Balance of Day 2

We made it to Hilton Head Island to meet my friend (and attorney) Andrea for lunch.  She came with wonderful gifts for our boat, one of which was a tray to carry things on and I have already used it for our dinner tonight.  The coffee cups will be used in the morning!  Thanks so much, Andrea!!

When we arrived at the place to meet Andrea, the water was so low that a local boater came out and guided us in through the sandbar area.  That's call real southern hospitality!  We had a wonderful lunch together and we ended lunch with a tour of the boat for Andrea.  She loved it.  We said our sad goodbyes and untied ourselves from the dock, to head to our place for the night.  We are anchored right off of Daufuskie Island, South Carolina.  I cooked some soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.  I loaded them up on our new tray and we ate in the cockpit.  Daniel had some nice jazz music on the stereo and we ate, watching dolphins all around us.  Really awesome!  We can see Savannah's lights in the distance, too.  We're expecting rain at midnight tonight going through 8 am in the morning, so not sure if we will stay right where we are or move further south.  Just depends on the weather.  On the upside, we checked and we have 10 tv channels tonight!  Last night we had 1 and it had a kid's movie on it and on top of that, it faded in and out.  It was an early night last night.  Tonight, we might actually stay up past 9!

Day 1 / Day 2

Day 1 of our adventure.  We left Charleston Harbor at the crack of dawn, literally.  The sun was just coming up when we got out past the jetties.  It was cold and we were both dressed in lots of layers.  Not too cold though, Daniel had made us a “cockpit enclosure” made out of vinyl window material that kept the cold air off of us.  It was wonderful – it made traveling in the early cold wind very enjoyable.  I made Daniel breakfast and I had coffee.  We both could tell the waves were going to be “fun” so we both took our dramamine.  Daniel went with one small tablet – I went for the big stuff, a 3 day patch.  Hey, don’t judge!  The waves were like 4-6 feet and we rode and rode them.  The wind was 15 knots from the northwest, perfect day for sailing.  I tried to nap, but never was able, to the ride was just too exhilarating.  It was a beautiful day.  Once we got off the coast we kept going – ended up being about 11 miles off shore.  We were traveling with our sails out and the engine off.  It was so quiet and so pretty.  After the sun came up we were able to remove some layers of clothing and actually end up in short sleeves for the afternoon.  The night before I had made stuff poblano peppers (stuffed with ground beef, onion, peppers and hot cheese) for dinner, so I used the other half of the meat mixture to make us some beef burritos for lunch.  I added in a big bowl of fruit for each of us and that made a yummy lunch.  When we decided to “go in” to get on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) we had to crank the engine.  We motored for about 4 hours until we found our spot for the night, St. Helena Sound.  There was one other sailboat in the area, other than that, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  The water was so calm, it was like we were still docked at the Cooper River Marina – except calmer than that!  With the dramamine still in us, we were able to sleep like babies. 

 

 

Day 2

Look at that sunrise!  Big plans for the day!  We are traveling to Hilton Head to meet some friends from my law firm’s Hilton Head office for lunch.  We pulled up anchor at about 7 am.  It’s going to take us about 4 1/2 hours to get to Hilton Head on the ICW.  We have yet to see another boat out here, just lots of birds and lots of crab pots.  We are still trying to dodge those things.  Daniel had a bagel this morning for breakfast and I went with the greek yogurt and fruit (Blenda inspires my breakfast).  Blenda and I have been having breakfast together at the office for years – I really miss her.  I took a picture of the sunrise this morning and texted it to her.  She immediately took a picture of her view (2 computer monitors) and sent it back to me.  So nice to start the day with a laugh!  Thanks, Blenda!

Goodbye Charleston! Hello WORLD!

 

 

The weather is good, tides are good - off we go!  We got up at 4 this morning and got everything in order to leave the dock by 5 a.m.  As we cranked the engine and started to stow the lines, along comes our friend, Ann Lange.  She is the captain of the sailing vessel SeaFever and she is not too far down the dock from us in Charleston.  Sweet Annie got up early this morning, just to come see us off.  Not too many people would do that (I can count on 1 finger the number that did). Granted it was 5 a.m.!  Thanks, Annie!

After we left the dock we proceeded towards the Cooper River Bridge.  We've done this track so much, we could do it in our sleep, thus why we were able to leave so early this morning and get a jump on the day.  The wind was a little strong, but with dramamine in our tummies, we pushed forward.  We are sailing about 3 miles off the coast of Charleston heading towards our first anchorage, somewhere near Hilton Head, South Carolina.

We actually ended up sailing about 11 miles off shore today and just arrived at our anchor spot for the night.  St. Helena Sound, South Carolina. Very quiet and very calm.  Much needed after the fun we had off shore today.

Oh Boy!!

He's here!  8 pounds, 11 ounces and 21 inches long - Joshua Daniel Snow made his arrival into the world on January 9th!  We are very proud grandparents and very excited that we were there for his birth.  It was a hard 24 hours of labor for Mollie but I'm sure she will agree, it was worth it.  We've had time to hold, cuddle and kiss him (not enough time, but will there ever be enough?).  We've also had a wonderful visit with Matt and Mollie but it's time for us to take the big plunge...finish loading the boat and heading south.

Matt (Dad) and their son, Joshua

Just thinking of leaving them behind is really tough.  If the doors on our rental car weren't locked, there is a chance I might not make it back to Charleston.  All of these "good byes" are awful.  Tears my heart out.  The picture I'm posting is me with Joshua at the hospital moments before I left him.  It was so hard.  I was feeling really down and then our oldest son, Justin, called from South America and said - ok, so when will y'all be here.  I laughed.  I guess it is all in your own context.  He is happy to be an uncle but the arrival of Joshua means we get on the boat and start making progress towards him and his family.  He was so excited about us leaving this weekend.  So with a heavy heart I'm leaving Charleston, South Carolina heading towards warmer water and more parts of our family in South America - so the excitement builds again.  I'm pretty sure once we hit South America, Matt in Atlanta, Georgia, will be calling wanting to know when we are heading back to the states.  It's kind of nice to be pulled between North and South America.  

Grammie (Carla) and Joshua

 

Happy New Year!

We are getting close...really close to leaving.  We could even be leaving by this coming weekend.  That's what Daniel said to me on this past Sunday afternoon.  I was sitting and reading a book in the cockpit enjoying the new cockpit cushions and it hit me.  We really COULD be leaving extremely shortly.  I hopped right up, packed my bag to head back to work and said I had to go.  I had laundry to   do at my friend Blenda's house, shopping left to do, another trip to Goodwill to give away more stuff...basically I had an anxiety attack.  It's not about being anxious to leave, it's about all the things that have to be accomplished before we can go.  I knocked out quite a few of those things this week, but still have a few more.  We've been told that our grandson is not too anxious to meet us, it may be another week to 10 days before we get to hold him - just gives us more time to finish those last projects and shop and plan more.  

One of the worst things I have been dreading to do, I will have to do tomorrow.  I know it's crazy to get all emotional about saying good-bye to a dog, but Shula is MY dog.  The only one that has truly been mine.  We've had other dogs, but they were the "family dog".  Daniel gave me Shula 8 years ago, a puppy to help fill our empty nest and fill it he has.  I've shared him with Daniel, so Shula is ours, but he's a "Momma's boy".  He has sat and comforted me after a 6 week surgery recovery, he sat with me and stayed at my feet after I slipped and fell earlier this year and had to be home for 2 months.  We go for walks, I talk to him and he wags his tail every time I come home.  After a bad day at work, a smile immediately comes on my face when I see him running towards me when I get home.  This is really hard.

 

This post is not meant to be a sad one, or even an anxious one, it's just a "real" one - it is just to show you that as much as I'm looking forward to our upcoming adventure - it isn't always easy to get there or to even get started.  It's hard and a big commitment.  I'm ready, though, and am truly looking forward to seeing what 2014 has in store for us.  Happy New Year, everyone!