4,17,18 Santee River Georgetown, SC

We unhooked from the mooring ball in south Beaufort at 6:50am this morning and headed toward home. We figured we would anchor tonight in Charleston. We had a good tide pushing us most of the day and arrived in Charleston at 1:45pm. Just to early to stop so we kept going and we were so glad as the Charleston Bay was incredibly smooth and we were across in about an hour. We then decided to push on and make it to Santee river just short of being home. We traveled the longest day ever in all of our years of traveling up and down this waterway, 115 miles!!!!! That’s 12 hours and 15 mins of traveling!! I kept Rod fed and watered all day!! Lol.  He was tired when we anchored at 7:15pm. I had fixed supper and he ate while he drove. We sat on the back deck and watched the most beautiful sunset ever!!! We talked about this was the last sunset we would see on our boat Sursum Corda!! Our last voyage!!!! Excited about new adventures but sad to let her go!!! She has been a great home for us for 9 years!! And has given us many great trips south to Florida and the Keys!! She is officially up for sale!!! A new chapter begins in our life!! I know God has a plan!!!

We will be in our docking slip in Georgetown by noon tomorrow!! It’s been an incredible first 6 months of retirement!! We feel so blessed!!!

Thanks to everyone for reading my blog!! And especially thanks for all the safe traveling prayers, they have all been felt and we know without a doubt God has been present with us every mile of our journeys!! We have made lots of new friends and treasure them all. 

We love you all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod 

Our beautiful last sunset aboard SursumCorda

Lexie is a great traveling pup!!

She knows she is not suppose to lay on this table, but daddy’s jacket was to tempting!!

4.16.17 Monday Beaufort, SC

We got up this morning and prepared for the task of getting out of this slip at Isla of Hope Marina. As I posted the other day it was an easy task for Rod to get us in here but getting out will be quite different as now we have 25-30 mph winds to work against. And we are having to back out of here!!

At 10am the extra boys arrived, 3 of them got on the boat with us and 2 stayed in the dock to assist us  bringing the boys back to the docks. 

Rod could not have done better considering what wind he had to battle. The boys on our boat had fenders ready to put in between us anytime we would get close to hitting another boat!! They were fabulous and we got out in about 3 mins!! Rubbed one Boat but no damage was done. It was a small bump!! Lol

We pulled up to outside docks dropped off the boys!  All was good!! I called in an order to the closest Papa Johns and sent them a large pizza for their lunch to say Thank You!!! They called and said they enjoyed very much!!😀 it was the least we could do as we could not have done it with out their help! 

We travelled all day in 30 mph winds!!!! After about 9 hours and 54 miles of still fighting the high wind, we arrived at Beaufort City Marina and got a mooring ball to hook up to for the night! 

Ready for a good nights sleep!!!  God has been with us the whole trip!! 

Hope to arrive home on Wednesday mid day if all continues to go well!  Weather is improving and winds are dieing down this afternoon!!

Much love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod 

4.15.18 Sunday Isle of Hope Marina Savannah, Ga

Well they found a spot for us to be able to stay another night but Capn Rod had to squeeze in between two rows of big boats!!! Exciting 10 mins but he did it wilthout any problems!! Hanging out here to day planning to leave tomorrow morning!!
The thunderstorms and pouring rain began about 3pm as the weatherman promised!! Me, I spent 2 hours in the bedroom downstairs keeping Lexie calm. The thunder finally stopped and she them slept for 2 more hours recovering from her panic attack. It continued to rain till about 9pm. Tomorrow is predicted to be sunny and we plan to leave here by 10am. That’s when the tide is best for getting out of the slip.  The dock hands will come and assist Rod getting out of this tiny slot we are parked in. I hope we get out as easy as Rod got us in here!!
I’ll let you know tomorrow night!! Lol
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod

4.14.18 Saturday. Isle of Hope Marina

We woke early this morning and ready to pull away from the dock at Jekyll Island by 7am.  The tide was rising so it was very much in our favor and made for good travel time.
A beautiful morning and was looking to be a great day, BUT after we checked the weather for the next few days we found out Saturday night into Sunday was to bring us severe thunderstorms and wind gust at 35 MPH !!   Believe me that is not good weather to be anchoring out on water. So we made an executive decision and decided to push and get to Isle of Hope marina just south of Savannah, Ga. 10 hours and 100 miles plus the fact we had to go through a place called Hell Gate!! It’s only about a 1/4 of a mile through there but at low tide the water depth is 12 inches!!! Now just to let you know we must have 4 ft under our boat!!! We arrived at Hell Gate about 3:30pm along with 4 others sitting there waiting for the tide to come up enough for boats to go across. About an hour and one of the boats decided to go for it!! He reported to the rest of us that he had 3 1/2 ft under his boat. We waited about another 15 mins and Rod decided to go for it as the tide was rising pretty fast!! Talk about holding your breath!!! We had right at 4 ft as we went through!!! Whew!!!! What an anxious 10 mins of floating across what could at any min stop you in your tracks!!!!! We thanked God for getting us through safely and said to each other, that’s the last time we will be going through that!!! Lol
We arrived at Isle of Hope and they informed us they were checking with all their reservations to confirm but as of now we can not stay tomorrow night. They have everything booked up Sunday night. The Mgr Chris said to check in tomorrow morning at 10am and he would see if anyone had cancelled. So we are going to bed tonight praying we have a slip to stay in here tomorrow night as well. Sunday is predicted to be very bad weather.  If we have to go to plan B we will go into Savannah as the city dock there is fairly safe during bad weather. It will be better than out on an anchor somewhere. God has always provided us a safe haven during storms, and He will for us this time as well!
Please pray our safety and all the boaters here the next 2 days!!
Love to everyone!!! Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod
Sorry no pics today!! We had dolphins swimming with us once today but they did not stay long enough to get pics!!😢. Lexie was thrilled beyond belief!!!

4.Friday the 13th 2018 !!! Jekyll Island Marina, Ga

Oh man Friday the 13th!! Well I am not superstitious!! Lol
We only traveled about 22 miles this morning and arrived at the marina in Jekyll Island! It was a planned stop for us to get out and enjoy some bike riding and sight seeing!! Just need to get off on land for a while!! Lol. And so did Lexie!! She has very much enjoyed her walking and some serious grass time Ha!!
We docked and fueled up the boat around 9:30 am and spent the rest of the day riding around the island. Visited several of the shops in the new historic area, then rode 5-6 miles through the old plantation homes and villages. We have been here before but very much enjoyed seeing it again.
We returned to the boat and gave Lexie another nice long walk, showered, both of us got all gussied up and went to the marina restaurant for a fabulous fresh seafood dinner!! Rod had Shrimp and Grits!! I had grilled Georgia Shrimp with new potatoes and a salad!! Boy was it good!!
Since we are hooked up to power here at the marina I washed 2 loads of clothes as well!!
It’s been a good day!! We have estaimated to arrive in Georgetown by Tuesday mid day! So we have 3 more anchor nights ahead.
Please continue to pray for a safe journey home!!
Much love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod

Sunset last night

Sunrise this morning

Selfies at the marina

4.12.18 Thursday Delaroche River Fla

Boy was we glad to get out of this place!!! Not an enjoyable place to be and I was bored stuck on the boat for 2 days!! Ha. But all is well with the generator and off we go again!! We had a great day of travel 84 miles total !! We had the tide against us for several hours where we really had to watch our depth gauge at Kingsley creek. Thanks to the last hurricane and of course the low tide we bumped the bottom once and that is the scariest feeling you can have in a boat!!!  Jacksonville was a great sight to see as now we are out of the St John’s River and headed north on the waterway.  It was a beautiful sunny day!!!
We found a place just before the St Andrews Sound to anchor for the night.
We enjoyed a beautiful sunset (I sure hope I can post a pic) and settled in for the night!!
Jekyll Island tomorrow!!!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod
Here are some pics from green cove!

Off to get parts

Thanks Davidson Marine

4.11.18 Wednesday Green Cove Springs Fla

Well here we are one more day in the rather dump of a place to stay!!! Lol it’s not really a marina it’s a boatyard for repairs. So ther is junk everywhere!! As it is I stayed aboard the boat all day. We are hooked to a mooring ball out in the cove, so I felt pretty safe while Rod was gone into town to pick up the needed water pump for our generator. You know Rod he made sure my gun was close by me and easily assessable if needed!! Ha

While he was gone for 2 hours I cleaned our bathroom and bedroom, cleaned the kitchen and picked up and put things in place!! What else can you do without any power!! Ha 

The sun was out and beautiful today so I spent a big part of the morning on the back deck reading. Rod did boil water on the propane grill and made me some instant hot chocolate. Not had coffee for the last 2 mornings!! But I will tomorrow!!! The part we ordered did not arrive until 1:30. Rod had went downtown to the part store where it was to be delivered around 11am. He enjoyed the time with the owner of the store. 

He surprised me with a ham,chicken, and roast beef sub from a deli he found on the way back Larry’s Giant Subs!!  That puppy filled us both up!!! Lol

In right at 1 hour generator was purring like a kitten!!  Power is a necessity of life!! Ha

I made spaghetti for supper!!! Yummy!!!!

Just to late to start out this evening (although Rod was ready to go) we relaxed after supper other than getting the bike and dinghy loaded back on the boat. Dishes washed and now ready for bed. 

Lexie had a good day but kept wondering why the dinghy was leaving and she was not on it!!! Lol

She thinks if the dinghy leaves it is for her and her only! Ha

Overall it was a good day and I’m thankful for my great mechanic!!  

We plan to leave here 6:30am. Plans are to make it to Fernandino Beach to anchor,tomorrow,(Thursday) night..

Please continue to pray for a safe journey for us!! 

Love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod 

I’ll try and get pics to load tomorrow!!😢 I can’t get them to download!!!😝

4.10.18 Tuesday Green Cove Springs Fla

WOW!!! What a day!!! We had thunder, lightning, and horrid rain all night last night and constant rain all day today!!! We made the call to the marina here at Green Cive Springs and they ordered the water pump we need for our generator. Bad news is it won’t be in till tomorrow around noon.
We arrived at the marina at 4:30 pm and hooked onto a mooring ball (which was all they had available) which means we still have no way to cook without a generator. Rod decided to cook a pizza on our propane grill!!! Hey not to bad!!!  It was a little crispy on the bottom but over all a good, at least hot, meal!! I really didn’t want chicken salad again!! I made some yesterday and had enough left for supper tonight if we had to, lol
All the storms last night and Lexie’s fear of the storms we did not get any sleep last night. She made up for it today by sleeping most of the day but we did not! Ha. But believe it or not she is back in bed with me sleep again at 8pm!! Lol
We took the dinghy over to the marina this afternoon and she got to take a good long walk and a good chance to poop on real grass. She much prefers grass to the potty patch on the boat!!
Weather is suppose to be much better tomorrow and the weather man says a sunny day!!! Yeah!!!
We will hang out here till out parts arrive. Rod will be the mechanic and repair the generator so a good supper tomorrow night!!! It will be late so we will wait and pull out and head north again Thursday morning!!
Ok so it’s 8:30pm but I’m going to bed!!!! It’s been a long day with no sleep last night!!
Please continue to pray for our journey!!
Much love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod
Here are some pics I could not post yesterday!!

4.9.18 Monday Anchored at Silver Glen Springs Fla

We untied the boat at 7:15 this morning and pulled out of Monroe Harbor Marina. We left many good friends we have so enjoyed spending time with the last 4 months. Not to mention we had to say goodbye to Paula and Jim our BBFs here. We traveled 49 miles today as we figured this was our last trip south in the boat and we wanted to stop at Silver Glen Springs and take the dinghy, aka Lexie’s Limo, over and see the manatee. We had to wait almost 2 hours for the severe storms to pass before we could go. And guess what???? NO MANATEE!! I was disappointed but the view up the springs was still well worth the trip. And Lexie really enjoyed the ride as well!! Lol
We got back to the boat and reloaded the dinghy and decided to cook supper!! BUT NO!!! Our generator decided, out to the blue, to quit working!!!  So we had to heat up supper on the propane grill!! But at least we got to eat! Ha
We found a place on the Internet about 10 miles up the river that we can call in the morning and get a part delivered to a marina there near by. Pray they have a water pump in stock!!! Bless it’s heart it has struggled working for a while I guess it will need a good overhaul when we get home.
Lexie had a good day till the storms came then her and I went below deck to the bedroom where she could hide in the laundry basket (her safe place during storms) and all was good!! She was happy as a lark and ready for the dinghy ride when the storm passed. Lol
We still expect more rain tonight but just showers. Thank goodness to thunder! Ha
Resting up, early to bed, as we will be up and traveling by 7am.
It’s been a good day overall!!
Pray for the health of our home and safe travels for us!!
We love you all!! Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod
So sorry I can’t post pics!! I took some great ones when we rode the dinghy today 😢

4/8/18 Sunday Last day Sanford Fla

This has been a wonderful 4 month stay here in Sanford Fla!!! But we are now ready to ride again!! Headed home to Georgetown, SC.
Rods boat captain job didn’t pan out like he had hoped as the tour company just could not put a captains salary into their budget. They really had a rough time the last few months with some expensive Boat repairs. So instead he keep busy doing much needed repairs on our home boat. Now it will be ready to sell when we get home!!!!
Don’t kid yourself we had lots of play time as well!!! As you can see from my last post Rods cousin Mark and his wife Wanda delivered our truck to us January 9th. We have played tourist a lot!! Lol
We are really loving retirement!! We have had visitors, which was wonderful!! Mark and Wanda have been twice, my friends from Bristol, John and Linda Maiden came for a few days, and church friends Charles and Janice Evans came and spent the day with us!!
We have made some great new friends here at the marina!! It’s been a blast spending time with them!! Not to mention many great days with our BBFs (Jim & Paula Spence). Thanks guys for all the great times, good food, UNO, Yatchzee games, and transportation (when we did not have our truck). And most of all our treasured friendship!! We love you guys!!!! It’s not goodbye just see you later!!
We are all ready to pull away from the dock here at Monroe Harbor Marina at 7am tomorrow morning (1/9/18).  It will take us a week to 10days to arrive home as we plan to stop at a few places not seen before (which is not many). We looked at the tide schedule a few days ago and the tides will NOT be in our favor on the trip back up the waterway. So that will slow us down some as well.
As we always say It’s the journey not the trip!! Lol
I’ll be posting daily!! Please pray for our journey home!!!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Cap’n Rod
Blog still won’t let me post manypics!!! I’ll keep trying!!

Here is The Barbara Lee!! Rod was sorry he never got to drive!!

 

Fresh squeezed orange juice from Paula and Jim’s tree