Merry Christmas from your loopy loopers!

It feels a little odd to be Christmas time in 90 degree heat and humidity. Something about that just seems wrong somehow. But here we are in Fort Pierce FL celebrating Christmas. The boat looks festive with a couple of strings of solar lights and a few waterproof bows. No Christmas trees or heirloom ornaments. We wanted something different and now we have it!

Fort Pierce goes all out for Christmas with a massive light display coordinated with music. It is mesmerizing. I could watch it for hours. In fact we can see the flashing lights and hear it from the boat. Imagine us sitting on the back deck watching this beautiful display, thinking of you!

Not ready to give up all family social traditions, we organized a Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. We started with our little group of Loopers: One September (Mike and Judy Hechtkopf from Virginia Beach), Jim's Joy (Jim and Joy from Savannah), Sareanna (Dick and Dee formerly from NJ), and Seaquel (Joe and Edie from Charleston).

We ended up with at least 10 other couples invited along the way or who saw the lights and fun and wandered over. It was a blast!! Everyone brought chairs and tables as we set up this somewhat impromptu gathering. 

The Feast of Seven Fishes is a family tradition in Italian families who used to (and maybe still) abstain from meat on Christmas Eve, feasting instead on fish. Everyone gathers and contributes something. We had the perfect setup: great fish, lots of different possibilities from people who are not with their families. The perfect ingredients for a festival. 

We had a wide variety of contributions: white fish with eggplant, a cold salmon dish, mussels, ceviche, caesar salad with anchovies, bruschetta (2 different kinds) and buffalo shrimp. I should have gotten a picture of the feast table but the crowd kept me from getting close!

I made Nonna's gravy with fettucchini and roast beef. I enjoy cooking in my tiny kitchen. I can do everything I need to do just standing in one place and turning this way and that!

The most difficult part is that I can only fit one pot at a time on the two burner stove. So I heat one pot then move it to the counter, heat another pot and so on. It is like building a puzzle. 
I couldn't find the little hand mixer so I figured out how to use the Ninja blender to make the batter for some yummy pineapple upside down cakes. See how creative you have to be?

Everyone ate, laughed and shared tall tales of boats. I overheard many plans to visit the Bahamas in the next few months. 

Full moon before the sun went down Christmas Eve

After the party broke up (late - about 8pm - we are such sad old people), the core group chatted a while longer. Someone commented how fun this was. They were astonished when we described the wonderful dock parties we have regularly at Venetian. Evidently other places don't do that! So sad about that. Makes us miss our dockmates at Venetian!!

The beautiful Merry moon lit this special Christmas Eve. It was hypnotizing, marking the end of a wonderful evening.

At this Christmas time of the year, we wish you and your families much happiness and cheer!

Merry Christmas,

Katherine and Kermit

Catching up with Jack the Boat Kitty

I realize it has been a long time since last wrote. There is not a lot of action to report so you are not missing much! We travel every day but going about 8 mph it takes a while to travel this distance.

Here is a day on the road with Good Karma traveling at 8mph watching butterflies pass us by. We get up at 6am, get ready before dawn. Days are so short that we have to be on the road early, especially when you go this slowly. We pull up anchor or unhook between 6:30 and 7am. Have breakfast on the road, either something toasted if the generator is running or yogurt and berries if the generator is off. 

Kermit drives most of the time while Katherine works on the computer or with clients. Lunch is a sandwich or maybe something bigger if we turn on the generator. Lately we like eating our big meal in the middle of the day. Kermit takes a nap every day to keep up his strength. Driving takes your full attention and after a while it is exhausting. I am not being sarcastic. You try it sometime!

We stop running between 3pm and 4pm which is usually about 50 or 60 miles. Remember it is fully dark by 5:30pm so we need to be set up safely well before 5pm. Katherine runs the boat while Kermit sets the anchor. Surprisingly few arguments... so far. We have a light dinner, read for a while and go to bed by about 8:30pm.

It is a calm, relaxing way to live. We are not stopping much to enjoy the sites but we are noting them as we pass. We are really focused on getting to our winter destination in Fort Pierce FL.

Jack the cat is very well adjusted. He has his little routine too. He gets up before we do so he can annoy me by pulling on the covers. I feed him first thing because he is so insistent – yelling and stamping his feet to let me know that he is shrinking away to nothing for lack of food. I clean his litter box every day, sometimes twice so everyone is pleased to share quarters. 

Can you see the seagulls?
Jack does!

Fascinated with the windshield wipers

After breakfast Jack comes to the helm and takes his morning nap either under Kermit’s feet cuz why not or lately on the seat next to Kermit. After the morning nap he explores a little on the deck in front of the helm before settling down for his second and often third naps of the day. He might chase a bug or talk to the seagulls if he feels adventurous. We are trying to convince him that he can sleep in the sun on the deck above the helm but he is not yet convinced. 

After we anchor we often sit on the front deck with a glass of wine and cigar for Kermit.  You can tell from these photos that the weather varies a bit. Sometimes we sit on the front deck in shorts and t-shirts (or in Kermit's case no shirt!) and sometimes we are bundled like Ohio. It is nice to get out of the cabin and catch some fresh air before heading down below to make dinner.

Jack follows us up to the front to hang out with the family.

This scares us to DEATH because the little guy is not very sure footed (never has been) and we don't have any provisions for fishing him out of the drink. 

Jack the cat learned a new trick at Osprey Marina. One evening Kermit came back to the boat to discover Jack on the DOCK! He shooed the little fellow back on the boat. This proves Jack is so comfortable on the boat that going down the back stairs and expanding his adventure off the boat is no longer scary for him. It is terrifying for us! We have to keep the doors shut so he doesn’t leave town.

Jack is ready for bed at about 8pm so he goes and sits by my side and yells until we head to bed. That is a cat’s life on the boat! He is such a good boat kitty!!

We move quickly after Thanksgiving break

After Thanksgiving we've been moving pretty quickly to head to Florida. We hung out at Osprey for  Saturday Nov 28 to watch Ohio State crush Michigan (O-H)!! Then on Sunday morning very early we left Osprey to begin our southward journey again.

Vultures

First a critter alert: 

Can you see the dolphin? 

Dolphin - We started to see them on this leg of the journey in SC and south. We don't have a lot of photos because mostly the conversation goes like this: "there is a dolphin"  "where"  "over there" "I don't see it" "right there" "oh well it is gone". 

Vultures at Jekyll Island - we disturbed their dinner. Kermit said to leave them alone but I need a photo!

Bald eagles

Bald eagles - we've seen them in several places 

Pelicans

Pelicans - first they were grey and now today (in Cumberland Island GA) we started seeing white ones!

An osprey sitting on a mast!

Osprey - hardly any. I don't know if they migrate but they are not here like they were last time we traveled through. Kermit saw one nesting in the top of a sailboat at Beaufort SC. He said, "You know you stayed too long when an osprey nests in your boat!"

Off he goes!

Deer - a deer crossed the river in front of us the other day. He glanced our way, kept swimming, shook off the water and ran away. So cool!

Horses at Cumberland Island GA

More horses at Cumberland Island GA

Wild horses - at Cumberland  

Goats - lots of goats at Osprey Marina and also along the water in NC.

Sunday Nov 29 we left Osprey. We saw a really cool floating bridge just south of the marina. Never saw that before. It floats

A floating bridge at Sawcastee SC

We anchored at Awendaw Creek MM435. This is a beautiful area especially since it was so sunny and warm, probably in the 70s after the morning dew dries up. Some trees are still turning colors down here. 

It was a beautiful sunrise the next morning

Kermit lets down the anchor while
I try to figure out what his hand signals mean. At least
the water is perfect. 

With this weather we have a problem in the morning sometimes with lots of dew that makes it difficult to see. We've tried all sorts of things including leaving the windows open so the inside is the same temperature as the outside and using a fan to blow the air around until the fog goes away. The best thing turns out to be using Kermit's shamy for drying the boat to wipe off the outside of the windows. We have to keep rinsing off the shamy because the salt accumulating on the boat tends to burn up or scratch the isinglass. So this is a tricky situation.  

Monday Nov 30 we finally got to Charleston SC. We stayed at the Charleston Maritime Marina. We rocked and rolled most of the time but the docks were great with beautiful floating concrete docks, free laundry and within walking distance of town. Most especially walking distance to Harris Teeter for groceries!

We had dinner with Joe and Edie Ruben then went to their house for brownies and the chance to view their slides of South Africa. We must put a safari on our bucket list!

A peek into Tom Taft's garden on Rainbow Row
He wasn't home - we called and got a raincheck till next year!

Katherine at the dock Charleston Maritime Marina

Tuesday Dec 1 we walked around Charleston. 

Best tour of an 1808 town house. Lucked out and got a private tour with a great docent and her teacher. Cigar and glass of wine and a little people watching. 

I love this city. There is so much to see. 

Everywhere you look is another historical marker with some fascinating tidbit about something that happens 100, 200 and 300 years ago. We walked all over. 

We did not pass Mother Emmanuel Church but most places people were still talking about it on the radio and in the press. What a great town! 

Charleston Maritime Center Marina

Wednesday Dec 2 we left Charleston very early. 

The sunrise was absolutely enchanting off a flat shimering water. 

We made a lot of miles that day. 

Lighthouse at Hilton Head

We saw the lighthouse off of Hilton Head. 

We waved at Savannah. Actually you can't see Savannah from the ICW. You have to go up a pretty long river so we did a figurative wave. 

Passed by Thunderbolt and Isle of Hope where we stayed for a few days in 2013 when we passed this way before. 

Lots of no-wake zones around the Savannah area with huge homes set way back with extremely long piers extending out to the water. They have 7 to 8 foot tides so no need to put the house right on the water unless it is on huge stilts. 

The cemetary from the book,
"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"

Beaufort - see the Osprey?

We anchored at Beaufort SC on a mooring ball at sunset. Rainy and gloomy all day. Didn’t get into the town at all. We were just exhausted. 

Thursday Dec 3 left very early and anchored at Buckhead Creek in GA.

Not much to be said about this. The scenery is changing.The waterways are much wider with marshes everywhere you look. Last time we were here there were a million huge flies that annoyed Rusty so much that Rusty and Katherine went down below while Kermit swatted and drove. This time it is much colder and the bugs are dead. Thank goodness. 

Friday Dec 4 we traveled until about 4pm then docked at Jekyl Island. We had an anchorage all picked out but the current was pushing us all day so we picked up a lot of time. We just kept going. We stayed at Jekyll Island Marina because the current was really strong. It was so strong that it was difficult to dock. We noticed  the many improvements they made since we were here before. 

Finally a good selfie! Check out the ocean - wild!

  We borrowed a couple of  bikes for a ride at sunset. The light was amazing. 

We rode to the ocean where the waves and wind were absolutely fierce. 

Originally we planned to ride outside on the ocean if we could to cut out the back and forth twists in Georgia but the weather was bad, as we could see at Jekyll Island. The ICW was just fine thank you! We rode over to the historical district for dinner at new restaurant overlooking the sunset on the water. It was fun to bike ride in the dark among the fairy lights back to the marina. These pictures don't give it justice. It was breathtakingly beautiful. 

Following Kermit in the dark at Jekyll

Saturday Dec 5 we left Jekyll Island early with the goal of visiting Cumberland Island. The National Park Service offers a really neat tour of this island where Andrew Carnegie built 3 family homes, 2 still open and 1 in ruins. The island has been home to Native Americas for 10,000 years, then explorers in the 1500s (they left horses there!), colonists and revolutionary war heros, plantations with enslaved Africans, and robber barons so there is a lot to explore. 

Lighthouse on Cumberland

Ruins on Cumberland

It sounded like a great idea but the weather was really bad, cold and very windy with gusts upwards of 25 to 30 mph. We tried to anchor in time to take the tour but it was too windy with a bad current. We turned around and continued our journey south. 

On our way out we saw some horses, some campers, the lighthouse and part of the ruins so we didn't feel cheated. Besides we were safe and warm. That is what counts sometimes. 

Tonight we are in Florida, anchoring at Pine Island not too far north of St. Augustine where we plan to spend the day tomorrow. It is VERY windy, gusts approaching 35 mph. Kermit laid out about 80 feet of road (anchor line) in 10 feet of water, which is more than we should need yet we still don’t feel comfortable with this jostling. We will take watches tonight to be sure the boat doesn’t move off anchor.

Here is the plan for the rest of the trip:

Sunday 12/6 St. Augustine Municipal Marina to visit with Darryl and Lisa Grob

Monday 12/7 New Smyrna at anchor

Tuesday 12/8 Cocoa FL or further south if we can do it, probably anchor

Wednesday 12/9 Ft. Pierce City Marina YEAH!! Our winter home.

Maybe we have to add another day in there, hard to tell yet. Kermit wins $5 from Paul B. Bates if we make it to Ft. Pierce by Wednesday. He said it couldn’t be done so we are going to do it! We originally estimated 14 days to make this trip from Norfolk. As I look at our trip, excluding the trip back to Ohio and a very few weather days, we will have traveled 15 actual travel days to get here. We left Norfolk on 11/3 and will arrive in Ft. Pierce on 12/9. Not bad for beginners.