Our last post was in late May, as we were leaving Sunshine, our PDQ 36 catamaran, at Brunswick, Georgia and heading back to Greenwood, Indiana for the summer.
After cruising for five months on Sunshine earlier this year, the transition to dry land was not easy for me. It took at least a month after getting home for me to be comfortable with the change. We had loved our simple cruising life, and I found it difficult to return to our old life, and for me, to return to work.
But we persevered, and the summer turned out to be a wonderful time of getting reacquainted with friends and family. We accomplished many projects, hosted some great pool parties and get-togethers, attended four weddings, and spent precious time with our grandkids, ages four and seven. The best grandkid times were when they came for sleep-overs (or "awake-overs" as our 7-year-old granddaughter calls them).
With the approach of fall, Sunshine was calling for us to return. We left Greenwood Wednesday morning (September 3rd) in a car packed to the gills with "boat stuff." We stayed overnight just south of Atlanta and arrived at Brunswick Landing Marina Thursday afternoon.
Sunshine was just as we left her three months ago. She had been through a "blow" with Tropical Storm Faye a couple of weeks ago, but showed no signs of any damage. Several friends are here at this marina with their boats, waiting out hurricane season.
As we watch Tropical Storm Hanna work her way up the East Coast far north of us and listen to reports of Hurricane Ike ready to ravage the Bahamas and then possibly the Florida Keys, we are counting our weather blessings, so far.
We'll be here in Brunsick for at least a week or so. Phil is busy removing the old refrigerator and getting ready to install a new one. I'm still finding places to put away all the things we brought with us.
Brunswick is an old port city a few miles up a river from the coast. We can walk to the old downtown area, which has several nice restaurants and shops, and a great farmers market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
I visited the farmers market this morning and brought back spiced pecans, Georgia peaches, some home-made pure cane syrup (which I read was necessary for authentic Bahamian rum punch), blueberries, delicious large round grapes that no one knew the name of, tomatoes, and Perky Pear Relish and Hot Pepper Jelly, made by a guy named Richard.
About a dozen shrimp boats are docked just up the river from the marina. A sky full of pelicans over the boats signals their return each day and you can walk over to the boats and buy fresh-caught shrimp. The cost of fuel and over-fishing have diminished the catch and raised prices, but $5.00 a pound still isn't bad.
I'll add some pictures to the blog in the next day or two and give you an update on the refrigerator install. When the new fridge is in place and working, we hope to head north and explore the coasts of North and South Carolina, and perhaps get as far as the Chesapeake before cold weather arrives. After that, we'll head south and maybe make it to the Bahamas for the winter season.
Margaret
2 comments:
Glad to have you back on your blog. We've missed reading about your exploits.
Hope the refrigerator switch goes well.
Enjoy your shrimp.
- Allen
Yay! A new post! Wish we were still in the Chesapeake area, just to come and see you. But I guess that means you'll just have to come see us.... Glad you're back on board, and give Sunshine my best!
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