Trip Diary for April, 2006

Brunswick, GA; Apr. 1: Saturday morning started with a trip to the post office to intercept an express delivery that we had addressed to a business location that was unknowingly closed on the weekend; they obligingly held it for pickup upon arrival at 11:15 AM.  Having a car, we then drove to an ATM and visited places in town we had not yet seen, including a 600-yr. oak named the "Love Tree." We spent the afternoon doing laundry, taking advantage of the free machines offered at this marina, and maintenance on the boat.  For dinner, four AGLCA boat crews: Lola Marie, Etcetera, Pelican and Crazy Horse went to McGravey's Wee Pub.

Savannah; Apr. 2-6: We cast off Sunday just after sunrise at 7:20 AM (note: we switched to daylight time last night, so sunrise was 7:11) with high fog (the Sidney Lanier bridge was obscured) and light winds, leaving the shrimp fleet behind.  The plan was to anchor about 65 mi. north, at MM 620, in Walburg Creek adjacent to the west side of St. Catherine's Island.  Tide currents were favorable and swifter than anticipated, so we reached the creek's western entrance by 2:30 PM and decided that by running at cruise speed for half the remaining distance we could make Savannah; thus, we completed 95 mi. to the excellent Isle of Hope Marina at 5:15 PM, just before their 5:30 closing. This is a lovely marina and area, but the millions of tiny sand flies/fleas were something else!  Skin-So-Soft is the conventional wisdom repellent; it definitely improves the situation, but certainly not 100%.  They bite and the welts itch for days; their density peaks just before and after sunset. The Lexus loaner car was available at 8, so we had a late, excellent Mexican dinner at the popular Jalapeno's, about a mile from the marina.  Monday began with a short 4 mi. trip to AAA for maps and tour guides plus a stop at Piggly Wiggly for a few groceries as we prepared the boat to receive additional crew: Keith and Sharon Hawks from Battle Ground, IN.  They arrived about 5:30 in the 87 degree heat and we introduced them to Jalapenos.  We returned to the boat for updates on W. Lafayette happenings and to watch the Florida Gators dominate UCLA for the NCAA men's basketball championship.  Tuesday was much cooler (72 high); an ideal day to be Savannah tourists.  We drove to the historic district and took the Old Town Trolley tour bus with on-off privileges.  Our first stop was a delightful tour of the Owens-Thomas house.  We had planned lunch at The Lady & Sons, Paula Deen's famous food emporium, but failed to appreciate the demand.  Lunch seats were gone when we arrived at noon, so we went to Churchill's instead.  After walking the river front we returned to Paula's at 3 PM; a half-block line was seeking dinner slots which they began accepting at 3:30. It was 4 PM when we reached the hostess to obtain their earliest available reservation for 8:30 PM!  We returned at 8:15 to find we needed to stand for another hour to be seated.  The food was good, but hardly worth two hours of standing in lines.  Wednesday morning's low was 49!  After showers and a leisurely morning, we drove to Tybee Island, touring its lighthouse and Fort Screven. Following dinner at Jalapenos, Keith and Larry finished a 500-piece puzzle while Sharon read and Lola ironed.  We left at 8:15 Thursday for Enterprise to rent a car to take the Hawks' van to Beaufort, SC and leave it for tomorrow's boat trip to the AGLCA Rendezvous site.  On the way back, we diverted to Hilton Head, SC for a driving tour and lunch at the Harbor Town Quarterdeck followed by visits to its lighthouse and a few adjacent shops.  Upon leaving the island, we found Kilwin's ice cream. Returning to the boat, Larry grilled pork chops for dinner.

Beaufort, SC and the AGLCA Rendezvous; Apr. 7-13: We cast off Friday at 7:55 in beautiful, calm weather.  Keith piloted most of the 53 mi. to Beaufort Downtown Marina.  It was a delightful day on the water and we arrived at 2:40 PM.  There was plenty of time to washdown the boat before taking advantage of Hawk's van to go to dinner at Outback before a bit of grocery shopping.  We returned to a beautiful sunset and to work on a particularly difficult Disney puzzle.  After showering Saturday morning we took a good carriage tour of Beaufort.  Following the tour and lunch at Plum's, the women went shopping while the men soaked up local history at the Beaufort Arsenal Museum.  Everyone returned to the boat before major thunderstorms and wind moved in, as forecast, about 4 PM.  After working on the puzzle for a couple of hours, Lola and Sharon fixed an excellent "Paula Deen dinner" using her cookbook: meatloaf, mashed potatoes with cheese sauce, and corn.  Rain continued after dinner, so we stayed aboard and watched the DVD Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; ultimately 1.2 inches of rain fell.  Sunday began with 9 AM services at nearby Carternet United Methodist Church.  After returning to the boat to change clothes, we drove to Lady's Island for lunch at Barbara Jean's; then on to Hunting Island State Park and a tour of its abandoned lighthouse.  We returned to the boat to do laundry and work on the puzzle; a light dinner of cheese sandwiches was interspersed.  Monday morning continued the puzzle work and a bit of shopping.  After lunch at Wendy's and ice cream at Bruster's, Lola and Sharon helped at AGLCA registration while Larry and Keith installed replacement engine batteries.  The evening was devoted to the AGLCA dinner and program.  Upon returning to the boat we finally finished the puzzle!  Tuesday, Wednesday and, with the group picture and banquet on Thursday, were devoted to attending AGLCA activities.

On land in IN, IL, and MI; Apr. 14-30:  We left Beaufort at 5:50 Friday morning, with Keith driving straight through to arrive in Lafayette about 8 PM.  Saturday was consumed by unpacking, working up old mail, getting the dead car battery charged, and general re-entry activities.  We traveled to IL Easter Sunday in time to attend our home church with Larry's mother and visit with his family.  Monday thru Wednesday AM were devoted to doctor, dentist and optometrist appointments plus time on campus reviewing construction progress on Armstrong Hall of Engineering before presenting a program about our cruising adventures to the Lafayette Exchange Club.  We then drove to St. Joseph, MI for Larry's ASABE Foundation Trustees meeting thru Thursday.  We returned to W. Lafayette Friday afternoon, completing 1800 mi. within a week, in time for Larry to make a brief speech at the retirement banquet of Purdue colleague John Gaunt. Saturday Sandy and Klaus drove up from Indy for lunch.  Ken and Carolyn Spillman arrived from Manhattan, KS in the afternoon; they will take us back to Beaufort next week.  Sunday we attended St. Andrews UMC in West Lafayette, and then Larry installed upgraded DSL and wireless services that had changed during our 5-month absence.  Monday morning was packing time for tomorrow's departure.  In the afternoon Lola took clothing to the Wesley Thrift Shop in Crawfordsville while Larry returned to the dentist to have an old filling replaced.  After a brief stop by the College of Agriculture with Spillman's Tuesday morning, we began our slow journey back to Beaufort by first stopping in Indianapolis for lunch with daughter Sandra and Lola's final doctor's appointment; then it was on to the Old Spaghetti Factory in Louisville for dinner and then to Lexington for the night.  Wednesday we continued to delightful Gatlinburg, TN, spending the afternoon and evening shopping and enjoying another Kilwin's.  Thursday we drove slowly through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, stopping frequently to enjoy its spectacular beauty. We stopped just east of the park in Cherokee, NC  and enjoyed dinner with an evening at Harrah's.  Friday AM we continued to Asheville, NC, arriving for lunch at the "upscale" McDonald's (our first McD's with a player grand piano in its dining area!) outside Biltmore Estate.  We toured this incredible estate until 6:30 PM, with a final obligatory stop at its winery. After Biltmore, we drove an additional 70 mi. to Duncan, NC for lodging.  Saturday we covered the 230 mi. to Beaufort by 4 PM; the Lola Marie was just as we left her 2 weeks before except for significant additional bottom growth.  After church Sunday, we returned to the boat to fully unpack and recuperate from our intense, 2700 mi. home trip.  Other than a brief trip to have Lola's nails refurbished (with a stop at the nearby Bruster's Ice Cream) we were aboard all day; dinner was delicious Tortellini soup and apple salad!

Water miles traveled this month: only 149 (total 4511).

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