Here is a long-overdue update. It seems that we've been busy traveling, and that I've been feeling a bit like there's not that much that's new. But as I read the last post, it seems that there is a LOT that's new.

First, we had a great time in Elizabeth City. The strange thing was that the city goes WAY OUT OF THEIR WAY to attract cruising boaters to stay and enjoy this cute little town. It's an old town, and its primary resources were cotton processing, timber, some food crops, and tobaccao. Then, times changed, and they need Tourism to survive. So, they have 14 FREE slips available and a FREE Happy Hour every day! There is a group called the ROSE BUDDIES who come down to the town docks at 1630 every day, and give out roses to cruisers who come in. The Mayor comes to the Visitors Center, where there's free beer and wine, cheese and munchies, and tells us what's available for our entertainment: restaurants, the Albemarle Museum, the free ride to the grocery store, the local winery, etc. The mayor is a live wire, and so energetic. I spoke with him for half an hour, and the next day when he saw me on the street he came right over to say hello, and to ask if we'd had a good time. WOW!

After three nights on the hook, we took a marina slip for a night and did laundry, took hot showers and took a break from the frosty dinghy rides. It's colder than anyone can remember at this time of year. We met some of the cruisers from the Dismal Swamp Canal at the second Happy Hour. Yes, you can go every night if you like.

We finally push on, and head toward the Alligator River - one of ten boats heading down. There is lively chatter on the VHF radio, and we begin to feel like we know some of the folks on the other boats. The Alligator River area is a huge preserve of wild, open land, and swamps. We glide through, seeing no houses, no roads, no telephone poles: only birds, and forests.

Through the Pungo River, across the Pamlico River, to Bear Creek, where we anchor of the night. We feel isolated, except for the radio messages now and then. No internet, no cell phone, only the occassional radio contact with fellow cruisers.

On and on, we head down the ICW toward Morehead City. We arrive late in the day, and anchor off the main channel. We miss Beaufort, where there is a huge anchorage, but we're happy to make best time South.

We finally make it to Charelston, S.C. What a beautiful city. We anchor out, and dinghy in with our bikes. We spend 6 days here, touring and just hanging out. The Charleston Museum is one of the oldest in the country. We spend half a day there. We dine in a great French restaurant (Rue de Jean) and stop in a good bike shop. Roy bikes to the top of the bridge, and gets some pix of the harbor. Bertha takes a tour of the Magnolia Plantation. We do laundry and grocery shopping, and get our house in order. We aslo take a Grayline Tour of the city and see some of the great old architecture, the ironwork, and the ramparts of Fort Sumter.

Then, we finally pull anchor and sail out into the Atlantic Ocean, bound for Hilton Head. A falling tide sucks us out the channel at 10 knots! We wave to Fort Sumter as we zip by, and then, the ocean swell begins. A West wind gives us a good push, and we sail under Jib 'n Jigger, but the swell on the quarter is somewhat sickening. As night falls, the wind picks up, but swings around to SW and the wave action aslo rises, and we find we have to tack in order to make any progress. The night is clear and cold, as we press on. The moon rises yellow and weird around 0100. We press on and around dawn we near the entrance to Port Royal Sound. We drop sails and motor up the long channel. It's hard to find the marks in the dark, but as the morning light increases, we feel safe and sound. We motor into Skull Creek, and drop the hook. Tired and happy, we hit the sack.

After a couple of days, we motor over to Broad Creek where we meet Guy and Laurine from "Tradition", a Whitby 42 from Marion. We enjoy the re-union, hear stories and have supper at Captain Woodies. They are leaving the next day after a 16 day stay. We, put our bikes ashore and spend two days biking Hilton Head Island. It's beautiful, but more built up than we would like. Nights are cold, though, and the outdoor restaurants all have gas heaters going.

And finally, we head out motoring and motor-sailing to St. Mary's for Thanksgiving. We arrive a couple of days early, and enjoy the warmer weather. It's still cold at night, but we're learning to cope with it. We meet some young folks who have sold their house, cars, etc, and are on a five year cruise. They almost dragged anchor down onto us in Charleston, and we didn't know who they were at the time. We had a good laugh over it, now that the panic of that night is just a memory.

Thanksgiving with cruisers is truly remarkable. We all showed up at Seagle's Saloon with dishes cooked on our boats. Bertha made Pumpkin Pie. The town supplies the turkey (18 of them) and we had more than we could eat. We met folks from England and Canada, and made plans for the crossing to the Bahamas. Folks with experience shared tips, and we soaked up as much knowledge as we could. There is a lot to learn.

Later we called home and caught up with family. Tomorrow we enter Florida!