MM420.

Day 1 – 4 bridges. 52 miles. We decided to go 10 miles farther than we’d planned today. We are anchored in the South Santee River for the night. There is one other sloop a couple hundred feet away, which is odd since we only passed one other sailboat all day.

This is a really beautiful spot; surrounded by nature preserve on all sides. AND we, surprisingly, have two bars of cell signal!

We saw much of South Carolina’s marshy Low Country today. I logged many birds through binoculars. A Great Day!!!

A far-away view of Charleston waterfront from the harbor…

We celebrated Day 1 after we anchored with a glass of bubbles.

This is what a 63′ mast looks like when it passes under a 65′ bridge. Whoa, Nellie!  This is why we have to time our arrival at bridges to be when it is NOT high tide.

It’s beautiful here at our anchorage…

Sunset!

Next post on our ICW journey:  https://sheila365.com/2019/07/10/mm373/.

(Note:  If you’d like to read the entire 2-week adventure from the beginning, THIS LINK will take you to the first post in the series.)

MM472.

I have arrived in Charleston to help Lori bring Trident up to Norfolk. We plan to take the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, which winds its way through coastal marshes and towns, through countless bridges and locks, crazy strong currents and tidal flows, and some very shallow and narrow water passages. We hope to make 40-50 miles a day. Norfolk is at MM 0.

We had time for a short visit to the historic downtown last night, then drove to Sullivan’s Island for a delicious send-ourselves-off dinner.

The boat, a 45′ Island Packet 445…

The marina @ St. Johns Yacht Harbor…

Shadowy oaks in the Battery…

Crossing the Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River, by car, the easy way.  🙂

The next post on our ICW journey:  https://sheila365.com/2019/07/09/mm420/

Fireworks, family, friends, and fun.

The last few weeks have flown by.  We’ve enjoyed family in Colorado, friends and family on the lake in Austin, and are looking forward to the next adventures on the horizon.

We hosted a boatload of friends and family to watch July 3rd fireworks on Lake Travis… Photo credit to Julie 🙂

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Then Monte and I headed upriver with Kurt & Kevin, to Mile Marker 47, up near the northern end of Lake Travis.

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We anchored off Grelle Park for two nights…

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Saturday, we motored farther north to around mile marker 50 before turning back and sailing down to Bar-K Park to anchor on Saturday night.

All told, we spent 4 days and 3 nights on our lovely lake.  Keeto accompanied us; a most pleasant sailing companion.

We ended the long weekend floating with Marty & Sue, and are now home doing laundry and laughing at good times had by all.

 

Coop-dominium.

I drove out to Doray’s house yesterday to bring Keeto home. She is a couple months into raising five egg-laying hens from chicks. These lucky birds moved into a beautiful chicken coop that Tom and Doray designed and built for them.

Cute!

EP.

A week ago, Monte, Susanne and I headed out from Austin, on a road trip to Estes Park, Colorado, to join in Dan and Erin’s wedding celebration.  We left at 4AM CDT, and pulled in to our destination at about 7PM MDT.   It was a long day of driving, but getting there made it all worth it.  I’ve never been to Estes Park before, but it is BEAUTIFUL!   It lies at an entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park, surrounded by mountain peaks and streams, and is teeming with wildlife.  The town offers nice restaurants, breweries, music, festivals and all sorts of activities to tire you out.

We wore out our hugging muscles, but a good time was had by all.  After several days of visiting and sight seeing, we said our goodbyes and dropped Susanne off at Denver International Airport and then continued to made our way home.  We stopped overnight in Amarillo and then popped into Lubbock the next day to look for burrowing owls and to tour a winery, in the heart of Texas wine country’s vineyards.

A view of Lake Estes with the town of Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains in the background…

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We drove up into Rocky Mountain National Park, but the Trail Ridge Road was closed at Rainbow Curve, so we had to turn around at about 10,800′. We couldn’t do the complete drive across the Continental Divide.  But, the views were spectacular.  We got snowed on, and took way too many pictures.  I saw several lifer birds, a heard of elk, a bunny, and a varmit or two.

A picture of a snow flurry passing down a canyon near the Fall River entrance…OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Leaving Amarillo in the morning, we drove along historic Route 66 and made a stop at Cadillac Ranch. I wish I could have seen this back in its hey-day.  Now the cars are covered with ever-changing spray paint grafitti.   Sadly, you can see all the trash left on the ground by the “artists.”   OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We stopped in Lubbock for lunch, and a tasting at McPherson Cellars Winery.  We also successfully tracked down some burrowing owls.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I enjoy road trips.  I enjoy seeing family.  When they can be combined, it’s all the more special.

Florae.

Susanne is visiting us in Austin this week. We’ve enjoyed catching up. Today we took a trip downtown to the Zilker Botanical Gardens. Pretty things:

And, I cannot go to Zilker Park without stopping by Sno-beach for my favorite!

Fun in the sun.

We enjoyed floating and fishing with Lori and Mike and four of his grandkids today on Nirvana, anchored in our favorite cove on Lake Travis. It was a fun time. The kids were great, and they caught 4 fish between them!

We checked out Brick Oven’s Jazz night for dinner. The patio was full, though, so we had to sit inside.

Another good day!

First fish.

We had a visit to the boat today from our friend, Rob, and his 5-year old son, Owen. Owen caught his first ever fish off the back of Nirvana. I hope he always remembers that moment.

We got away from the marina just in time, as tornado warnings sounded due to severe storms moving through. We made it home sweet home.

Nice.

It was a good day on the lake. No wind. But lots of sun, it almost reached 100 degrees. Lake water temps are perfect right now, 83 degrees. We floated all day to beat the heat. Air conditioning at the slip sure helps, too.

Aging shmaging.

One year ago I stopped coloring my hair.  I feel free; free from the salon chair that I’d been tied to every 5 or 6 weeks for nearly 20 years of my life.  Now I only go to see Mario when I feel like a hair cut.  He really is the best hair colorist in Austin.  But, he’s taken it well.   I’m only one more hair cut away from having all the old, fading, brown bits gone!

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Yeah, I’m getting older.  I can handle it. 🙂

June!

The first dip in the water marks the beginning of summer for me on Lake Travis.  I wait until after Memorial Day to jump in the lake.   That happened this past weekend, and it was marvelous.

Monte and I anchored up in a lovely cove overnight on Saturday.   Though the wind went completely calm overnight, it wasn’t too hot.   But we did battle with no-see-ums and mosquitos, a first for me in about 15 years of playing on the lake.    No matter.  It was wonderful to be there.

We enjoyed a weekend floating in a full lake on our noodles with Marty, Sue, Kurt & Kevin.   Welcome, Summer!

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Family time.

I enjoyed my extended weekend in Seattle. The wedding was the reason for the visit, but we used it as an excuse for multiple family gatherings. Noreen and David hosted rehearsal dinner on Friday, a post-wedding-reception evening party on Saturday, and a backyard BBQ with yard games on Sunday. They allowed for good visits with all my siblings, nieces and nephews, and a grand-nephew in one place – a first in a very long time.

The weather gods didn’t smile on the outdoor wedding, as it rained all afternoon. But, it was a truly lovely service and reception. God bless Neil and Miranda’s marriage. ❤️

When Memorial Day finally came along, we drove up to Paradise on Mount Rainier. It has been over 40 years since I last visited the park. We hiked a bit up the mountain, in the snow, and took in the views. It wasn’t a crystal clear, blue sky day, but it was majestic, nonetheless.

Mount Rainier National Park lodge at Longmire…

Just a pretty little waterfall…

And a prettier, bigger waterfall…

The view from the hike above Paradise, at about 6000’…

Now, I’m on my way back home. My flight flew past the north face of Mount Saint Helens. You can see the blast damage to the cone on this side of the volcano from its 1980 eruption. 

Mountain peek.

I flew to Seattle for my nephew’s wedding this weekend. I was looking forward to the stunning fly-by of Mount Rainier, but the clouds were high and thick and did not afford the usual view. I snapped a picture as we flew over the 14410′ high peak at about 17000′. Can you spot the top of the peak?

Just peachy.

Monte and I took a drive out the Highway 290 wine trail on this windy day in May.  Our mission was to pick up our wine club quarterly selection at Becker Vineyards.

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Future wine on the vine!OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We made a few stops.  In Johnson City, we took a pass through some of the antique stores, and found vintage cowboy/cowgirl boots, of course.  Take your pick…IMG_7916 (1)

It’s peach season!  We stopped at an orchard in Fredericksburg, to bring a few home.IMG_7924 (1)