South Carolina

Maybe its because we have cruised the Florida coast several times.   Maybe it is the spring in the air.   I am not sure, but it feels like a new adventure once we get to Charleston, South Carolina.  

Rock Chalk spent 11 days in Charleston, part of it with us on the boat, and part where we took a quick trip back to Austin.  Nevertheless, our time in Charleston seems to set the tone for a new adventure.   We really like Charleston.   It has an Austin kind of vibe, with a young college crowd, lots of history, and a great walking city.  But mostly we like the food.   The Husk, The Hominy Grill, and The Fig just to name a few, are places we want to go back to again and again.   Last night was our last night in Charleston, so we treated ourselves to The Fig.   We went there two years ago, and it stood out as the single best restaurant we encountered in the entire 6000 mile Loop.   I'm not saying we went to every great restaurant in New York, Chicago, etc.    But we went to many.   The Fig stands out as THE best.   Great service starts with the wait staff.   They are so knowledgeable, and proficient at describing every dish.   It does not take long as you listen to your waiter, that your mouth is watering and you are ready for some serious good food.  And they walk their talk.   Ummm.   So Good.

But it was time to head north and it feels like it did two years ago as we started the Loop.   We were entering a place that was vaguely familiar but still exciting to see the water and land along the coast of South Carolina.   As we departed Charleston, there were 3 tall sailing ships at our marina.   These are sailing schools for teenagers.   One ship was from Sweden, and two from the US.   They have been in the Caribbean and the Bahamas all winter, and are now headed north like us.  Magnificent ships.

Swedish 3 Masted Schooner

2 Double Masted US Schooner's

This schooner carries a crew of 11 and 39 teens from Sweden for 10 weeks.











This schooner had 15 US teenagers on board since January, as they sailed from St. Thomas back to the US and now up the US east coast.









It was a long day today, as we left at close to first light, but I knew I wanted to make one of my favorite stops from the last Loop.   Jericho Creek is just north of Georgetown, SC on the Waccamaw River.   It is a small creek, just 50 yards wide, but it is very peaceful and well protected.   It is quiet here as all I can hear are the frogs.   No bugs yet, which made our charcoal bbq chicken dinner with real grits just fabulous.  

Sunset at Jericho Creek

No Wind

The wind had been blowing all day at 20+ mph.   Cannot feel it back in this creek at anchor.










Looking for Alligators













We really have had fun these last few months with our friends and relatives visiting us on Rock Chalk.   Bob and Linda are back in snowy Colorado now, but after their brief stay with us on the boat, we are now emailing often.   Carla and Roger enjoyed the beauty of the St. John River and all its wildlife.   They are still on the Texas Gulf coast looking at birds.   Jay and Ann Carey were able to combine a two day trip to the Master's Golf Tournament, with a quick trip down to Savannah and join us for a few days.

But now it is just Shelley and I, and places like Jericho Creek to explore.  Fun.  

Cumberland Island National Preserve

 OK we have taken Rock Chalk by this island wonder 4 times, but this time we stopped.   Wow, what a nice discovery.   What were we thinking??

We anchored off the west shore of this 20 mile long barrier island that borders the Florida/Georgia border.   Most of the island is now a National Park with the largest maritime forest of Live Oaks, sprinkled with Palmento palms.  The oaks are covered with the classic Spanish Moss and you have a very unique environment.   You can camp on this island, but it is a dry camp.

The Live Oaks of Cumberland Island

The Path to the Beach

So typical of Shelley and I is that we show up at an early time, before the park opens and we start to walk.   We walked across the island, and to the 20 mile long beach.   Not a soul was around, so it was beautiful and pristine.   The beach is deep and clean.  When was the last time you were on a 20 mile long pristine beach with not a soul on it.   Nothing but us and the birds, and the little critters that crawl in the sand.  It was awesome to use an overused phrase.  Awesome!!

20 miles of soft sand

Our Morning Walk

Personally I have owned or built 4 homes in my working life.  But I am clearly not in the ariticrat level of "second homes".   The Carnegie's came to Cumberland Island in the early 1920's and built a mansion.   Then they walked away and let Mother Nature have its way with the home.  Apparently the building techniques of the 1920's don't fare so well with salt air and winds.   In fact the place fell apart.   One can only imagine how grand it was at one point, but today all that is left of these homes are some bricks and stones.  Too bad.

The Carnegie Mansion

Just a little winter place

We enjoyed our walkabout of Cumberland Island.   It is well worth a visit.

Roger and Carla Smith and the St. John River

I have said this before, but one of the great experiences on Rock Chalk is exploring new very divergent places that we can reach by boat.   This last journey down the St. John was enhanced so much by Carla and Roger.   They are great naturalists, especially when it comes to birds.   Birds, Birds, Birds.   These two know a plethora  of birds, even by their song.  I have not been a big bird watcher before, but Carla and Roger's enthusiasm for finding all these different birds, make it fun.

We stayed at Morrison Island as I mentioned in a previous post, and the Smith's identified so many different types of birds, that I was amazed.  Here are some random shots along the St. John during that week where we cruised the inside passage of Florida.

Roger at the helm

Sunrise on the St. John

If you have followed my blog, I love the light for a photo at dawn.  There is nothing better than getting up early and watching the sun come up over the water.   The colors are stunning.








We loved the St. John.   I would go back.   My partner, Mike Priede grew up in Jacksonville and enjoyed these waters for years.  Jacksonville is uniquely positioned at the bend of the river where it turns from a northerly flow for 160 miles, and makes a right turn to the east and the Atlantic.  Mike tells me that you can dock downtown and enjoy all the local watering holes from the wharf.   Hmmm.   Sounds good.

Downtown Jacksonville

Back to Jacksonville

We made it back to Jacksonville after an 8 day cruise up (south) the St. John River and back.   It is really an impressive river, especially in the upper reaches where it becomes a small stream with the banks covered with cypress trees and Spanish Moss.   As I mentioned Roger and Carla are big "birding" fans.   They were able to spot and identify 24 different types of birds on one island alone.   We are still laughing about the baby crocodile we saw and wondering how close we were to being attacked by the protective mother.   We were going to sacrifice Shelley and Roger, as they were sitting in the front of the boat.

Roger and Carla left this morning to do some camping in Florida and then head to Texas where they will meet some friends on an island east of Galveston for more "birding".   Rock Chalk is all clean and ready to start on the next leg of our journey up the east coast to the Chesapeake Bay.  We need to be in Norfolk by May 5th for the America Great Loop Cruisers Association rendezvous.  From there we will move on north to New York City by June 7th, where our grandsons', Max and Leo will join us for a month or so.

So we are busy and still hoping for warmer weather.   These cold fronts keep pushing down from the north and drops the temperatures into the 60's or low 70's in northern Florida.   We heard that it finally rained in Austin and Central Texas.   Hopefully that will fill Lake Travis some.   Much is happening on the home front, with my sister Gayle and Mark Rolland moving to their new home this week.   Mark conveniently broke his wrist this week so he would not have to lift heavy boxes during the move.   Good strategy Mark.   Actually he is having surgery Monday to fix his wrist and will be in alot of pain and a cast for weeks.   Sorry Mark.

Here are some last photos of the St. John's River.   Really a beautiful river.  

Moor Hen

 This little guy is related to a Coot but with the red beak.

Baby Croc

Where is Mama?

One last great Sunset along the banks of the St. John.