Sanford Fla 12.29.17

Can you believe that 2017 is almost gone!!!  I can surly say we had a Hugh life change in 2017!!
The selling of our business to John and Monika Bentley was truly a blessing!! I pray they will care and nurture this business and enjoy as much as we have the last 20 years!!
We are already making plans for another big change in our lives for 2018.   God has blessed us and we will make the best use of His blessing.
We continue to enjoy the time here in Sanford!!  Paula and Jim are great friends and we so enjoy our time together. Mark and Wanda will be bringing our truck to us this next weekend and we have made plans to enjoy a few days with them. They will be traveling back to Conway via Amtrak Train!! After the bad wreck last week i think Wanda has reservations!!  LOL
Linda and John from Tennessee will be visiting in February (to celebrate my bday!!)
We plan to travel back to Conway mid February when our new grand-baby Katie arrives!!
So far Rod has not went to work on the cruise boat. And, he may not!!  They want him to work as a relief Capt. but right now the business cant justify the expense. They had a tremendous repair bill ($400,000 plus) for the coast guard regulations and they are suffering from that expense.
The last week of 2017 has been cold!!!! Well, only if you call 53 degrees cold! Ha The wind chill at the marina is 43!!  I guess i should not complain as when i talk to friends at home it is FREEZING!! 
I am posting from my laptop today and hope it will download a few pics i wanted to share!!  Surprise pic I made fresh squeezed OJ from Paula's orange trees yesterday!! Yummo!!
Love to all!!  Happy New year!! and I wish all of you many blessings in 2018!!

Paula's Deck Friend a Great Blue Heron

                                                    His name is Harry!!

Another friend a Sandhill Crane named Sandy!!  This guy is close to 3ft tall!!!

                                                      Fresh squeezed!!!

YUMMY!!

I enjoy this daily!!!

12/25/17 Sanford Florida Christmas Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!! Merry Christmas!! Jesus is the reason for the season!!!
I do hope all our friends and family had a great Christmas Day!!! We have had a great week!! Really just hanging out and enjoying the days!! We have had incredibly beautiful weather and I have enjoyed every minute of it!!! Lol
The one thing we did that I have never done before is I rode a bike to church!!!! Lol
We attended a candlelight service at the Central Baptist Church last night here about 3 blocks from the marina. Wonderful service and everyone thought it was great we rode the tandem bike hehe!!
I so hope I can get the pics downloaded that I took this week!!
I took all the pics so no pics of my Christmas with Paula!! I got a mango candle, peppermint hand soap, a red shirt with a big sparkle anchor on the front and Starbucks pumpkin spice coffee!!! And we both got a new rug for our up and coming new motor home!! Pic attached!
It’s been a great week!!
Looking forward to a New Year!!
Love, Hugs and Blessings to all the people we love!! Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod

Fried turkey coming soon!!

Fun time with Jim and Paula’s at the family Christmas dinner

The girls table!!lol

 

Rod fishing with his favorite buddy!!!

My little 2 ft Christmas tree on the Boat!!

A boat ride last Saturday Eagle up and close!

A card holder for us old folks UNO playing

A new flannel shirt from Rod

A thermal cell from Jill and Paula to keep the mosquitos away!!

Paula’s friends 

Rod feeding Paula’s pet Sandhills Crane

A meal at one of favorite restaurants the Corner Cafe they always serve you a small tiny desert

The Barbara Lee in the background!

Our new rug!!!

Sanford Fla 12-17.17 Sunday Monroe Harbor Marina

Well we have been in Sanford for 5days and man I can dig this weather!!!!! It’s almost 80 degrees everyday. Shorts and tee shirts everyday!!!
The first few days were spent stocking up the pantry!! Washing clothes!! And cleaning the boat after 6 days on the water was filthy!!! We have spent almost everyday with Paula and Jim doing something!, ha just great to see them again.
Thursday night was the monthly street festival (2nd Thursday of each month) We almost missed it as we found out it was going on and walked up there at 8:30 and it was over at 9pm. So we put it on our calendar to not miss it next month.
Friday night was the Christmas Regata Boat parade here on the lake.
Last night (Saturday) paula and Jim took us to their Saturday night hangout at the Geneva general store!! It’s a small store and restaurant in the small town where they live Geneva, Fla. it’s about 15 miles from the marina. We had a great dinner and live music by Bobby Sanders. He’s a local guy that sings and plays a guitar just good old time country songs!! We enjoyed so much!! Someone plays there every Saturday night.
Today was the Spence Family Christmas dinner at their home! Paula made a ham and one of Jim’s sons fried a turkey! Everyone else brought a covered dish!! I took crockpot Mac & Cheese and roasted honey garlic carrots!! We had a real feast!! And fun time with all the family.
Full to the brim and now kicked back and resting of course after a nice long walk with Lexie when we got back to the Boat.
Rod will start to work tomorrow on the dinner cruise or will at least get his schedule tomorrow. He’s excited I think!! He will be riding with the captain/ owner for the first few trips to learn the ropes. And the route for the trips. It sure is a busy Boat they go out at least 2 times a day everyday since we
arrived!!!
It’s been a good week!! Mostly I’m loving the weather!! It’s been really cold in Georgetown as I look at the weather there daily (just to remind me how much I warmer I have it here Ha)
Much love to all!! One week to Christmas and the arrival of Ole St Nick!! Hope everyone is ready!!
Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod
So sorry I had sooo many great pics but can’t post them!!😢😢

Florida Bound 12-12-17 Sanford, Fla

Thnak you Lord we have arrived in sunny Florida!! We docked this evening at Monroe Harbor Marina in Sanford Fla about 5pm.
We pulled up anchor this morning and was bound and determined to get to Sanford today!! We had winds of 20-25 mph most of the day!! That kind of wind we did not want to have to anchor out again tonight. It was a beautiful sunny 75 degree day but the wind was tough all day.
Jim and Paula met us at our dock slip and assisted us with docking in the high wind. Thank you Lord for our friends to come help!!! We got all tied up and stable and decided to go for a McDonald south west salad for supper. Paula and I made a run to pick them up and we ate on the back deck of our boat while enjoying some wonderful catch up time with our friends!! We have not seen them in 10 months!!
Lexie was most excited about a walk on land and finding grass to do her business!! Lol. What a great little travel pup!! She is a happy camper this evening and so are we!! Lol
In our home dock for the next 4 months.
I’m almost out of groceries so Paula is taking me to the Walmart to restock tomorrow morning!! Washing clothes tomorrow will be an all day event! Ha
Resting this evening watched a little TV and won’t be long before we go to bed! Ha
We made the journey in record time of 6 days as we usually take at least 7 to get here from Georgetown. It was a good trip and we enjoyed the ride. We thanked God for a safe trip and arriving here safely!! (Us and our Boat) lol
Much love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod

Jim made a video of our arrival !!

Lexie in her favorite napping spot on the Boat

This plane flew along beside us today going down the river!!

Florida Bound 12.11.17. Palatka, Fla

We have thanked God all day for the beautiful weather we are having and another great day of traveling down the waterway!!
We got up, yet again, at 5:30am and prepared to get underway by 6:45am.
Another early but beautiful morning to ride!!
The day was uneventful as the St John’s river is Hugh and lots of nothing much to see. Jacksonville of course for the first 2 hours of traveling is a site everyone should see at least once. The military base and the cruise ships keeps you intertained for the ride through. On the St John’s river the city of Jacksonville is on one side and Jacksonville Beach is on the other. So there are some great sites to see.
We traveled 76 miles today and anchored at Murphy’s Island in Palatka, Fla. looks as though we are in the middle of no where!! Ha
A good restful evening as Rod worked on the walkways of our boat for 5 hours today while I drove. Already starting some repairs he wants to make to the Boat and just could not wait to get started!! Ha
Me I drove and listened to Christmas Music!!!
I am sure we will be in bed asleep by 9:30pm lol
Overall!, a great day!!
1 1/2 days before we arrive in Sanford for our 4 month stay!!
I don’t know who is more excited me or Lexie!! Ha. She is an exceptional traveling boat dog, but she is ready for some land time and so am I!!
Paula and Jim Spence our BBFs (best boater friends) are anxiously awaiting our arrival, we have not seen them in a year!!! I cant wait to see them again!! Some of you know Judy and Wayne Berryman from Timberlake Bapt Church they live only about 30 mins from Sanford during the winter months to escape the cold in Michigan, so it will be good to see them as well.
Its warm this evening we don’t even have the heat on tonight!!! Glad to be in Florida!!! Lol

Please continue to pray for our journey we so appreciate them!
Much love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod

Coming into port

The cruise Ship Elation

Now that’s a Boat!!

A sea plane!! It landed on down river from us!,

Florida Bound 12.10.17 Jacksonville Fla.

The good ole alarm clock went off as it was programmed to at 5:30am!!! Rod wants to get started on the days earlier and earlier!!!  He really wanted to make it to Jacksonville before dark today, and we pulled into the city docks at Jacksonville Beach at 4:30pm. It was the best travel day yet!, the weather was fabulous!! The temperature on the bridge where we drive was 78 degrees most of the day!!! Rod got his right arm sun burned a little and me it was my legs!! What a change in the weather!! Even this evening it’s only about 55 degrees. Lexie got a great walk in this afternoon. She really enjoyed her time on dry ground. I think she misses it more than I do! Ha
It was also a  great place to get rid of trash and fill our tanks with water.
A leftover supper of anything I found in the fridge that needed to be eaten!! Lol and we have showered and already settled in for the evening!! No TV (hard to believe no channels available and we are in the big city)?? Oh well another good reading night!! Ha
We should be in Sanford in 2 maybe 2 1/2 days!!
So far our journey has been great and all has went well. We still ask you keep us in your prayers!
Got a few pics to share!! I really tried to get a pic of the wild ponies on Pony Island near Fernadina Beach they were running down the beach on the island. Absolutely magnificent!  That was the highlite of the day!! I hated I could not get a good pic.
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod

Sunrise this morning

Sunrise!!

Temperature on the bridge today!!

Lexie enjoying the sun!!

Watching the Dolphins

Ships in Fernadina Beach

Florida Bound 12.9.17 Beaufort, SC

We woke up this morning before the clock went off!!! What’s wrong with that picture!! Of course we did go to bed at 9:30pm last night! Lol
We traveled 93 miles today and hoping to do another 90 tomorrow and get to Jacksonville, Fla.
We had Good high tides all day today in crossing 2 areas called Hells Gate and Creightons Cut. These 2 areas we must have a high tide or close to high tide to get the boat through. Both had plenty of depth when we arrived!!! Yeah!! We thanked God for that blessing!!!
The weather today was unchanged from the last 2 days and it’s predicted to be even colder tomorrow!!! Paula texted me this afternoon and ask if I was bring the cold with me to Sanford!! I tried my best to leave it behind!! Lol  Tonights low will be 36degrees!!!!!!!
We anchored just north of Beaufort at Creasent Ga, in TeaKettle Creek around 5:30pm. It was dark about 15 mins after we anchored. I hate to anchor in the dark and we made it just in time!!
Manwitch on hotdog buns and tortillas for supper. Showered (hair done tonight!!) and ready for bed. No TV so reading will be intertainment for us tonight!  Lexie is already under the covers asleep.
Only one funny pic tonight!! Rod started shedding clothes and discovered he had left one of the arms of his thermals out!! Lol He said he thought all day “why is my left arm cold?”  We have been wearing 3-4 layers everyday!! I’m ready for some warm weather!!!!!
Please continue to pray for our journey 3 maybe 4 days to Sanford!!!!!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod

2/21/17 Tuesday Georgetown, SC

HOME AGAIN!!!  We made it today in 10 hours from our anchorage south of Charleston. We pulled up anchor and left at 6:30am!! A dreary day of travel, we never saw the sun all day. A warm day for February 70 degrees!!
We pulled in and docked with the help of our dock master Chris Carroll ! He's just the best ever!! When you travel for 3 months you know what's good and what you have at home!! Lol Thanks Chris for taking care of our tour boat and having our dock ready for us when we arrived!!! I thought Lexie was going to leap off the boat to get to him when we arrived! Lol
It's been a great vacation and we have made lots of memories again this year. Ready now to get back to a normal routine and work! Tours begin in 2 weeks!
Thanks to all our faithful readers for keeping up with our daily adventures! And thanks for all the prayers for our safe journey!! We love you all!
Great to be home and we thank God for the opportunity to have made the trip south again!!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

Home!!!! Harborwalk Marina!!

A fresh paint job on our tour boat! She will be back to work soon!!! New lettering this week!!

Florida Bound 12.8.17 Hilton Head,SC.

6 am the clock goes off!!! I thought I was retired!!! Lol.  Travel on the water requires an early start so off we go again another day on the waterway. If I would copy and paste yesterday’s post it would be almost identical!  Ha.  The weather unchanged (still cold), rain all day, and cloudy! We have not seen the sun now in 2days. But I guess I should be grateful as I heard from my daughter Sherry today and it is raining huge flakes of frozen water in Charlotte and the I heard it was also doing the same in Durham, NC at my brothers. So I guess I should count my blessings!! Lol

We traveled 84 miles today (which is a good day at 8-10 MPH), and anchored around 4:30pm in Hilton Head,SC. in a cove called Skull Creek.  It is a little windy tonight as the wind is blowing at 10mph. We have a great anchor so we are holding tight!!

We had a great supper of baked BBQ pork chops, steamed broccoli, and a cherry tomato salad!! 

Rods working on his paper charts (he loves steadying them even though we have a computer navigation system ha). He has now predicted we will arrive in Sanford in 5 days, if all go as planned.

Supper dishes washed showered and jammies on already and it’s only 7pm!!! Lol  We may watch a movie or just read!! Thank the Lord for good internet as it does give us some intertainment at anchor!! Tomorrow will be another early day, and by weather prediction, the same as we have had the last 2 days. Oh well, sunny Florida is in my future!!! Hehe 

Judy and Wayne checked in on us today!! They beat us to Florida, from Michigan, by a few weeks!! See you guys soon!!

We thank you for all the prayers of safe travels!!   We love you all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod 

Here are a few pics I took of Rod and his pup Lexie!! Lol and of Lexie hogging the heater today!! Ha

Rod and his side kick Lexie 

Florida Bound 12.7.17 Charleston SC

When we woke up this morning around 7am it was pouring rain, just as the weatherman predicted, and it was cold!!! Looking at the tide schedule and knowing we needed some deep water down near McClellanville to be able to pass through, we decided to wait till around 9am to leave. It also gave us some time to go make one last visit to our dear friends Jim and June Ross.
We pulled away from the dock in Georgetown at 9:15am. Very cloudy, rain and yes still cold!! 54 degrees.
We traveled 8 1/2 hours and Never saw the sun once!! Lol and the temperature never got any warmer!! Thanks to several pairs of thermals and sweatshirts we stayed comfortable up on the bridge driving. Travel was good today we saw a total of 4 boats going down the waterway. Crossing Winyah Bay and the Charleston Bay we did not see one Boat!! I think everyone that was going south for the winter is already there!!
I planned on broiling some pork chops for supper, but a nice hot bowl of chicken noodle soup was decided on and it was a hit!! Nice and warm inside the boat and full bellies, we may not be long out of the bed!! ( I know it’s only 7:30pm hehe). Dishes are done and jammies on!! Lol
We plan on an early start tomorrow morning, up at 6am, and pulling up anchor by 7am or before if there is unough light for Rod to see! Ha
No pics to share tonight!! We had several dolphins swim with us, (Lexie was ecstatic), and several eagles were spotted, but I was not able to get any pics. I have posted pics of Charleston for the last 8 Years and decided there was nothing new to post! Ha
We anchored in our favorite spot just a few miles south of Charleston Harbor at Elliott Cut. A Quiet, safe cove for us to spend the night and know we will sleep well!!
Once again we were blessed with a safe travel day! Thanks sherry, Allie, Linda, Wanda, Glenda, and Norma for the emails and texts of safe travel prayers!!! We appreciate them all.
Please continue keep us in your prayers,  Love to you all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod