Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi, All -
We're spending two weeks in Phoenix, which happily includes the Thanksgiving Holiday. We arrived Nov. 15th, and will return to Brunswick and our boat on Nov. 30th.

It is a great time to be here. In addition to catching up with family, friends, visits to our doctors, dentist and financial advisor, the weather is beautiful. Susan's father (Ray Delrich) and I hope to play some golf next week. All this AND we get to spend time with Kara, Miguel, and our newest grandson, Andrew!

We are staying this first week with Ray and Pam Delrich (Susan's folks). The Ray and Pam Resort includes bed, board, pool, patio, BBQ grill, AND a putting green. What more could one ask for? Did I mention that we also get to dine on a home-cooked traditional Thanksgiving dinner, prepared personally by Pam Delrich?

We will also spend a few nights with our friends and ex-neighbors, Phyllis and Terry Carron, and a night or two with Sheila and Shirley, dear friends in the East Valley. Hopefully, we won't wear out our welcome with any of our wonderful hosts.

Our dance card is getting full, with invitations to dinners, lunches, cocktails, church services, appointments, meetings, real estate transactions, etc. etc. But we are having a wonderful time, and getting our land legs back, sort of...

We do miss KINGDOM; the beauty, peace and quiet of the harbor, and the more leisurely pace of life aboard. It hit me while driving around here, that we have become quite accustomed to moving along at a much slower pace. Seven knots, versus 65 - 70mph is quite a change. Even our scooters have a top speed of 40mph, downhill with a tail wind! Freeways are completely out of the question...

Well, we are determined to enjoy our "vacation from retirement", and relish the variation in climate, pace, and activity. We are resting as much as possible, since we have so much still to do when we return to the boat. Our goal is to finish our outfitting in preparation for moving south in January, and on to the Bahamas for the winter months.

Love to all,
HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!

ps.
We will post pix of our visit once we get back to our onboard computer.

Smurfs on Wheels!

"Motorcycle Mama" Susan on her YAMAHA









































I look just like Brando, don't I?



















The lighthouse on St. Simons Island.













































Last week we purchased two Yamaha scooters. They are 49cc "Vino" models, and are identical, painted metallic black. These will serve as our transport while in port, so we can get around to shop for our groceries and supplies, as well as sightseeing. They are rated at 85mpg. With a top speed of 40 mph, we aren't in danger of getting real expensive speeding tickets, and most of the places we are using the scooters have limits of 45 mph or less.





Another advantage for small scooters like this is that they require no license tag, no special motorcycle drivers' license, and are cheap to insure ($200 per annum covers both of them!) They only weigh 150 lbs. each, so are easily lifted to our bridge deck for storage while underway.



We get lots of questions and compliments from people whenever we're out on thest things. Mostly, "Those are really cute!" and "How fast do they go?"

Today, we used the scooters to do a bit of touring. We travelled all the way to St. Simons Island (five miles) for brunch, toured the town, saw the lighthouse, visited the old (early 1700's) British Fort Frederica, and circumnavigated the island. Then back across the causeway to Brunswick, stopping at Winn-Dixie for groceries, and back to the boat.





It was a bit chilly, but our windbreakers and helmets did a fairly good job of keeping us comfortable. By the time we were back to the boat, our hands were cold, since the sun was getting low in the west.





Love to all!





Walt and Susan

We're in Brunswick, Georgia

Please Note - Narrative is at the end of these photos.

Susan at the Pilothouse wheel, with charts at hand.




















Walt, happy at the flybridge helm.






















Susan, studying charts and cruising guide, planning the day's run.

















Ed and Diane Havelka - Our "Training Captains", on our flybridge.

























Dolphins play in our Bow Wave

We are now tied up for two months in Brunswick, Georgia, at the Brunswick Landings Marina. Our plan is to stay here until early January, since it is getting too chilly to go farther North, and we must stay clear of Florida for 60 days (or be subject to Florida Sales Tax on the purchase of KINGDOM. So, we will continue working on the boat, readying her for our Bahamas/Caribbean journeys. In January, we expect to start working our way South again, taking our time, with the goal of crossing to the Bahamas sometime in February. We've been advised by other experienced boaters to wait for a really good "weather window", such that the Gulf Stream is relatively calm.

From Titusville northward, we've been fighting a VERY strong northeast wind, averaging 20-25 knots, with gusts up to gale force (35). We stayed in Daytona three nights, hoping it would abate, but finally departed on Wednsday. At least that gave us an opportunity to have a good visit with my sister Ellie.

We anchored Halloween night just off the old Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine, FL. It was a beautiful sight all lit up at night, and we could see the revelers wandering up and down the quay of Old Town.

We left early Thursday morning, for a long leg making for Amelia Island/Fernandina. But continued strong winds and extremely high tides slowed our progress. We could have increased our speed marginally by using more engine rpm's, but that has the side effect of increasing our fuel consumption to achieve only marginal increases in speed. Susan studied our charts, and found us a nice anchorage just off the ICW at a place called Alligator Creek. It turned out to be ideal. It offered us a lovely sunset, protection from the wind, and a peaceful night. From there, we set out at first light for Brunswick, GA.

It was a tough slog all day Friday, again with heavy tidal currents running against us. As Ed and Diane Havelka said, "Running northward in the ICW is like running up a hill all the way." We encountered 5' seas crossing Cumberland Sound, which made for an exciting half-hour or so. The boat was happy, but we still have issues with the latches on our galley drawers...Susan had to get out the duct tape again to keep them from sliding open and shut, open and shut, etc.

We arrived in Brunswick around 3:30pm. The marina is at the foot of the old historic district of the town. It is well-preserved, with lots of restaurants and little shops within easy walking distance. In fact, we had a wonderful dinner at a place called Christie's. I ordered Lobster Mac & Cheese, which was absolutely scrumptious! It contained a large whole lobster tail, cut into large bite-size pieces, surrounded by pasta, with both cheddar and parmesan cheese melted overall. Wow!

We have encountered playful dolphins all the way along our journey. Often there are up to half a dozen playing in our bow wave for a half-hour or so. I'm including a photograph or two of them, but the pix don't convey the thrill we experience when these beautiful animals appear and convey their blessings on our path.