Boaters, You know the saying….B O A T stands for break out another thousand, all boats will have issues. After much research for parts and a mechanic, Rowe Boat is getting fixed while we travel north.
Our first day alone was a long one. We went 148 miles which was 9 hours and 30 minutes to Marineland. Thinking we were just there for one night…that night we got a call from Rowe Boat saying “slow down” we are getting fixed! Having stayed at Marineland 5 years earlier we were familiar with the place. Same dock master as before…he remembered our docktails party because we had a Margaritaville drink machine. I was amazed he remembered that!! I sure didn’t! The place hasn’t changed much…when we decided to stay another night to kill some time we decided to walk across the street to the beach. They had a food truck which wasn’t there before. I had avocado toast and Joe had a ham and egg burrito. It was delicious.We did laundry and cleaned the inside of the boat. That night we got a call or text from Kitumba and they told us they wanted to meet us in St Augustine. They did an overnight from Stuart Florida. We had a short day driving just 17.7 miles which took 1 hr and 43 minutes.
We had two great days in St Augustine! Walked our legs off in that town. Since we stayed on the other side of the bridge it meant we walked over it a time or two! Our first day we had lunch at O’Steens. Their shrimp is delicious and that’s what we ordered. I had a half oysters half shrimp. My family grew up on oysters..Mazzoni’s in Louisville was a place my mom’s brothers and sister wanted to go when they were in town. This stop was about shopping and food. The next day we had an early dinner at Columbias. I had the 1905 salad which is so good! Joe had a grouper. After dinner we went over to Kitumba to play dominos (42) The girls won one game and the guys the other. While playing we discussed our plans and reservations for Fernandina Beach the next day.
It was only 59.4 miles which took us 3 hrs and 50 minutes.
What a cute town! Luckily we got there a week before their shrimp festival otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get into the marina. Darn, another small town with great shopping and decent restaurants. Joe got a new hat, I got a super soft wrap and we got a little something for our son. We rented a golf cart and explored not only the town but the beaches. We visited Fort Clinch and kept our fingers crossed we had enough power left in our golf cart to get back to the marina. Luckily, we went to Publix and there was a plug the guys were able to get a little juice. Back at the marina the guys got the dock hand to let us plug in the golf cart to the laundry room plug and by the next morning there was plenty of juice to return it to the place where we rented it from. I’ll just add, traveling in a golf cart at night is a little scary! There was a great reggae band playing at a bar in town where we e spent a few hours enjoying the music as did many others! Great people watching if you know what I mean!
After two very enjoyable days we were off again. This time to Brunswick.
41.7 miles which took 2 hours and 26 minutes.
Brunswick is a sleepy little town with some nicely landscaped squares in their downtown. We went to a distillery where they distilled rum. Of course, I didn’t drink but the others enjoyed their spirits. I purchased their molasses. It was delicious! That night we went to Indigo Shanty Cafe for dinner. A short stop and certainly not a shopping spot unless you are into rum or molasses.
Off to Savannah, 77.4 miles 4 hours and 54 minutes. Traveling with Kitumba which is a 58 Marlow was fun. We are a go fast boat 20-25 mph and they are a trawler that goes about 10 knots or 11 mph. We generally left an hour or two after them and arrived at our destination at the same time. The last two days we traveled on the outside. The first day we had some two to three footers. The second day was much better 1-2 footers…Savannah is sorta home port for Kitumba. Their dock master made room for us. Very nice of him. This was where we would depart from Kitumba and Rowe Boat would catch up with us on Derby Day! I made a derby pie minus the bourbon. Can you imagine two Kentuckians without a bottle of bourbon on board! We did some cleaning then about 10 am we went to the historic downtown of Savannah. Brian and Michelle have a car there which was nice. Joe and Brian did some day drinking while Michelle and I shopped. Byrd’s cookies and Element Tree Essentials were the two places we wanted to go to for sure. ETE has great lotion candles if you’ve never had one, they are nice and make great gifts too! The guys had 4, count ‘em 4 peach sangrias and several with a shot of vodka. Michelle and I were getting hungry and the guys definitely needed some food. 😉 B & M love the restaurant Trailor Park in Savannah. So that’s where we met the guys. It did not disappoint! We ordered and shared. P B & J wings, fried bologna sandwich, ham n cheese and egg flat bread, chicken and fried green tomato samich, and pancake chicken tacos with a strawberry salsa. I’d recommend that place to everyone! Delicious! Later that day we went to Brad and Johanna’s house for drinks before we had a Mexican dinner. The girls decided we’d go to the farmers market Saturday morning. Derby morning Brad and Johanna came over the guys were going to breakfast while the girls met one of Johanna’s sons and his family. We enjoyed the farmers market and a little breakfast before finally meeting Rowe Boat around noon. Alleluia back together again to continue on this trip we’ve been planning for a few years!
When you were born and raised in Louisville Kentucky you always have a Derby Party! So, we got our 20 horses printed out for our jackpot. Joe ended up winning, my horse placed and Brian had the show horse. Before the Derby ran we ate dinner. Appys were some shrimp cocktail followed by pork tenderloin Brian cook on his Hasty Bake Grill, roasted carrots and asparagus with some Parmesan roasted taters and a salad. After we cleaned up we ate Derby Pie…Mike n Leann said goodbye to Kitumba and Joe and I took them back to Brad and Johanna’s dock. We were off the next morning to Savannah.
The next morning we said good bye to B & M/Kitumba. TIL next time…hoping they meet us on Prince Edward Island where we want to stay at Inn at Bay Fortune. When Kitumba did the Downeast Loop last year they drove there and did the 10 course picnic of sorts. They highly recommended. On our list…
We met Rowe Boat and off to Charleston where we would just anchor out by the USS Yorktown. 116 miles 9 hours and 16 minutes. We cooked that night of course. We had crab cakes, steamed broccoli and a baked potato with a small salad. About 5 or 5:30 am the next morning we got waked bad! We both woke up and Joe cursed the jerk. Later when we talked to Mike he said it was a Carnival Cruise Ship and his tug boats coming into dock. It was crazy.
Off to Georgetown…56.2 miles which took 4 hrs and 35 minutes.
We couldn’t get into Harborwalk Marina but we did fuel up there and pump out. $3.66 per gal $1283.44 total for 348 gallons. We had fueled up at Fernandina last. We went around the corner and docked at Georgetown Landing Marina full of sport fishing boats and no see ‘emus. We cleaned and did laundry. For those reading that are not boaters. It’s a constant to clean or repair something! We got a taxi driver to take us to town where we went to Soco Grille. Nice casual dinner then cards on Rowe Boat. By the time we left their boat it was very dark and raining. I turned on the flashlight on my phone…We were happy to be safe back on our boat. The dock wasn’t the best we’ve stayed at! It continued to rain some during the night… a nasty night and morning! We figured now we have made up some time. We cancelled our reservations st Capital Yacht Club since we are 9 days behind. Planning on catching them on our way back down! Got our confirmation for Quebec and made our request for Montreal. Things are working out! Our schedule is being massaged as we travel north. Stay tuned! Pics to come.