster azaleas in Southport

Indigo Plantation in Southport was the first of a series of one night stops at a combination of anchorages and marinas, before arriving at Atlantic Yacht Harbor for a couple of nights.  There, Doug's nephew John was kind enough to provide transportation for provisioning followed by dinner with his fiancee Cameron and her boys.

Signs of spring -- Ospreys tending their nest.

Eagle watches us go by.

Then it was on through Norfolk and across the bay to anchor in the Hampton River.  Intending to anchor only 2 nights, a third was added as we waited for favorable winds to going into the Chesapeake.  The anchorage was lovely and handy to the city dock where we could take advantage of  their bathroom/shower facilities and easily enjoy the town.








On the way out, we met this big guy "Up close and personal"!!


Aircraft carrier #77, the Bush






We arrived in Deltaville, Virginia before noon on Wednesday, April 29 for 3 days. While Day Dreams was completing an insurance survey and some maintenance items, we biked to West Marine and the fish market.  Fortunately there was a courtesy car available for the grocery run, since rain had once again moved in.  We capped off the stay with cocktails and pizza aboard Day Dreams.






Just 2 anchorages now on our way to Washington DC.  The first, the Glebe, was just beautiful at sunset.

Full moon rising over Day Dreams

The second, Deep Point, just a good place to pull off in striking distance of DC.  We pulled out at 7am on Monday May 4, not a cloud in the sky -- the perfect bridge day for our arrival.  Docked side by side at 3:40 pm ready to "DO DC"!!! 

And then it rained, and rained, and rained

April 11 - 16, 2015

The 15 mile stretch from St. John's to Isle of Palms takes us through Charleston Harbor with it's mega dock







and through one of the shallowest areas we have to deal with in the ICW.  Though we saw just over
1 ft under our keel, we made it safely into the marina.

We managed to squeeze in a walk on the beach in between rain showers and dinner "out" 2 nights in a row.  The first at the restaurant on site, where we were joined by Martins and Jan's aunt, uncle, and cousin and his family.






We just can't have any fun..........









The second night, Jan's cousin Mark and wife Kerie hosted dinner at their home.  It was such a lovely evening.

Monday, April 13 -- Jan's 60th

And another gray, rainy day.







We celebrated on the anchor at Minim Creek.
Can't have a birthday without a cake!








The next night's anchorage is one of our favorites, Cowhouse Creek, where we kept an eye on this guy as he kept one on us (p)

Next stop, Lightkeeper's Marina in Coquina Harbor near Myrtle Beach.  This one was recommended to us by a sailor we met at Coco Village, who didn't steer us wrong!  Nice facilities at a nice price.

And it's still raining!

South Carolina - Northbound

April 6 -7, 2015

Next stop, Lady's Island marina in Beaufort, SC.  It was time for major provisioning, so Jan and I took advantage of the courtesy car and headed for the grocery and liquor stores.  With carts piled high, we got back to the car only to find it would NOT start.  The damsels in distress had to be rescued by the knights in shining armor (Garry and Doug) driving a second courtesy car!  By the time we got back, showers and cocktails were definitely in order, followed by a great dinner at the Dockside Restaurant.

Garry spent Tuesday morning washing the boat while I made arrangements for our trip back to MI, IL and Seattle during the month of June.  Provisioning was completed with a walk to the meat market and hardware store before we walked across the bridge for dinner.

April 8 - 10

We spent a night each on anchor at Fenwick Island and Church Creek before pulling into St. John Yacht Harbor about noon.  This marina is one of our favorites.

Wildlife along the way ..............

                               The regal eagle











An osprey back in her nest







While the Martins met up with friends, we met up with the Perkins at their condo for cocktails and then a lovely dinner at Chez Fish -- as Doug would say, DELISH!  And a great visit -- hope to get together again when we're back in Michigan in June.

Picking up the Pace

April 2 - 5, 2015

Continuing north from Cumberland Island, our route took us right by the King's Bay Submarine base, where this guy was in for repairs.

By noon, we were into Georgia and snugly docked at Jekyll Harbor marina.  Jan and I took advantage of the laundry facilities before we hopped on a golf cart for a tour of the island.  

We were on a mission to find the boardwalk built for the filming of the movie "Glory" -- never did find it, but did find this guy on the way to the beach............... 

We later learned the boardwalk is now under tons of sand.

After showers, we walked along the ICW to Latitude 31 for a great dinner and, even better, a great bottle (or 2) of Clos du Bois cabernet for just $9.  

Since we're on a bit of a timeline, we spent just 1 night of Jekyll before moving on.  Heading north, we're doing a lot more anchoring than we did southbound.

Friday, April 3

Now that we're back in Georgia, we are once again dealing with large tide swings and shallow water.  So the next leg began at 0700 to time our passage through the appropriately named Mud River.  By 11:30, anchors were down in the North River, a quiet spot with plenty of room.  Garry and I took an extended dinghy cruise of the area, returning just in time for cocktails (of course!).

Saturday, April 4  Final Four weekend.

Our anchorage for the night was in Big Tom (chuckle, chuckle) Creek (Big Tom is a well-known character in the Nelson clan).

Unfortunately, Sparty didn't play at the level they'd sustained throughout the tournament and fell to Duke (D#*#* Dukies)!

Easter Sunday dawned clear and sunny.  The challenge on this leg was the notorious "Hell Gate", where, of course we had oncoming traffic.  But the tide was in our favor and we passed through without incident.  Leaving Georgia behind, we continued on to Bull Island, South Carolina to anchor for the night.

Along the way we met these shrimp boats --- of course we see boats on anchor "rafted" together, but rafted underway................???










Day Dreams dwarfed by this huge container ship