Trekking with Tide Hiker

On to the East Coast Boat Shows.....................

2012-01-14T18:03:00.000-05:00

Tide Hiker is now for sale by owner. For a full description and photo gallery, please go to http://tidehikerforsale.blogspot.com

Unfortunately, our delay at Dog River and weather-related delays in Florida's panhandle prevented us from joining friends for Thanksgiving (bummer) and being in St Petersburg in time for their annual boat show. But, we have more plans to expose Tide Hiker to the buying public. First stop, Stuart, FL. If you would like to see our route from St Pete to Stuart, Florida down the west coast, through the Okeechobee Waterway and Lake Okeechobee, check out the link below.

St Petersburg FL to Stuart FL

Our cruise down the west coast was rewarded with a dinner and breakfast with our friends Roger and Lisa in Cape Coral (FT Myers area). Vicki and Norm were still suffering from colds, so we stayed on the boat that night rather than enjoy the Cicconi's wonderful invitation to "sleep over". When you are not well, your own bed is best. We were in town less than 24 hours, but we made the most of our time there. Sorry, we did not take any pictures.

Roger picked us up at the marina in his runabout. We boated over to his and Lisa's house which is situated on one of the many canals in Cape Coral. We had a few pops; and when Lisa came home from work, we were off to dinner, laughs, good wine, laughs and more laughs. Then, after a restful night's sleep, we were again escorted to a great Italian restaurant with a fantastic menu and array of breakfast specials. Ummmmmmm. It was a quick visit, but we had to push on to Stuart in time for the Boat Show. And, we had to beat some predicted nasty weather mid week. Our timing worked out great and we arrived in Stuart as planned.

Beautiful day crossing Lake Okeechobee

Even though we were not allowed to enter Tide Hiker in the show (limited to broker boats only), we wanted to get some exposure from the "buying public" that will be attending the show. One of the tactics Vicki thought up was to stand outside of the show entrance with a sign directing folks to our marina and Tide Hiker. Well, she was soon kicked out of the entrance by show officials. So, she moved to outside our marina on one of the roads going to the show and where the parking shuttle passes. So far, she has given out a dozen or so "sell sheets" to interested show-goers; and, we had one prospect take a long tour. He's from Finland and wants to show the boat to his wife next month. Cross your fingers!!!

Vicki, "working the corner"

Vicki's avoiding the authorities while "working the corner". Norm's sprucing up the engine room; and, remaining available for tours and calls. Lot's of folks are "walking the docks" and may want to inquire about Tide Hiker. Cross your fingers!!!

As good fortune would have it, there are other DeFever Cruisers here at Sunset Bay Marina. Our good friends Joe and Julia aboard Sea Pearl and Nelson Hallman aboard Isolde are here. Also, Steve and Di aboard Aurora live in Stuart and will be by to visit.

The gang at Sailor's Return Bar (Nelson taking the pic)

Well, that's it for now. We'll be back later with an update on the rest of the boat shows and our other kooky activities.

Finally, St Petersburg, FL..............

2011-12-13T14:03:00.000-05:00

Tide Hiker is now for sale by owner. For a full description and photo gallery, please go to http://tidehikerforsale.blogspot.com

Season's Greetings to our loyal blog readers. Nice to be back with you. Please forgive us in this holiday season. We know that we've been amiss at keeping the blog up to date. So here goes...

We had intended to be in St Pete before Thanksgiving to enjoy a holiday meal with our friends, the Cicconi's. Bummer......that did not happen. We arrived in Dog River Marina on time for some scheduled maintenance which we were told would be completed in 2 weeks. Then the skies broke, rain fell and winds accelerated. Our promised 2-weeks "on the hard" (this is when the boat is hauled out of the water and situated on ground to facilitate the work) turned out to be 1 month. That set us back considerably, but we still thought we could wisk on over to St Pete in time. Bummer......that did not happen.

Maintenance included new cutless bearings, bottom paint and spider crack repair.

Here, Tide Hiker is drapped for painting the spider crack repairs.

We were most fortunate to have met up with Bill and Charolette Rudy. They were also at Dog River for some maintenance. We all took a break one night and splurged at a great seafood restaurant downtown Mobile.

Tradesmen doing their thing "prettying up" Tide Hiker. Work's almost done here and wax is being applied.

We also rented a car and drove over to Pensacola Naval Air Station to see the Blue Angles' final 2011 show. It was fantastic. Here's Norm in front of one of the birds they use. If you are interested in more pics, including some video, just let us know and we'll send separately.

Work's done, time to get underway. The weather did not improve much and we had to pick out the very few good cruise days just to get to Carrabelle at the top of Florida's Panhandle. There we waited longer for the right crossing day. That day finally came and we got underway in forcasted 1-2 foot seas. We did cross, but not in 1-2 footers. They were more like 3-5's. Arrived safely in Steinhatchee plus three additional days to Cedar Key, Tarpon Springs and finally into St Pete. Many folks cross directly from Panama City or Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs. We were tempted, but good thing we decided to take the safer route around the panhandle. Coping with 3-5 footers for 24 hours in the pitch black of night would not have been fun. Here's a look at what we saw from the pilothouse.

Click here to see our route from Mobile to St Pete

Shortly after arriving in St Pete, our friend John Van Vliet visited us from Phoenix. We had a great time exploring St Pete (again, for Vicki and Norm; but, first time for John). As usual, lots of laughs, looks and liquor for John and Norm. Vicki was on her good behavior.

Norm, Vicki and John at Sandbar Bills Grille on St Pete Beach. The hamburgers were awesome.

Vicki never passes on a Farmer's Market. And, St Pete's is by far the best we've ever been to. Live music, food and, oh yes, farmer's produce. You can see by her coat it was a bit chilly that day.

Vicki's mom arrives tomorrow for another visit. She loves the boat!!

More later..........

Socks? Jeans? Closed-toe shoes? Electric Blanket? Goin South!!

2011-11-03T19:41:00.000-04:00

Tide Hiker is now for sale by owner. For a full description and photo gallery, please go to http://tidehikerforsale.blogspot.com

In this issue:

Brrrrrrrrr
Summer Cruising Statistics

Vicki put the electric blanket on the bed the other night because it was forecast to be in the 30's and we were not going to be in a marina for shore power. This low-amp blanket works great on the inverter. Well, it never got below mid 40's and the blanket never got turned on. The mornings are crisp however and we broke a panel in the bridge see-through curtains trying to roll it up. Oh well, another task for the Dog River Boat Yard when we get there. The point here is that it's time to push it a bit getting south. It never got above 62 the other day. Frigid!! The good news is that the sunny cool days makes for great scenic cruising, lower engine room temps and hot soup/chili for lunch.

We happily caught up with Life's-2-Short in Demopolis, AL. It just so happened that a dock party was scheduled that night. Soooooo, yes, we had to partake and continue the festivities with Todd and Brenda at a local Mexican restaurant where the margarita's were again served by the pitcher. Very important though, they delivered to us that magic elixir only known in these parts. We ordered it a while back and they were glad to get it to us.

Todd and Brenda delivered this mystery drink we ordered. The first person to e-mail his/her guess as to what it is, gets some for Christmas.

It was on to Bobby's Fish Camp. We arrived early after a short day cruise from Demopolis. Why would we run such a short day? Why stay in the frigid 60-degree days instead of steaming south? Well, if you have been one of our followers, you know that we missed Bobby's fried catfish on the upstream cruise. They are only open Thursday-Saturday. Unfortunately, this was Tuesday. What's one to do? We learned in the last 4 months that Laura will open the restaurant and cook if enough boats stop there. So, we waited..................

As it turned out, the dock was full with three boats (small dock) and Laura opened the restaurant. It was a fried catfish, hush puppies, fries party. Yummy!! Norm took two of his cholesterol-lowering meds that night.

We all wanted to shove off early the next morning; but, FOG arrived as it had for the past 3-4 days and we were delayed a couple of hours. We did make it through the last lock that morning and Oh, Oh.....we're back in salt water and tidal currents. After a restful night at anchor in the Alabama River Cut-Off, we arrived Dog River Boat Yard, Mobile, AL. We'll remain here for a couple of weeks for some cosmetic fixes, some scheduled preventative maintenance and of course, repair of the bridge curtain.

Lucky us, we found some friends here. Pete and Linda on Carina, whom we have come to know as we cruised south; and, Bill and Charlotte on Omega, fellow DeFever friends. Is another party brewing?

We are hoping to arrive St Pete mid-November. Stay tuned!!

Here are some summer cruise statistics:

Number of TVA locks passed through from Gulf to Knoxville and return: 38
Number of miles from Gulf to Knoxville and return: 1700
Elevation change from sea level to Knoxville (made possible by TVA locks): 850 Ft.
Biggest lock up/down: 93 Ft
Best city visited: Chattanooga, TN
Best memories: Discovering Chattanooga, Civil War history and the Trail of Tears; Underground Bluegrass in Cumberland Caverns; Hiking the Smokies with the Wilson's; Visitors aboard (Tierney's, Lanning's and Mom Cooper), Dancing Bear; 60,000 Bats! (If this sounds confusing, just go back and read the blog)
Want to see our route? Click on this: Knoxville, TN -to- Mobile, AL

60,000 gray bats. Music video shoot. The "Iceman", and more..........

2011-10-17T11:12:00.000-04:00

Tide Hiker is now for sale by owner. For a full description and photo gallery, please go to
DeFever 49' Raised Pilothouse (Plan B) For Sale

In this issue....

Street dancing lessons in North Chattanooga,
Good bye Chattanooga and Tennessee River. Hello, Tennessee-Tombigby Waterway
Sixty thousand gray bats,
Dancing Bear in a professional music video shoot,
The "Iceman" cometh.

After three great cruise days, we arrived Pickwick Lake. Pickwick is at the top of the Tennessee-Tombigby Waterway and the junction with the Tennessee River. We'll be here in Aqua Yacht Harbor for a few days, then continue our route south to Mobile, AL and the Gulf of Mexico. We've cruised downstream about 400 miles, through three states and decended about 400 ft in elevation since departing Ft Loudoun. As you know, Vicki's mom, Avie, cruised with us from Chattanooga, TN to Guntersville, AL. Avie anchored with us in some beautiful coves, watched 60,000 gray bats emerging from their cave, and whipped us at canasta. But, all good things must come to an end and Avie had to go home. After all, we needed some rest. After dropping Avie off at the Huntsville, AL airport, Vicki and I went on to Birmingham, AL to tour the Civil Rights Institute and Museum. We also received word that Todd and Brenda aboard Life's 2 Short will be in town and another party was in the making, including participating in a professional music video shoot at their friends, "The Iceman's", palace on Pickwick Lake. Here's the picture-story of these awesome events.

Vicki and Avie always wanted to work in a "Gentleman's Club". So, in downtown Chattanooga, they put on a frustrated public display of...well...........

Vicki and Avie on the pedestrian bridge overlooking North Chattanooga and the moored Delta Queen river boat hotel and restaurant.

Imbedded in the sidewalks of North Chattanooga are metalic feet in the formation of dance steps. There are several on both sides of the main street. Here, Vicki and Avie demonstrate the tango to a couple of passers-by.

Just another photo opportunity of Vicki and her mom, Avie at the downtown Chattanooga Three Sister's Bluegrass Festival. It was a bit chilly that day, with strong winds blowing off the river.

We departed Chattanooga, TN and cruised to Guntersville, AL, with a stop in Goose Pond Colony Marina. Avie treated us to a great meal at the restaurant on-site. Avie ordered the crab leg special. Those farm girls sure have a great appetite.

We anchored in a beautiful cove not far from Guntersville and dinghy'd over to a well known endangered Gray Bat Cave. Here, we're hustling to the cave to watch the bats emerge after sunset.

We got to the cave just before dark and anchored about 20-ft off the mouth of the cave and waited.

Actually, we opened a bottle of wine and some snacks and giggly waited. We told scary goulish stories and Vicki got scared. Later, darkness fell upon the earth. We were nervously awaiting the emergence of VAMPIRES? BLOOD-SUCKING GOULS? We didn't know. The wine was working on us. Then, Then, they came!!!

Ooooooooooo!!

We departed the next day and returned to Guntersville. We drove Avie to the Huntsville, AL airport and after seeing that she was safely checked in and her luggage was secure, we drove to Birmingham, AL. Vicki wanted to visit the Civil Rights Institute and Museum there.

Vicki with MLK

We proceeded East on the Tennessee River to Pickwick Lake and the junction with the Tennessee-Tombigby Waterway, our route south to Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. But Mobile Bay is about 450 miles further so we'll be making many stops. The first was Aqua Yacht Harbor where we plan to spend a couple of weeks. Not long after arriving at Aqua Yacht Harbor, we got a call from Todd and Brenda, aboard Life's 2 Short. They were driving up from Demopolis, AL and would be in the Pickwick Lake area for a couple of days. So, on Friday, they stopped by Tide Hiker for a few "pop's" and we got caught up. Before departing, they asked us if we wanted to participate in a professional music video being shot at a friends home the next day. We jumped at the chance and couldn't wait till Saturday.

Here's Todd (in the green apron) and a helper "pulling the pork" as it were.

After a couple of ice cold Miller Lite's, it got a little crazy.

Todd and Brenda are selling their boat "Life's 2 Short" and moving ashore after 6 years. We'll miss you guys and hope we always stay in touch. Good luck and LOL.

The music video was performed by the country music singer Jay Stone and was shot at the home of Bud, alias "The Iceman". The release we signed prevents us from displaying the shoot here. The Iceman gets that name because he cruises on Pickwick Lake all summer on his Sea Doo with a cooler of beer. The ice melts and the beer gets warm. So, Bud accepts donations of ice from anyone and everyone to "save" the beer. Hence, the "Iceman". Actually, The Iceman is a legend on the lake. Most important, Bud is a really nice guy, a generous spirit and a good friend to Todd and Brenda. He welcomed us with open arms. Thanks Bud for a great time.

40's At Night. Time to aim the pointy end south...

2011-10-03T19:31:00.001-04:00

After a few restful nights anchoring in the scenic foothills of the Smokies, we rejoined the "father river"- and began our long trek back west and south. We're currently back in Chattanooga. Vicki's mom, Avie, is here with us. She'll cruise with us to Guntersville, AL. But first, let us catch you up on our whereabouts and activities since "Dancing Bear" melded with Tennessee's Native Americans.

First, knowing that Norm is a bluegrass music fan, Vicki set up a surprise. She purchased tickets to a "Bluegrass Underground" concert 300' deep in the Cumberland Caverns. We got into the car and drove 1.5 hours from Chattanooga to the Caverns. Norm was ecstatic.

Here's Vicki entering the caverns--an old illegal hiding place for a still

A huge screen behind the stage welcomes everyone to the caverns

This "room" is 300 feet below the surface inside the caverns

This is the "Spirit Family Reunion". Guess where they are from---Brooklyn!!

A few days later, Avie arrive in Chattanooga. We visited the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel and Museum. Here's Avie engineering the Choo Choo.

Vicki and Avie at the Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival. Sorry, our video's of this event on Norm's phone did not turn out well. All in all, the festival was, well, super awesome!!

The Delta Queen paddleboat is moored in Chattagooga. It's a hotel, a restaurant and a bar. Lots of fun.

We also watched the hot air balloons on the north side of the river. Awesome!!

We'll close off todays post with this pic of Vicki and Avie at the Chattanooga Choo Choo.

See ya, next post. Hope all is well. We depart tomorrow from our summer home for our winter home.

Little Tennessee River, Part II

2011-09-13T13:49:00.000-04:00

As luck would have it, the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, located a short distance from Fort Loudoun, was holding its annual celebration. Sequoyah, was a Cherokee who was pushed out of the tribe for being partially disabled and thought to be a bit "slow". Well, it turned out that he was brilliant, and invented the Cherokee Nation's first alphabet. His legacy is memorialized every year and it just so happened to be occuring when we were there. In the video above, Vicki was invited to enjoy the Bear dance with local Native Americans. Norm's ("One Who Shines On Top") little squaw ("Dancing Bear") did pretty good!!

We departed Fort Loudoun and continued upstream on Tellico Lake close to the last dam on the river. We anchored in a great place with a great view of the smokies and "painted" (weathered) bluffs. Up here on the Tellico, there is a volunteer boating assistance program. We can call 911 and get help if needed. Here's one of their signs.

Boaters answer to the 911 emergency call

There's a motorcycle route that only motorcyclists are aware of. It's called the "Dragon" and we stumbled onto it while dinghy-ing up to the dam. Yes, you see a Harley Davidson store right out here in the middle of nowhere. (Skimpy T-shirts are $30. Vicki would not let Norm buy her a dozen.) Actually, the river parallels U.S. Highway 129, which is were the Dragon runs.

Here's Tide Hiker anchored on the Little Tennessee River, with the Smokies in the background.

And the painted bluffs on the other side.

Moonrise over our Little Tennessee River anchorage

Little Tennessee River

2011-09-13T12:54:00.000-04:00

We said goodbye to our new friends at the Ft Loudoun Yacht Club and got underway for our next destination--The Little Tennessee River. After a short cruise retracing our track back to the Ft Loudon Marina and refueling, we headed over to the Little Tennessee River and to Tellico Lake. We have posted here that the Tennessee River has been some of the most awesome cruising we have ever done, the LTR is even better. The river is lined on both sides by carpets of trees up steep hills. The river winds through picturesque canyons and meanders around small islands.

Our first stop was at the actual Fort Loudoun-a restored British outpost in the mid 1700's. We were in settled weather, so we anchored just off the peninsula where the Fort stood. We were in luck. They were holding the annual Ft Loudoun Faire this weekend. So we were able to walk through the fort and settlement that was bustling with reenactors. Great fun, which included magicians, tumblers, minstrels and Red Coat and militia soldiers.

The fort and settlement as seen from our anchorage

Vicki entering the "Sally Port" to the fort. A sally port is a small entrance.

Life in the fort (or lifeless in the fort?)

Red Coats at morning muster (actually the Faire's opening ceremony)

The traveling fire-eating, needle-swallowing, singing magician.

The "Begger Boys" traveling musicians

Inside the fort looking out over the not-so-Little Tennessee River

The Red Coats and Militia in formation entering the fort's main gates.

Hiking the Smokies with Friends

2011-09-13T12:34:00.000-04:00

We were treated by Mike and Peg Wilson our friends and neighbors from Wilmington, DE. They had a Wyndham time-share in Sevierville, TN, just a short distance from Gatlinburg and the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains. So, it was 3 days of hiking the Smokies with them. They also brought their daughter-in-law, Thum and grandson Jack. Son, Joel is deployed in Korea. Thum and Jack did not hike, but instead enjoyed the pool and amenities at the Wyndham.

Vicki Boon, Peg Boon and Mike Boon ready to go hunt bear.

Actually, on one of the trails we ran into another couple heading back to the trail head. They saw a bear and were frightened. Vicki and Peg wanted to go back too, but Mike and Norm talked them into continuing. Well, we never saw and BAR and the hike was great, trekking up to a great waterfall. Of course Mike and Norm had to endure listening to songs and childhood fairy tales and whistling loud all along the way. Peg and Vicki wanted to "scare" the bear.

Vicki just showing off on one of the creek crossings. Peg saying "get a move on Vicki--we have a long way to go".

Norm and Vicki at the waterfall

Mike, Norm and Vicki at the waterfall

No bear, but we did see this deer at pretty close range.

An exhausted group of hikers back at the trail head

Knoxville, TN--Our Northernmost 2011 Cruising Destination

2011-08-14T14:54:00.000-04:00

Before departing for Knoxville, we rented a car and rushed to Columbus, Ohio. Daughter, Colleen, who has had ongoing complications from a c-section in May required another emergency surgery at the Ohio State University Medical Center. This was the third one!!! Our little Colleen has been through hell. As we write this, she is improving and things are looking up. Fortunately, baby Ella Grace, 9 lbs, 22 inches at birth is doing great.

Vicki feeding Ella, grandmiracle No 4, while visiting Colleen in hospital

Dad (Brian) and Ella visiting mom (Colleen) in the hospital

A more recent pic of Ella and PapPap

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One of our stops on the way to Knoxville was at the Ft Loudoun Marina in Lenoir City, TN. The marina just happened to be on the way home for one of Norm's army buddies. Bob Rowan and his wife Julie, who Norm has not seen in 15 years, visited. It's a small world, isn't it?

Bob and Julie Rowan visit us while docked at Ft Loudoun Marina (not to be confused with the Ft Loudoun Yacht Club) We had a fantastic time getting caught up and promising to get together again, much sooner this time.

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So, We're now in Knoxville. Actually, about 2 weeks ago, we arrived at the Ft Loudoun Yacht Club--our most northern destination this summer. Here's our latest cruise route. Just click on the link below:

Chattanooga to Knoxville, TN

We have not been here much though. We docked here on Sunday, July 24 and departed by rental car to Wilmington, DE for our annual medical checkups and to visit friends there. We got passing medical grades and the doc's don't want to see us for another year. While that is always good news, our real excitement was in reconnecting with old friends. Vicki set up a nice lunch with a couple of her Chase Bank associates and a separate dinner with the ones that could not get away for lunch. We got caught up on the lives of our "still working" friends and the many changes going on in banking, and especially in the credit card sector. Also, our neighbor friends hosted a wonderful dinner while we were there. All-in-all, a fantastic visit in Wilmington, DE. Sorry, we forgot to take pictures.
We stopped in Asheville, NC on the drive back to Knoxville. They were having a downtown festival at the time. So, of course, we had to partake. We enjoyed Asheville very much but decided it's too far from anything to even consider living there.

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Two days after returning to Tide Hiker, we were off again. This time on a flight to Milwaukee, WI see two of our daughters and their families; and, to attend Vicki's family reunion.

Daughters Katie and Chris celebrated Norm's and Vicki's birthdays by treating them to an awesome lobster dinner at the Golden Mast Restaurant on Okauchee Lake. Grandmiracle No 3, Joyce, was with a babysitter. We're told her table manners are not up to par yet.

Jake, grandmiracle No. 1 perusing the menu

Evan, grandmiracle No 2 with a fork at the ready

The Wisconsin State Fair was going on at the time of our visit. So, it was a fantastic time to take the grandmiracles to the Fair.

Joyce, grandmiracle No 3 with PapPap on the merry-go-round

Evan, at mid-mountain and Jake at the summit

Evan and Jake, just foolin around

Vicki also had an opportunity to visit with her friend Cindy at the Fair

One of the many "fried" foods at the fair. One could also have fried beer, fried cheese curds, etc.--a cardiologist's dream come true.

The Cal Cooper family at the Cooper reunion in Dodgevillee to, WI. Here is niece Rachel, Norm, Vicki's mom Avie, Vicki and nephew Alex. The next day we drove over to Richland Center, WI to visit with Vicki's uncle Bill and aunt Donna. Not to be outdone by the Coopers, Bill and Donna arranged a fantastic Thompson family reunion.

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While in Milwaukee, we attended the annual Miller Brewing Human Resources Reunion. We were most appreciative that they scheduled the reunion around our travel schedule so we could make it this year. The reunion is always held at Miller Stadium, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Here, Vicki is hugging the hot dog, her favorite team mascot. They also have a sausage, a kielbasa and a brat. But, the hot dog ranks highest.

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We're once again back at the Ft Loudoun Yacht Club. And, another treat arrived the next day. Friends Rick and Lynnie Tierney drove down from Raleigh, NC to spend a few days with us. So, we ate, drank, and were merry for 4 days. We spent a day at the pool here and also drove into Chattanooga for dinner and a Shakespeare play.

Rick and Lynnie wanted to see Chattanooga, so a day trip was necessary. Here's Vicki, Rick and Lynnie at the Riverfront

We then needed an afternoon at the pool at the Ft Loudoun Yacht Club.

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We will be resting for a few days to get ready for a few days of hiking the Smoky Mountains next week with friends Mike and Peg Wilson. More on that later.

Hope everyone reading this is well and having an awesome summer. And, we'll try to be more prompt with future blog updates.

Chattanooga Choo Choo and more..............

2011-07-03T11:47:00.001-04:00

A visit to Chattanooga would not be complete without seeing the Chattanooga Choo Choo. The Choo Choo is more than a train. It's a museum of trains that are being used as a hotel and restaurant. Yes, you too can sleep and eat in the historic Choo Choo.

These are the hotel and restaurant grounds. See the dining and sleeping cars in the distance?

Engineer Norm at the controls of the Chattanooga Choo Choo

Here's Vicki at the Hunter Museum of American Art. This horse is not made of driftwood. It's metal. Cool!!!

The 10-mile long Tennessee River trail includes this "Glass Bridge". Norm was a bit uneasy crossing it having some fear of heights. Funny, he's also a pilot and flying never bothered him.

The Fourth of July Fireworks will be shot off from a park just on the other side of the river. We're told that Tide Hiker has a great viewing spot. However, we were invited to join some new friends at that park where the Chattanooga Symphony will also be playing. Do you think the "1812 Overture" is in our future?

Arrived at our first Tennessee Destination: Chattanooga

2011-06-29T13:02:00.001-04:00

We promised earlier to post some more pics/videos of the "Grand Canyon of the Tennessee River." Connectivity was bad then. It's much better here so we will include those pics here now. First, here is our cruise map for our final leg to Chattanooga, TN from Guntersville, AL (our last map posting location):

Guntersville to Chattanooga

Here's those videos and pics we promised:

As you can see, there's lots of culture to be learned here on the Tide Hiker blog. Acutally, the river scenes are breathtaking, no matter what they're called.

Cruising up the Grand Canyon of the Tennessee River

More of the Grand Canyon of the Tennessee River

We've actually been in Chattanooga for three days now and have been exploring the city and surrounds. So far, we like what we see. Just steps from our downtown riverfront dock is a 10 mile walking, biking, roller-blading trail along the beautiful Tennessee River. We're liking that!! Movies, restaurants, shopping, fitness center and attractions (including the famous Tennessee Aquarium) are also just a few steps from Tide Hiker. We're liking that!! The riverfront here has been transformed over recent years. It is home to music festivals, art museums and sculpture gardens. We're liking that too!!

These water fall steps are enjoyed by the public as place to cool off. Acutally, they are part of a memorial to the "Trail of Tears" american indian forced relocation back in the 1800's.

Tide Hiker is right in the center of this downtown riverfront bluff dock. Those are condo's up on the bluff. The Tennessee Aquarium is the upper right building with the trianglular roof line.

Hunter Museum of American Art

No More Locks, Please!

2011-06-23T18:42:00.000-04:00

We cruised from 6:00 this morning to 3:30 this afternoon and made it to Nickajack Marina, locally known as Hales Bar Marina and pronounced as Hells Bar Marina. One lock today which we're sooo thankful that the tow and barge on our tail and the lockmaster decided to let us lock through ahead of the tow. Otherwise, it would have been a couple hour wait in the strongest current we've seen yet. We've been cruising over 8 mph, but were at 4.9 mph as we were passing the tow just below the lock. It was truly a case of the racing turtles. Fortunately, we put the pedal to the metal and beat him to the lock by.....well, seconds. But the tow had to break down his barges to go through the lock. So, the lockmaster and the tow captain agreed to let us go first. Awesome!!!!

We've had threatening skies for what seems like a week. Sometimes they turn into vicious storms, like the one at Guntersville. Sometimes they don't amount to anything except "I'm watching you, Tide Hiker." Today was no exception. We have very limited connectivity here, so will add the pictures later. BTW, we crossed into Tennessee today; and, tomorrow we change back to Eastern Time Zone. Imagine that!

Lynnie Tierney asked me a while ago how the locks have been. I told her " a piece of cake" and most of them have been easy. Must have jinxed it-- we've had three that got the heart pounding. The first was the one where we tied too loosely to the bollard and I fell into the lazarette. The next was the tallest lock on the TennTom - the Whitten Lock. It has depressed panels along the wall that a fender could easily get caught it and there's no way to position the fenders to avoid all those panels. We ended up repositioning fenders along the way up the way -- a bit of a panic. The other challenging lock was probably our fault again -- we tied very tightly to the bollard so there wasn't enough room for the boat to float away from the wall. We thought the forward fender was going to tear right off the boat and both of us pushing off couldn't budge the boat from being mashed up against the wall for much of the vertical trip. No more locks for awhile - thank goodness!

We're practically within spittin' distance of Chattanooga, our first destination. Only 35 miles upriver, 4 hours tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Can't wait!

Stormy in Guntersville AL

2011-06-22T18:56:00.000-04:00

We tooled around Guntersville today in the courtesy car and saw many trees down from yesterday's storm. Winds were reported at 60 mph. Had a great lunch at The Rock House and Vicki got a nice pedicure at the nails place in downtown Guntersville. Then, off to Walmart. We hadn't accounted for the small cab in the truck we were driving, so most of the groceries resided in the truck bed as we raced to the boat to avoid yet another storm.

Sitting Pretty in Guntersville, AL.......

2011-06-21T17:50:00.003-04:00

Here's our cruise map from Columbus, MS (the last time we posted a map) to our current location, Guntersville, AL. Just click on the following link. Sometimes you will have to wait for the entire course line to load up and sometimes you will have to use the + and - keys to zoom in or out. Let us know if you have any problems.

Columbus MS to Guntersville AL

We departed Ditto Landing early this morning to outrun the 40% chance of forecasted thunderstorms this afternoon. Again, we didn't. It was our intent to make it to Scottsboro, AL, a 45 mile run with only one lock. But the clouds started thickening much earlier than expected. After 24 miles, we pulled into the Guntersville Marina in Guntersville, AL. One bright spot along the way today was the Painted Bluff. Here's a shot of it:

Painted Bluff--Tennessee River

There were several nice anchorages in the area and one free dock in downtown Guntersville; but again, it was 93 degrees and steamy. So, we were coveting the electric hookups for the AC. Once again, we were greeted by 3 very nice folks. They helped us tie up and hook up the electrical connection, and offered their courtesy car if we wanted to explore the area. Looking around the marina, we could see some of the metal roofs over the covered slips missing or twisted. You guessed it--results of this spring's vicious string of tornadoes. Another marina just up the river had all of their transient slips just blow away. They, therefore, are only open for permanent slip-holders. Another marina we passed on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway was hit especially hard and the owner was killed. It's not been a good spring for the Tennessee Valley.

After getting settled in, we borrowed the courtesy car and went off to Huntsville, AL and the Rocket and Space Museum. Friends have told us that the museum is only so-so if we have already visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. So, the purpose of our trip was to view the new IMAX movie on the Hubble Space Telescope --awe inspiring! All right, all right, the real purpose of our trip was to have lunch at the Blue Plate Cafe in Huntsville. This restaurant was recommended to us by Jenny, the dockmaster when we told her we were looking for homemade southern cooking. AND, we were not disappointed. We had two of the three Tuesday "Blue Plate Specials". Vicki had the cube steak, macaroni and cheese, fresh peas, cornbread and peach cobbler. Norm had the pot roast, brussels sprouts (soaked in ham hocks and bacon), hash brown casserole, cornbread and peach cobbler. $7.95 each!!! Needless to say, no dinner out tonight after splurging like that.

The storms have hit here and we are writing this as sheets of horizontal rain drape the boat, the marina and surrounding area. Loud clasps of thunder are echoing off the surrounding hills and streaks of lightening are flashing the darkened landscape. The tin roof on the covered slips in front of us is beginning to peel away; still not secured from the spring tornado's. By the way, we made it back to the marina in the car, just when the drizzling started. Again, Vicki averted another storm-related meltdown.

Roof peeling off in storm

We expect that we will be here another day and explore Guntersville tomorrow. Another gloomy, stormy day predicted. Not good boating weather.

Northern Alabama is Beautiful

2011-06-20T19:34:00.000-04:00

Our last blog displayed a couple video's of Tide Hiker locking up in an 83-ft Lock. Here are some more in the very next 93-foot Wilson Lock. Some different views show spectacular construction. Hope you enjoy the ride:

Gates Closing in the Wilson 93-foot Lock

A Video walk up the wall of the 93-foot Wilson Lock

Check it out...112 feet INSIDE THE LOCK!!!

Last night we were at Bay Hill Marina in who-knows-where Alabama. It's west of Decatur - that's what we know. While the people were very nice we thought the marina was a bit of a scruffy place with a few randomly placed cletes. We tied to the uprights supporting the roof. Probably not a good place for a 65,000 lb. boat in storms-- fortunately the weather was clear. We spent the afternoon at the pool, reading in the shade in 101 degree heat index and taking the occasional dip in the very refreshing pool for relief. Our dock was near the public ramp.

We thought this was an unusual boat tow vehicle.

Today's cruise (in zero % probability of storms, much to Vicki's relief) was to Ditto Landing Marina just south of Huntsville AL. The US Army's Redstone Arsenal and the Marshall Space Center is nearby. We can hear the explosions every once in a while and feel the vibrations. Very nice marina with great docks. No courtesy car here, so we rested and caught up on in-boat stuff out of the 97 degrees outside.

What an incredibly beautiful place is northern Alabama. We are in eyesight of the low mountains in the area. Trees and hills are everywhere. Our cruise on the wide river is gorgeous.

Outrunning the Storm.........

2011-06-18T19:13:00.006-04:00

We spent today's 5 hours of travel watching the Weather Underground radar showing storms steadily sinking south from Nashville toward our route in Northern Alabama. Scary! Fortunately, the storm dissipated most of its energy by the time it hit us about 5 minutes before docking in Florence, Alabama. Vicki is a real fraidy-cat about encountering a storm while underway, so the day was quite stressful for her.

Florence is quite a nice little town. Home of University of Northern Alabama, the campus is beautiful. The mascots are lions Leo and Una who reside on campus in a deluxe enclosure -- beautiful cats.

What an incredible cruising ground this is! After the last lock on the Tenn-Tom, we cruised out into gorgeous Bay Springs Lake which reminded us both of Canada. Clear water and dense tall trees growing all the way down to the waterline. Pickwick Lake at the intersection of the Tenn-Tom and the Tennessee River is equally as beautiful and reminds us of the Wisconsin Dells area.

Most marinas have courtesy cars enabling us to see some of the sights of Mississippi and Alabama. We drove to Tupelo one day and stopped at a hardware store looking for a fan. This hardware store just happened to be where Elvis Presley got his first guitar. The story is that his mom brought him there to buy a bicycle for his birthday, but Elvis decided he wanted a gun instead. His mom was reluctant to buy a gun, so they compromised on a guitar. Great story!

Wednesday we caught up with Todd and Brenda at Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina in Pickwick Lake. It was wonderful to see them again - always a fun time. We stuffed ourselves with excellent fried catfish filets at Hagy's Catfish Hotel on the Tennessee River. This place was originally discovered by Norm's sister Joyce in 2001 when they did the Great Circle route. Norm remembered the Catfish Hotel (and Bobby's fish Camp) as having the best-ever catfish, and he wasn't wrong.

We locked up the tallest lock on the Tenn-Tom--83Feet. Since Mobile Bay, we've been locked up over 400 ft. This was the last lock on the Tenn-Tom which created Pickwick Lake, a beautiful body of water that reminded us of Canada's lakes. Here are some video's of the locking.

Yesterday, we visited the civil war interpretive center in Corinth MS which has fabulous displays about the battle of Shiloh which was fought over control of the railroad crossing in Corinth. The center was built 2 years ago and is the best civil war museum we've seen. We plan to stop at the Shiloh Battleground Park on the way back south.

Today was our first day on the Tennessee River. What a magnificent body of water - really wide for a number of miles. About four miles into our journey, we detoured into Todd and Brenda's #1 anchorage, Waterfall Cove, where they were anchored. Todd gave us a freshly caught batch of bass filets and snapped some photos of Tide Hiker in front of the waterfall. And, we deliverd oil and ice to him. Then we were off to outrun the storms; which you read earlier, we didn't.

Vicki, Brenda and Todd at Hagy's Catfish Hotel Restaurant.

Life's 2 Short at Anchor at Waterfall Cove. See how he get's snuggled up to the beach and ties to a tree. Life's 2 Short is very protected. Todd and Brenda have a wonderful view of the waterfall that is behind us.

Todd, just after dropping off some fresh-caught bass and picking up some oil and ice.

Ahhhhh, air conditioning....

2011-06-13T19:20:00.000-04:00

The goal of this journey at this point is to "hot dog" it to a marina where we can hook up to electricity and run our AC. These 95-97-degree afternoons with high chance of thunderstorms have turned us into real "weenies". We feel like shedding down to our skivvies but we're not even "Hebrew Nationals" from NY. "Frank"ly, we're OK with the heat and storms in the afternoon, because we can run fast, like the "sausage guys" at Milwaukee Brewers Games.

Here's our course since we last reported it:

Gulf Shores, AL to Columbus, MS

Vicki has not fallen into any holds since the last time, even though we have gone through 3-4 more locks. Hence, her physical status is good. Dr Naughton does periodic "medical" exams and reports good progress. Only a few skin hematomas. We arrived in Columbus, MS yesterday after going in and out of Alabama and Mississippi a few times. We transited two locks yesterday and both were waiting for us with the gates open when we arrived. No wait. Maybe it's good to be late in the season. So, the day went really fast.

Today, we used the Marina's courtesy car and did some shopping. We needed more 95-degree light weight, sweat wicking, sun blocking clothes.

Oops--Watch that hole!

2011-06-10T19:31:00.001-04:00

Norm's birthday was great! No storms. Norm enjoyed 10-year old cheddar with sliced salami after our swim and chocolate cream pie with many candles after grilled fresh grouper dinner. The yellow bug repellent cellophane over the lights worked pretty well -- the cellophane didn't over heat and the bugs attracted were minimal. A few tugs came by during the night with minimal wake. Norm says "thanks much" to all who sent birthday wishes. He says he does not feel old at 67. But he does feel old when he thinks that he is heading toward 70!!!

Unfortunately it was really hot last night with almost no wind. Even after cooling down the stateroom with the air conditioning the temp in there was 87, so sleeping was tough. We're at Demopolis Yacht Basin tonight with electric (read air conditioning) so we'll have good sleep.

Nice 71-mile cruise today up to Demopolis. A bit of trauma in the Demopolis Lock. We're still getting used to putting our line over the bollard in the lock and we learned that it needs to be cinched tighter than we did today. As the water entered the lock, the boat angled with the stern up against the wall of the lock. Norm is positioned with a boat hook to hold the stern off the wall while Vicki is positioned on the bow to hold that off the wall. When it became clear that the current of the water was forcefully pushing the stern into the wall, Vicki rushed back to the cockpit to help push off (Norm was stationed on the top deck). In her zeal, she stepped back to get a firmer pushing position and stepped into the open lazarette. (The hatch is open when we're running to allow heat to escape from the engine room. We close it when working back there, but it was unexpected that Vicki would have to assist with the stern push-off.) In a real stroke of luck, Vicki caught herself with only a few small bruises. The lazarette, on the other hand, needs a new gas cylinder arm to hold it open-- it got the worst of that deal! Another lock tomorrow -- no problem -- we learn from our mistakes!

Norm here......Should also mention that getting to the lock was a bit tense too. We heard on the radio that another boat that past us earlier was about to enter the lock. If we miss this lift, we might have a long wait because a tug and tow was close behind us and heading to the lock too. (Commercial traffic has precedence. And tugs can take up to 4-hours if they have to break apart their barges.) We were 30-minutes behind. We put the pedal to the metal and increased our speed from 8.1 mph to 8.5 mph. The lockmaster was a real cool dude and waited for us. Unfortunately, the other boat had to wait too. So, we slipped right through the open gates; and, we were not even secure on the wall when we saw the gates close behind. This lock lifted us up 40 ft. By the way, since going through the Coffeeville Lock yesterday, we are out of tides and salt water. Yippee!! Also, Vicki is a real champ! Agree?? She could have done serious damage to herself falling into the hold. I know of a guy that fell into one and broke seven ribs. This is a risky adventure we're on. Anyway, I'll apply all the salves later.

Happy Birthday, Norm!

2011-06-09T10:40:00.000-04:00

Our last night in civilization was spent in Fairhope Alabama, a beautiful small town and suburb of Mobile. We used the courtesy car at Eastern Shore Marine to explore the town. Missed out on panninis at Pannini Pete's (reportedly the best in the nation) as they close after lunch.

Our first anchorage in the Tenn-Tom was the Alabama River Cutoff, a narrow river that required both a bow and stern anchor. This was the first time we used two anchors and they were tested with a big windy storm late afternoon. The boat was pushed from one side of the river to the other, but we held! Leaving the anchorage the next morning was beautiful - the sun rising, mist on the water, and a small alligator swimming across the river.

We went through the first of many locks yesterday - Coffeeville Lock. Then on to Bobby's Fish Camp where Norm had the best catfish in the universe when doing the Great Circle Route in 2001. Unfortunately, the restaurant is only open Thursday - Sunday. We'll have to catch it on the return trip.

We were advised by Hank and Nancy (who are a week or so ahead of us on the river) to get some yellow light bulbs that don't attract bugs for the outside of the boat so that we'll be more visible to tows when we're anchored in the river without ending up with a boat covered in bugs. Couldn't locate bulbs, but bought yellow cellophane to cover the lenses of our lights. We'll try them out tonight when anchoring outside Bashi Creek.

Today is Norm's birthday. Let's hope it's storm-free, bug-free and filled with wonderful birthday surprises.

Back on the water.........

2011-06-05T19:33:00.000-04:00

We've been out of touch. We know. And we're sorry. We've been extra busy with expected and unexpected land travel. Our daughter, Colleen and her husband, Brian, were expecting their first baby (our 4th grandmiracle) on May 15. We were docked in St Pete at the time. After 36 hours of labor, she delivered a beautiful baby girl, Ella Grace. Baby Ella was OK and Colleen's recovery from the C-Section was going well. We flew back to St Pete and immediately got underway for our slow trek around Florida's panhandle to Mobile Bay. (See previous blog entry.)

While off shore and crossing the Gulf we received word that the recovery was not going well due to complications from the C-Section. Colleen was in bad shape and getting worse. Norm was a mess. We had to get to a safe harbor near an airport. It took us two painful, chaotic days to dock in Pensacola. In the meantime, Colleen had emergency surgery to repair a perforated bowl that was not caught for 6 days. It was VERY BAD!! Norm arrived back in Columbus just after the surgery and remained there for 8 days until Colleen was discharged from the hospital. Along with Brian's parents and his sisters, Norm helped to care for baby Ella and be with his daughter during the early, hard recovery days. Colleen's mother is now picking up where Norm left off. Brian and his family were awesome, providing Norm a place to stay and meals when he was not at the hospital. He'll be eternally grateful to them.

Vicki with Ella Grace

Norm with Ella Grace

With Colleen on the mend, and reprovisioning completed, we resumed our cruise today. We are currently docked at Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores, AL. This is also the home of Lulu's Restaurant. Lulu is actually Lucy Buffett, Jimmy Buffett's "crazy sister" as he calls her. Yes, we both had to have a Cheeseburger in Paradise. But, not before a couple margaritas and a dish of fried green tomatoes--a real southern treat. (Even though Norm's grandmother in Pittsburgh used to make them when he was a kid.)

If you are interested in viewing our cruise routes from Sarasota, FL to Gulf Shores, AL, click on the following links:

Sarasota, FL to St Petersburg, FL

St Petersburg, FL to Gulf Shores, AL

Tomorrow we're off to Mobile Bay, then up the Mobile River to the Tennessee-Tombigby Waterway. Our friends cruising ahead of us have told us that the river currents and pool levels at the dams are in good shape. More on that later.

Gonna See Tennessee

2011-05-18T17:01:00.000-04:00

We left St. Petersburg this morning on the first leg of our trip to Tennessee. Should take around 25 days to get to Chattanooga. We're anchored out near Tarpon Springs (Anclotte Key). Tarpon Springs is a greek sponge-diving community and we just saw the Sponge-O-Rama (not making this up!) tour boat.

St. Pete is top of the list for our land-based retirement unless Chattanooga or Knoxville ensnare us with their charms. Stay tuned!

I say, I say, hold on folks. Sarasota may not be it................

2011-04-19T18:40:00.000-04:00

It was a short 4.5-hour cruise up the GICW (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway) to St Petersburg, FL. Our first stop was to Salt Creek Marina for some preventive maintenance requiring Tide Hiker to be lifted out of the water. So after Tide Hiker was hauled, the bottom was pressure washed and she was blocked, we rented a car and drove over to Apollo Beach to spend the night with our friends, Ron and Charma Owens. It was Wednesday and that means happy hour at Circles Tiki Bar. We had a great time getting reacquainted with Ron and Charma's friends whom we met last year.

Norm, Vicki, Ron, Charma and friends at Circles Tiki Bar

Charma, Ron and Vicki at Apollo Beach home

The next morning, Ron, the "much-in-demand-Defever-guru" on the west coast of Florida helped Norm. More acurately, Norm helped Ron change the seals on the stabilizer fin shafts. They also replaced all the zinc's attached to metal parts under the water. (The zincs are sacrificial. That is, they are there to take the galvanization attacks common in salt water, thereby preventing the galvanization of the more critical parts--propeller shafts, rudders, etc.) Anyway, they got it all done in 1/2 day. We then relaunched Tide Hiker and moved her over to the St Pete Municipal Marina. Ron joined Norm there, and they changed out the engine impellers--more preventative maintenance. Thanks Ron and Charma for your help, your hospitality and most especially, your friendship.

It was time to explore St Pete--our next possible permanent retirement location. Vicki says St Pete has a good vibe for her. Norm is more apprehensive at this point, still very much liking Sarasota. We have been walking our feet off getting to know the city and the bay front. This is WORK!!

Our friend Roger had an interview for a jo---, jo---, jo---, I just can't say it, the next morning. So he and his wife and our friend, Lisa, drove up from Cape Coral to spend the night with us. I say fortunately, because they were a friendly respite from all the city exploring we have been doing. So, it was late lunch with martini's. Vicki and Lisa went for a pedicure and Rog and Norm found the nearest bay-front watering hole and, well, you know....

More later..................

"Road Trip".........

2011-04-08T13:30:00.000-04:00

The cliffhanger from the past blog entry is solved. Joe never made it to the "Dancing With the Stars" debut. He had a very ligitimate excuse: "ooops".

With all the formal events behind us, it was time for a "ROAD TRIP"!! We boarded a plane in Tampa and flew to Washington, DC for Vicki's niece's wedding. Aimee Cooper and Fish (Brian Fisher) were married on Saturday, March 26. Vicki's minister-uncle (Aimee's great uncle) performed the ceremony, Norm walked Aimee down the aisle and gave the "Father" of the Bride speech. He was quite honored to have been asked to do that and he was moved by the event. It was a great wedding. How could it not be when the program listed "Congo Line Coordinator". And, since Aimee grew up with our three girls, they all came to the wedding too with hubby's in tow. Little JoycE came too. It was a mini-family reunion.

The Cheery Blossoms were out in DC

Vicki standing by the Pacific side of the WWII Memorial and the place where she (secretly-not allowed) buried some of her father's ashes. Cal served in the Navy, escorted the ship where the Japanese surrendered, and was very proud of his service.

It was chilly there!

Fish is a tour guide when not directing school bands. He got the tour bus exclusively for family on Thursday night. Gave any family in town at the time a fantastic historical tour of the monuments.

Aimee was the conductor and flag distributor

Here's where the "elected children" play

Daughters Katie and Chris; and, baby JoycE and Son-in-Law Joel

Korean War Memorial--Spectacular at night

JoycE, Joel and Chris on the tour bus

Rehersal dinner-someone brought mustashes, eyebrows and beards--required attire.

Aimee and Fish

Norm and Aimee

Norm giving the "father"-of-the-bride toast. He had to wear socks for this event, folks.

The bride and groom having a tender moment on the dance floor

Daughter Katie and Vicki

Daughter Colleen, (with grand-miracle #4) and Norm on the dance floor.

Four Generations: Vicki's Mom (Avie), Vicki, Chris and JoycE

It was time to depart Washington DC, unfortunately at the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival. We rented a car and drove to some Virginia towns we have never been to. First stop was Charlottesville, VA, home to Jefferson's University of VA and Monticello, Jefferson's home. We really enjoyed this stop and learned a lot about Jefferson.

Jefferson's beloved Monticello. His grave is in the family plot a short

distance down the hill from the mansion

Then it was on to Lynchburg, VA. Interesting town built on the side of a mountain. Lots of Confederate memorials here. And, Jerry Falwells Liberty University is here. Very impressive campus and most important (to Norm anyway) a ski hill with no snow. That's right, it was some other material that is kept wet. Watch this:

Check out this ski hill with no snow. Cooooool!!

The road trip continued to Roanoke, VA. Both Lynchburg and Roanoke are in the midst of urban renewal. They have real promise but now lots of closed up shops and scars of urban decay. Actually, we were very excited about these towns as possible retirement locations. But, really not our mojo there.

It was on to Raleigh, NC next. We stopped by Rick and Lynnie's home in Cary (suburb of Raleigh) for a couple of nights. You devoted blog readers will remember our good friends Rick and Lynnie and their Defever "Rickshaw". They buddy-boated with us for a few years. They are land-dwellers now and sold their beloved Defever. We had a great time. Vicki and Lynnie got a pedicure. Norm helped Rick with a house project. After all that, it was play-time. It was a wonderful visit. It was sad to say goodbye when they put us on an Amtrack train for our journey back to Sarasota. We didn't get much sleep on the train and 1 hour outside of Tampa, the train hit a truck that tried to beat the gate--but didn't, by a hair. No one was injured but the authorities had to investigate and fill out reports and do interviews, etc. We were delayed by an hour. The last leg of this journey was on an Amtrack bus to Sarasota from Tampa. We arrived home safe, but exhausted. We've been relaxing since them.

Vicki, Norm, Lynnie and Rick at the University Chapel

Rick and Lynnie took us on a tour of Durham, Raleigh, and these gardens. Where's Wal__, ooops, I mean Vicki?

Lynnie and Rick at the gardens

One night while playing canasta, Vicki tried to do the mind-meld with Rick. But he wasn't having any of it and protected himself with this mind-meld barrier. He won!

This truck tried to beat the RR gate--and lost! No injuries and only minor damage, luckily.

No long rest for the weary, though. Vicki took off today for Columbus, Ohio for Colleen's two baby showers this weekend. So Norm is "batching it" on the boat tonight. Tomorrow, our friend Roger will pick Norm up for a drive down to Cape Coral to see their new home. And, maybe a toddy or two.

More later............

Maybe. Just maybe, this might be it...............

2011-03-21T13:55:00.000-04:00

Hello to all our blog readers. As you might know, we have been exploring permanent retirement locations for when we decide to "move ashore". We have been doing this for a long time. While that date is still far off, we have come to like Sarasota very much. Norm's mom and dad retired here many years ago, so we would visit from time to time. But they lived south of Sarasota and that did not give us much of an opportunity to explore the urban areas. On this trip, we took the time to rediscover the city we have been to a number of times. We still have a few more towns to check out including St Pete and some in the Smokey Mountains; but, Sarasota is looking good!! We'll keep you up to date on our progress from time to time.

Here's our cruise from Ft Myers to Sarasota. We made a stopover in Englewood, FL (we never heard of it before either) and docked at the Cape Haze Marina. OK for one night but not more. Remember, just click on the following link and use the + and - buttons to zoom in or out. Ft Myers to Sarasota, FL

Our cruise up from Ft Myers was delightful. The weather was superb, the views outstanding and the seas in the waterway were calm. We arrived Sarasota on Sunday, March 13 and will remain here for a month. Our first job was to walk to town and "check-it-out". We were very impressed to see great restaurants, bars, parks, clean streets and sidewalks. There are lots of high and low rise condos, single family homes, churches and all the county government buildings. Not satisfied with just walking, we took a guided tour of the cultural areas--on a Segway. This was a "yet-to-be-claimed" Christmas present Vicki gave to Norm last December. The tour was a hoot. We were like a row of little ducklings following the leader through Sarasota's cultural district. We learned about the opera house, all the theater houses and a good bit of Sarasota's history. And, the segway's were easy to ride and control and a nice break for tired legs. Only one little problem. Norm got a bit frustrated with the speed of the tour. After his orientation and after gaining good control, he wanted to "put the pedal to the metal", but the tour guide would not allow it and he had to be scolded a couple times.

Vicki and Norm on their Segway Tour in Sarasota

We received a very special treat a day or so later. Our very dear friends from our old hometown and church in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin were in town and visited with us for a day. Tom and Pat Schildt and Terry and Cathy Andrus and we took a walking tour of downtown Sarasota, ate lunch al fresco and relaxed on Tide Hiker for a while. Then, we all toured Beverly's (Cathy's mom) home on Long boat Key. Of course we were hungry again--its the American way, you know. So, off to dinner to a great Italian restaurant.

Tom, Pat, Norm, Vicki, Cathy and Terry at lunch al fresco in downtown Sarasota

Tom, who had never been on Tide Hiker before, and being a retired tradesman, had lots of questions. So, a detailed tour of the engine room was in order.

It was a fantastic day with fantastic friends. If we settle in these parts, we'll be able to see them more often--giving Sarasota another edge in our thinking.

The next big event was St Patrick's Day. And, Sarasota celebrates it in style. A couple streets were closed off and the downtown bars were jumping till wee hours. Our friends Bob and Stephanie aboard September Song, Joe and Julia aboard Sea Pearl and Todd and Brenda aboard Life's 2 Short arrived early (like us) to rest up for the big day. And, Doug and Tammy, "the professionals" aboard Gypsies in the Palace drove over from Cape Canaveral. So, we now had a quorum and were able to celebrate St Pat's. Here's a few shots that we know will make the blog albums.

Norm and Vicki started early

Tammy and Doug displaying their mobile coozies. They keep them on their person 24/7,

like professionals do.

Todd loves the Irish

Bob, Brenda, Stephanie, Julia, Vicki and Norm posing for Todd

Another important reason for stopping in Sarasota was the Defever Cruisers 2011 Rendezvous. One hundred twenty five members and about 25 Defever boats descended on Marina Jack Marina. We had two days of seminars covering important boating issues, raffles, banquets, open boat tours and partying, including dancing, till the wee hours. All in all, it was a very successful event. Vicki was the registrar and got lots of well-deserved accolades for her hard work. We're waiting for some pics of this event. We'll add them later.

Well, tonight starts the one millionth season of the TV program "Dancing with the Stars" as Norm likes to point out. Vicki says that this is a reason to keep the party going. So, Steve and Di aboard Aurora and Joe and Julia were invited for dinner and a "movie" tonight. Di and Vicki are humongous fans and never miss an airing. Unfortunately, Joe and Julia have other dinner plans but said that they will be by for the "movie". Do you suppose Joe or Julia will become fans like Vicki and Di? Stay tuned to an upcoming post for an answer to this cliffhanger.

Who'd-A-Thunk!

2011-03-10T16:05:00.000-05:00

This has been a wonderful cruise up the west coast of Florida. Especially because we have been able to reconnect with good friends. While in Marco Island, we had a couple of great evenings with Ted and Peggy Reese. Ted and Norm worked together as captains delivering Sea Ray yachts on the Chesapeake. Ted still does this, but only in the summer. In the winters, he and Peggy are relaxing in their winter home in Marco. We had two dinners together, one on Tide Hiker and the other at Ted and Peggys home. While there, we met Ted's sister and her husband. We had a great evening.

Ted and Peggy Reese and Norm

Who'd-A-Thunk (The old gang from Summit North Marina in Delaware)

After a day in Naples, we cruised on up to Ft Myers, FL. There, we hooked up with our friends Roger and Lisa Cicconi and Mike and Fran Kumbier. The Cicconi's and the Kumbier's were dock neighbors back in Delaware. One and a half years ago, we would never have thought that we three couples would be meeting up again in Florida.

When she can, Vicki has been practicing Yoga. Here she is demonstrating a Pair Yoga move with Lisa. Needless, to say, a fun time for all. We got caught up with Mike and Fran's lives since they moved to Ft Myers and.....Roger and Lisa will be moving here too. It'll was old home week!!

Speaking of fun, lunch alfresco downtown, a walking tour of downtown drinking establishments and dinner (way too late) at Joe's Crab Shack in Ft Myers was a blast. Here, Rog and Lisa are trying to avoid a bad night. They survived!!

Here's our cruise route from Marco Island. Just click on the following link:

Marco Island to Naples to Ft Myers, FL

Movin North.........

2011-03-03T10:50:00.000-05:00

Northern Florida, that is. We know what's going on way, way up Nort. Ouch!! Burrr! My back hurts just thinking about all that snow shoveling. Nope, we'll just stay down here for a while. But, we are back in cruising mode. Here's our first couple of cruise days:

Marathon, FL to Marco Island (Via Little Shark River anchorage) Remember, just click on this site to see our cruise map.

The Keys are known for the wonderful sunsets. This was no exception.

Last weekend, our friends from Delaware, Roger and Lisa, visited us. We took the dinghy out to the entrance to the harbor and toasted the sunset with champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

Tuesday's cruise from Marathon to Little Shark River was great. The weather was settled, the seas were calm and Tide Hiker performed like she never docked for 3-months. (OK, OK, the truth is we did a shake out cruise for 2 hours the week before and worked out all the little gremlins that accumulate after 3-months at dock). We actually were not due to leave until Wednesday, but strong winds were forecasted for later in the week. So, we jumped on the good weather and headed out. Little Shark River is in the Everglades. It's has a very nice, well-marked, easy inlet. A couple of years ago we were here, but followed September Song way up river. Since we were only here for one night, we anchored closer to the inlet. We were alone for about an hour before 5 other boats arrived. We're told that it can get really crowded at this anchorage--it's well known. Norm grilled some chicken and Vicki made some apps and sides and we feasted with a nice Shiraz until bed time.

Wednesday's cruise from Little Shark to Marco Island was different. The winds picked up a bit sooner and we had to travel a good distance west into the Gulf of Mexico to navigate around the Cape Romano Shoals. We lost the protection we could have gotten from being closer to shore and alee. So, the winds and the 2-4 footers (and occasional 5's) were either abeam or on our nose. We lost a bottle of wine that was in the galley. Vicki found it empty and turned over. Later, Norm, not knowing about the wine was doing one of his engine room checks and discovered a red substance in the engine room bilge. He smelled the fluid and wondered "vinegar?" It looked like hydraulic fluid, but smelled like vinegar. He decided to keep an eye on it since everything was running well. Later, Vicki told Norm and he stopped worrying about the bilge. So, while we were always safe, the ride was a bit "snotty" at times. Another great meal and a bottle of hydraulic fluid settled our nerves. More later......

Warning! Emergency! Caution! Important!

2011-03-02T18:13:00.000-05:00

We're back on the water and we will have lots of great info to report in our next blog update. Our next updates will include: Romance, Adventure, Suspence, Intrigue, Mystery and, well, just fun stuff!
Stay tuned.................

Ho Hum, it's still 75F and sunny............

2011-01-31T15:17:00.000-05:00

We're still here in the Keys--till March 1 or thereabouts. We're still getting lots of projects done on the boat--spiffing her up a bit, catching mangrove snapper (hmmmmm), attending festivals and just enjoying the weather. We know what our family and friends are putting up with up north and wish they would come visit and get away from the cold for a spell. One not so great item--Vicki had to have a skin graft from the roof of her mouth to her lower front gum. The graft is healing nicely though and the stitches come out today. It was a bit painful for a while. Fortunately, we have GREAT MEDS!! She's putting her new insurance plan to good use. Dan and Maryann invited us over to their home to watch the Packers and Pittsburgh take the championships. Norm was in a dilemma for a while. While he's a Packer fan, he was also born and raised in Pittsburgh. Oh, the tribulations one has to endure. He made his choice the other day, though. He bet his sister one dollar and picked the Packers. (Shhhhh, don't tell anyone in Pittsburgh).

Here is a reminder of where we are located. Just click on the following link.

Our current home in Marathon, FL (Keys)

Here's a sample of the Sombrero Traditional Music Festival we attended yesterday. They had knee-slappin cajun, tex/mex, keys folk and bluegrass. Cold beer, on a sunny, 75-degree day was just perfect. Did I say it was a nice day?

The Weather Is So Exciting.....................

2011-01-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

We're still here in sunny, warm (mostly) Marathon FL. We have had some spells of colder, windier weather, but mostly we are enjoying 70's during the day and 60's at night. Perfect!! So, come on down and enjoy the weather with us. All you gotta do is get here.

We're getting reacquainted with shore living. We found a church to regularly attend, know where the shopping and eateries are and found good walking and biking routes. Also, we're making major headway on boat projects that have lingered for months (nothing critical, but nice to take care of when at a dock for some time and close to marine suppliers if needed). The marina is fillling up for the rest of the winter. We are meeting some really nice folks, both cruisers and non-cruisers. We celebrated Christmas in Key Biscayne with Norm's sister, had boat guests from our Delaware roots, caught lots of snapper and played in Key West a couple of times. All in all, a wonderful month first month here. Here are some pics of our escapades so far in Marathon, FL.

Yes, this was one of the colder days. Would you believe it actually got down into the high 50's.

It was Christmas at Joyce's in Key Biscayne, FL.

Norm was Santa this year.

Friends Roger and Lisa, from Tampa and originally from our home dock in Delaware, visited us for a couple of days. This was a special gift from the girls to the guys. They secretly arranged a trip to Key West to bring in the New Year. Neither Norm nor Roger knew the destination. It was an awesome weekend with special friends. Thanks Vick and Lisa.

It was a great day catching snapper in the Keys. Bob (September Song) and Norm then grilled them up for a spectacular fresh snapper dinner with Stephanie and Vicki.

Vicki met a wonderful couple at church. We have since become friends and guess what? They are from Dousman, WI, just a short distance from our home town, Milwaukee. Dan and Maryann Connell have been retired here for over a year. We've been back and forth for dinner (Maryann makes a killer lasagna and the best peach upside-down cake in the land), played dominoes, and Dan took Norm fishing for a haul of porgies and mackeral. It was an extra-special treat to go with Dan and Maryann to dinner in Key West --in their plane (!), a Beachcraft Bonanza--the same model Norm used to fly. It was great for Norm to be back on the plane and even greater to be flying with wonderful folks and a competent, IFR-rated pilot.

Maryann and Vicki our backseat co-pilots. Norm was up front with Dan.

We had a great meal at the Hot Tin Roof Restaurant in Key West. Thanks Dan and Maryann.

Yesterday, was the Key West Sea Food Festival. Bob and Stephanie and Tom and Linda (new cruising Canadian friends) drove down to Key West and celebrated great weather, great sea food and beverages together. Here's Bob behind the board--just playing around!

Of course a sea food festival would not be complete without oyster shooters. Bob and Norm "slidin em in". Hmmmmmmm good!

Here's the gang and the Schooner Warf Bar and Grille. Rick and Therese (dock friends) also joined us here.

Then, to our surprise, we found Dan and Maryann Connell and their daughter, Sam. We all had a great time.

A sight for sore eyes. This Packer Backer was celebrating in the Schooner Warf Bar. Now that the Packers are headed to the championship game, spirits were high.

Just a view of this great Key West Bight Harbor. Beautiful, right?

We see strange things in Key "Wierd". Here's a local pet enjoying the wierdness of this wierd playground.

We'll leave you today with a pic of the fine grub at the Seafood Festival. Hmmmmmm Good!!

"The Professionals", at their trade.....

2010-12-05T12:29:00.001-05:00

First of all, check out the previous blog. We made a mistake when publishing the "insertion date" and our wonderful visit with Norm's beautiful sister, Joyce, on Key Biscayne did not get published.

We have reconnected with several friends here at Marathon, FL; and, it's only the beginning. Our first adventures here have been with Bob and Stephanie aboard September Song and Doug and Tammy aboard Gypsies in the Palace. (Doug and Tammy drove down here from their home port in Cape Canaveral. That's where their boat is lying at this time.) They delivered Bob and Stephanie's van. Anyway, it's always a party with this mixture of fun-lovin, bar-hoppin, beer-swizlin, cigar-smokin cruisers. And, this was no exception. Friday night was drinks and apps aboard September Song, followed by drinks and apps at the new Sunset Grille followed by nightcaps at the Brass Monkey. The bands were playing great tunes and dancing was in order. That Bob and Stephanie have more "moves" than Two Men and a Truck.

Doug, Tammy, Vicki, Norm, Stephanie, Bob at Sunset Grille

Local basket weaver, pausing for a pic.

Now, it's important to note that Doug and Tammy have been titled "the professionals" because of their prowess at partying hearty--long and heavy-duty with no next morning hangovers. We thought that was, well, just good genes. But then, at one of the bars in Key West, Doug pulled two fold up coozies out of his back pocket--always totally prepared to hold frosty beers. Impressed????

We started out with a "roadie" and walked the crazy streets of Key West in search of Fogarty's. There, we had the special lunch of the house--Sloppy Grouper Sandwich. From there it was on to the Schooner Raw Bar for their famous wings and music by the legend himself--Michael McCloud. From there it was on to Turtle Krawl Raw Bar for oysters and to meet some of Doug and Tammy's and Bob Stephanie's friends from the area. We were stuffed at this point, so we had no famous raw oysters. But we did have to make a stop at the Chart Room to quench our thirst and to give Doug a chance to whip out those coozies again. Oops, sorry, they were never put away. At 7PM we waltzed out to Duval Street for the Christmas Parade. Here's some shots of our Key West escapade:

Tammy working out the old coozie

The gang at our first stop.

Don't try spinning plates at home, kids. This guy's a professional.

Robert' enjoying a just-wrapped cigar

The famous "Sloppy Grouper" sandwich at Fogarty's. There's grouper, bacon, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, french fries and some sauce. Served with rice and beans and plantains. Ummmmmm.

The Professionals (Doug and Tammy) imbibing at one of the ubiquitous sidewalk beer venders.

Tammy puffing on a stogie just freshly wrapped at the Schooner Bar.

And, a Christmas Parade would not be complete without Santa

Here's a reminder of just how "different" Key West is-a dinghy with a recliner. I'm sure there is a cooler down there somewhere, and a conch shell.

A holiday-happy bicyclists entertaining the crowd.

Vicki volunteered to be the designated driver for the hour drive back to Marathon. She did quite well given the hour, the long day, having to look out for endangered Key Deer and the professional snoring in the rear seats. On Sunday, "the professionals" and we amateurs were not going to miss breakfast at the "Stuffed Pig". Their sign says "Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Cold Beer".

Many of you reading our blog know that Doug has been singled out over the years as having the smallest dink (dinghy). I won't go into the taudry details again because they are not fit for some readers. But we have to mention that he lives up to his reputation of having small accessories, having recently purchased not one, but two Kia's-the smallest vehicle safely allowed on American highways. Enough said??

Not looking to bad after a day with "The Professionals". Gotta go--nap time!!

Good times in Key Biscayne

2010-11-27T15:53:00.002-05:00

It's been a great couple of weeks. The warm weather found us and we've connected with lots of friends on our way south in Florida. Glenn and Jill in St. Augustine; Wally and Karen in St. Ormond Beach; Pete and Lil in New Smyrna; Nelson, Doug, Todd and Brenda in Cocoa; Colleen, Bob and Stephanie in Ft. Lauderdale; and Bob and Cheryl in Ft. Lauderdale. We had a fun Thanksgiving with Norm's sister Joyce in Key Biscayne.

Vicki, Norm and Joyce at the local Cuban restaurant on Key Biscayne

On Thanksgiving, we met several of Joyce's friends at Linda B's Restaurant for stuffed bird and other holiday delicacies. We were not disappointed. Everyone had a great meal, lots of laughs and a "bit of the jolly". Thanks Joyce, for organizing a great celebration feast.
Tonight we're anchored at Rodriguez Key near Islamorada. We had planned to go to Islamorada tomorrow, but have revised plans to go to Marathon tomorrow to take advantage of good weather. The winds are kicking up on Monday, so if we don't go tomorrow, we might get stuck here longer than we want. Sombrero Dockside Marina in Marathon is our home base for December-January-February. It will be good to be stationary for a while.

Dedicated to "Pete"-our most loyal blog reader!!!!!

2010-11-15T18:06:00.000-05:00

Good morning everyone. Again, we've been remis at keeping up the blog. We've been very busy "movin South" to warmer weather and continuing our "connect and reconnect" theme.   Unlike previous years, we're one month ahead and slowing down to visit places we have not been before. It's very easy to cruise the same legs as previous years; docking or anchoring in known places. (And there is some advantage to that.) But, we decided to take in different places and learn more about this fantastic East Coast, USA.

Here's our cruise line from Fernandina Beach--our last posting. Don't forget you can zoom in or out to see our route in more or less detail.    But first you need to click on the following link:

Fernandina Beach Fl -to- Marathon, FL (Keys)
We're dedicating this blog to Pete, our most loyal blog reader. Pete is a neighbor of our friends Wally and Karen in Ormond Beach, FL. We met Pete for the first time this trip, but we've talked over the phone once. Pete keeps Wally and Karen informed as to our progress and describes our adventure as "better than any TV reality show and soap opera rolled up into one". Here's to you Pete. It was awesome to finally meet you and we hope we don't disappoint you at the Hollywood Soap Opera Awards.

Before we got to Ormond Beach to visit Wally, Karen and Pete, we stopped in St Augustine for a couple of days. We toured the Flagler College, which used to be the Flagler Hotel. How would you like to attend this school? By the way, the cost of this libera arts school is quite reasonable for a private university.

Main atrium in the "used to be" lobby.

Entrance to the student's areas.

Student's dining room

Wally and Karen in their Ormond Beach Home

Wally, Karen, Vicki and Norm at the "Club" for breakfast

And, here'ssssssssssssssssss PETE!!!! Pete restores old cars. One of his Corvette's in the background

Wally and Norm on Wally's Hog. Norm did not have the customary "leathers" and had to ride without. Pete called Norm Wally's "biker babe" with that leg shot!!

We had fun reconnecting with Todd and Brenda (Life's 2 Short) and Doug (Gypsies in the Palace) in Cocoa, FL. Notice Doug's pony tail is gone. Yep, he's a wo, wo - stiff. Unfortunately, Tammy who is now a wo, wo, wo---(I just can't say it)--stiff too, had to wo, wo late and could not join us. We'll see Tammy and Doug again this weekend in Marathon/Key West. Can't wait.
Well folks, you're up to date now. We're lying comfortably here in Marathon with good friends Bob and Stephanie (September Song). We're getting lots of work done on the boat that was waiting till be landed for a few weeks. Norm's already ready to get goin again. In the meantime, family and friends, we're open for visitors. Be here or be square.

Reconnecting and Catching Up

2010-11-07T15:33:00.001-05:00

Brrrrrrr, it's cold. We're tied up to the face dock at Fernandina Beach Marina. That's Florida folks. But isn't it supposed to be warm in Florida? Last night, just 30 miles north at Jekyll Island, GA, it went down to 43F. Tonight it'll be 39F here in FLORIDA.

We've had a great couple of weeks and guess what.... We're going to tell you about it. So, grab a beverage and relax. We have a lot to tell you. First, take a look at our cruise map. Click on the following link to see it. Don't forget, you can zoom in or out for a more detailed view; and you can click on the little balloons to see the name of that day's destination. Enjoy, but don't forget to come back here and read the rest of the blog.

Urbanna, VA to Fernandina Beach, FL

We met up with Sea Pearl at the Portsmouth (Norfolk) free dock. Joe and Julia had arrived earlier. We cruised together to Beaufort, NC. There, Joe and Julia visited Joe's mom and we had the boat bottom painted at Bock Marine. While being painted, we visited Rick and Lynnie.

Tide Hiker and Sea Pearl tied up to the Portsmouth Free Dock

Tide Hiker (Bottom right--see Vicki?) and Sea Pearl (Top Left) at the Great Bridge Lock

When we last updated the blog, we were just leaving Bock Marine in Morehead City, NC. We had a lovely time visiting Rick and Lynnie Tierney (Richshaw) at their home near Raleigh, NC. They invited us to visit with them until Tide Hiker's bottom was repainted. And what a great visit that was. We had not seen Rick and Lynnie for a very long time and it was fun reconnecting and catching up. We also saw a couple of movies and did the unmentionables--yes we drug Vicki to a KFC one day and to an Indian Restaurant on another night and sub sandwiches on another day. Shhhhhh, don't tell anyone. Thanks guys for a great rest--it was wonderful spending time with you.

Rick and Lynnie at Jersey Mikes Sub Shop

Upon departing Morehead City, we hooked up again with Sea Pearl. We cruised together to Charleston, SC. In Charleston, we reconnected with Bart Franey. We had a great lunch at the Fleet Club. We missed Bart's wife, Ellie, who had to wo, wo, wo--I just can't say it! Good seeing ya Bart. Thanks for joining us.

Bart, Julia and Joe at Ashley Marina, Charleston, SC

Our reconnection theme did not stop there. It was now on to GA to meet up with Joe and Julia (Sea Pearl), Todd and Brenda (Life's Too Short) and Bob and Stephanie (September Song). But not before a couple hundred miles of fun and relaxing anchoring.

Tide Hiker at anchor in Thorofare Cr (Courtesy Joe Nekola)

The mini-rendezvous was held at Bob and Stephanie's dock at Midway, GA. And, Party it was. First of all, congrats to Bob and Stephanie for acquiring a contract on their home. Soon, they will be homeless. That is, land-based homeless. (Actually, they have been living aboard and cruising full-time for a few years.) But, it is a great relief for them to be land-based free finally. We dined at Sunbury Marina Restaurant amidst a fierce rainstorm and feasted on Bob-caught Bahamian Mahi Mahi aboard September Song while there. Great laughs, great food and great memories. We all reprovisioned in Savannah, GA while there.

A tight squeeze on Bob and Steph's dock

Did I say tight squeeze?

The whole gang at Sunbury Marina Restaurant

The "girls" aboard September Song

The "boys"

This, of course, was just the appetizer to our mini-reunion. We all departed together and cruised by caravan to Blackbeard Island Anchorage. This was September Song's final departure from their dock of 11 years. We all observed a moment of silence. Blackbeard Creek anchorage is one of those best-kept-secret-anchorages. Eight miles up Blackbeard Cr making hairpin turns over shallow shoals at high tide, we arrived at a widened area separated from the Atlantic Ocean and a nine-mile clean, deep and wide beach by a high sand dune. Truly, a beautiful, protected location. We also found Todd's friends Gale and Mo aboard Blue Heron here. Of course, get us near a beach and a weenie roast is in the plans. So, we all descended on the beach by dinghy carrying our coolers of food and beverages. We collected driftwood for a fire and began enjoying our time together. On the second night, we did community heavy apps and smores over the fire.

September Song negotiating one of the hair-pin turns on Blackbeard Creek

Getting ready for the weenie roast

Norm flying a kite on the beach

Vicki, Gale and Mo on the trail

Vicki roasting the weenies

Tide Hiker at anchor on Blackbeard Creek

From here it was on to Brunswick, GA, except for Life's Too Short. They had to drop their guests Lisa and Steve off in Darian, GA. While at Brunswick, we all fueled-up, taking advantage of the best fuel prices on the East Coast. But the highlight here was Joe and Julia's dinner aboard Sea Pearl. Joe cooked up his famous clams over linguine after a first course of cheese plate and shrimp. Vicki's salad and Stephanie's desert rounded out this feast. Of course, the wine was plentiful.

Joe and Julia taking a break from the cooking

The next day, we all departed, albeit to different locations. We have never been to Jekyll Island. So, we broke away from the group 2-lbs heavier and headed to Jekyll Harbor Marina. September Song and Sea Pearl headed for Fernandina Beach and south. So, they will be a few days ahead of us. Life's too Short dropped off their guests in Darian and showed up on the hook at Jekyll Is. It was late and they were leaving in the morning. We'll catch up to all of them soon.

Jekyll Island was great. Twenty miles of bike paths, an historic district and a small shopping district. The Jekyll Island Club was a summer home in the early 1900s to the industrialists holding one sixth of American wealth. We're talking the Rockefellers, JP Morgan and folks of that ilk. They built a club house--now the hotel, the country's first condominium for six members not building a mansion, and living quarters for the over 200 servants working there. It's all owned by the State of GA now who leases the land to the Jekyll Club Authority. The old mansions are now museums, library, art gallery, etc. Some are left as was for viewing tourists, like us. We biked most of the island, took in lunch a couple of afternoons at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel and did the tram tourist ride visiting some of the cottages (mansions).

Jekyll Island Club Hotel (Old Club House)

Hotel (Ckub House) Grand Dinning Room

Hotel (Club House) Reading Room

One "Cottage" on the grounds

Part of the 20-mile bike trail

We departed Jekyll today, crossed the St Andrews Sound and St Mary's inlet and are now docked at Fernandina Beach, as we mentioned up front. Guess who's here? Gale and Mo aboard Blue Heron. Unfortunately, they are departing in the a.m. We'll be here for a couple of days then on to St Augustine, FL for a few days. After that, it's on to Daytona to reconnect with our Milwaukee friends Wally and Karen Juzenas.

Heading to Georgia with the Halloween Tattoos

2010-10-21T20:52:00.000-04:00

We left Bock Marine yesterday and are now at St. James Plantation Marina near Southport NC. Traveling with Joe and Julia aboard Sea Pearl. We'll be in Charleston Sunday-Monday. Then on to Bob and Steph's dock in Georgia on Weds or Thurs. There are a group of boats going from there to Bob and Steph's secret anchorage for a few days. Should be a fun place to spend Halloween - we're bringing the scary stick-on tattoos for everyone.

Vacationing with Rick and Lynnie

2010-10-18T19:17:00.001-04:00

We're in Cary NC (near Raleigh) at Rick and Lynnie's house which, as Norm says, has a whole room just for laundry! We're enjoying being in a home with lots of room and being with our friends whom we haven't seen in person for a year. We've seen movies, played dominoes, ate KFC and Indian and lots of good food at home, jazzercised, walked, shopped, and just hung out. Every moment has been a delight. And tonight, Vicki is conscripting everyone to watch 'Dancing with the Stars' with her. What could be more fun?

Tide Hiker is having her bottom painted at Bock Marine and will be ready to be splashed again tomorrow. At one point we thought we might be staying with Rick and Lynnie until Christmas, but no such luck. Norm had to get an xray after lifting something heavy from an awkward position. The doc said he was very lucky not to need surgery -- had a severely strained bicep -- it's much better now.

We made a couple stops on the way here that were new to us... Smithfield VA up the James River is a delightful town and home to the famous "Smithfield Ham". River Dunes Marina off the Neuse River was delightful. We stayed at marinas on the way here because those anchoring were getting deluged with Chinese mosquito's or 'blind' mosquito's that excrete yellow stuff on the boat which takes hours to clean. Luckily, we avoided that fate.

So, it's adieu to Cary, NC tomorrow. We'll splash the boat, wash her down, reprovision, return the rental car and try to get a good night's sleep aboard Tide Hiker. Then, on Wednesday, it's off to meet up with Joe and Julia aboard Sea Pearl at Morehead City, NC and south to the Mile Hammock anchorage (near Camp Lejeune, NC).

Catching Up and Slimming Down

2010-10-05T16:57:00.001-04:00

Welcome back everyone. We know we have been negligent in updating the blog and we apologize for our lapse in timeliness. Here's a summary of how we got here. We've done a lot since our last update in August. But first, here is a link you can click on to see our cruise route to Urbanna, VA from Rock Hall, MD (Lot's of new places):

Rock Hall, MD to Urbanna, VA

Late summer on the Chesapeake has been full of friends and travel. In mid-August, we cruised the rivers north and south of Baltimore. Niece Aimee and her fabulous fiancee Brian joined us to anchor in the Magothy River where Roger and Lisa pulled in on their boat. Aimee and Brian were the first into the kayak's. They were gone a long time and explored much of the surrounding shore. Later, Rog and Norm caught crab dinner while Aimee and Brian sunned and Vicki and Lisa kayaked. Perhaps we shouldn't mention that Lisa had to be pulled off a shoal twice - the same shoal, coming and going. Lisa was using Norm's kayak which has both pedals and paddle -- and the woman still couldn't dodge the shoal!

Brian and Aimee in the kayaks

Crab feast aboard Tide Hiker. Norm, Brian, Aimee, Lisa, Roger

Middle River, north of Baltimore, is beautiful. The Middle River Yacht Club offers reciprocity with no fee - not even for electric. What a deal, and a nice place with nice people.

Toward the end of August we landed at Anchorage Marina in Canton, walking distance from the inner harbor of Baltimore. This was our base for three weeks. During that time, Vicki traveled to Tucson to see Mom and on to Portland for the wedding of the son of family friends. Norm went to Milwaukee to see the kids and grand kids who all gathered at Katie's cabin for the Labor Day weekend. Colleen, the oldest daughter, confirmed that she and husband Brian are expecting their first baby in May. Great news!

Brian and Colleen (daughter 1), newly expectant parents

Katie (daughter 2) and Jake (grandchild 1)-Waiting for the bus for 1st day back to school

Katie and Evan (grandchild 2). Just showing off.

JoycE (grandchild 3). Just showing off too

Christine (daughter 3) and JoycE.

The MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners Assoc) Rendezvous was held at the Anchorage Marina in mid-September. Unfortunately, Vicki caught a bug on one of her six plane flights and was down and out for the whole rendezvous. Norm saw some great seminars and did the bachelor thing at the social events. It was great to see lots of friends there. We had fun connecting before the rendezvous with Pam and Jim Shipp, Chuck and Pat Berry, Jim and Robin Roberts and Jeff and Karen Siegel and after the rendezvous with Diane and Steve Koch.

After the rendezvous, we putted across the bay to the Wye River, a wild and beautiful place. Delaware friends Peg and Mike joined us aboard Tide Hiker for four days. Roger and Lisa anchored on their boat. We had a wonderful time at the Audubon Center hiking on a bed of pine needles and the first fall leaves. Roger, Mike and Norm caught crab dinner again. (Having learned the last time, Vicki decided not to get the kayaks down!) We had dinner out on the boat deck each night with a remarkably bright moon. We did, however, need to turn on the spreader lights to play dominoes. I'm not sure who the winner was -- my recollection is overshadowed by the fact that Rog once again worked himself into a big hole from which there was no escape.

Carbing up before the big hike tomorrow. Roger, Norm, Peg, Mike, Lisa

Rog, Lisa, Peg, Vicki and Mike on the Trail

Vicki slurping fungi juice. Ummmmm!

Tide Hiker at anchor in Pickering Creek, Wye River, Chesapeake Bay

On to Washburn's Boatyard in Solomons MD for some minor maintenance and sitting out storms. You many recall from previous blogs that we have been here lots before. Washburn's has some of the most capable, friendly and helpful folks. That's why we come here often. We intended to stop by here for a quick installation of a new exhaust elbow on our No. 2 generator and fix a fuel leak on our No. 1 generator and some other minor stuff. But, as luck would have it, the weather turned. The tropical storm that was moving up the east coast and dumped 21 inches of rain on NC slammed us. We were forecasted for 4-5 inches of rain and wind gusts of up to 35mph. We ended up getting over 12 inches of rain. Winds were as forecasted for us. But our friends Todd and Brenda aboard Life's 2 Short, who are anchored south of here recorded sustained winds of 35 and gusts of 45-50. Fortunately their anchor held. Other friends, (Rick and Lynnie aboard Rickshaw) steamed from Atlantic City 95 miles in the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay to our old home port, Summit North Marina safely and just before the unsettled weather rained down on them. Experience really counts folks!!! Norm says "when I grow up I want to be just a good as those guys".

Tide Hiker pulled into the Town Marina in Urbanna Va on Saturday. Vicki found a shuttle driver to take us to one of her favorite things on the Chesapeake - Virginia's Li'l Ole Opry at Donk's Theater in Matthews Va. Very entertaining - fabulous music - a truly unique experience. Betsy, one of the performer/owners of the theater remembered us. She introduced us and others celebrating anniversaries or birthdays to the audience before the show. For us she said "I would like you to meet the Naughton's. They came here last year and docked at the Matthews Yacht Club and we picked them up. This year they are docked at Urbanna and hired a shuttle driver to bring them here". We had to stand up and face the spotlights. Real down-home country folks here guys. The next day the shuttle driver, who is also part time dock hand at the marina, took us a couple miles out of town to another unique experience - a local deli/restaurant called Something Different. The meat and ice cream are from the proprietor's own beef and pigs -- everything is made there -- they insist that you taste everything before deciding what to order --and it's all delicious. We had the "Kick-Ass-Chicken" and the BBQ Pork. Scrumptious!!

You'll recall that the No Booze Cruise to Lose was in full swing during this time. Vicki is easily sustaining a loss of 17 lbs. and many alcohol-free evenings, and enjoying a vastly expanded wardrobe. Norm is down 10 lbs. and needs to buy some skinny jeans.

The Great Deal that Wasn't

2010-08-17T17:50:00.000-04:00

We left Rock Hall this morning, got fuel at Annapolis Landing Marina, and then headed for Eastport Yacht Club just across the bridge from Annapolis. We thought we'd found an incredible deal -- $1/foot including electric at the yacht club with the reciprocity from the MTOA registration on Yacht Clubs of America. It turns out that the deal was good, but the electric didn't work for us. They cater to mostly smaller boats, and while we did tie up at a dock with 50 amp electric -- it's only 125 volts wheras we use 250 volts. We didn't have a cord that would hook up, and we wanted air conditioning, so we decided to leave. Too bad... $1/foot including electric is half price in Annapolis. We're now in "ego alley" for $2/foot plus $15 electric...right in the heart of Annapolis... not a bad place to be!

Arrrgh, you Scalawags...

2010-08-15T18:16:00.000-04:00

To see our most recent cruises and current position, Click Here.

As you know, we had a "dinghy mishap" up in the Sassafras River. Welll, with that fixed at Worton Creek we headed to the Chester River for some water play. The weather had settled and cooled. Great anchoring weather. So, up the Chester to Langford Creek and Cacaway Island.

We got out the toys. Get ready! Set! Play!!!

Vicki paddling on Langford Creek

Norm paddling and peddaling on Langford Creek

A really neat small replica of a Chesapeake Skipjack boat docked on Langford Cr. These boats were the main oyster-fishing boats when oysters were plentiful.

Then it was on to Rock Hall; first, to Haven Harbor Marina. We had a free one-night coupon we won at the last MTOA rendezvous. Then next door to the only marina that had room for us for a week. The weather again turned to "Scorching". The lack of marina space was due to the upcoming "Pirates and Wenches Fantasy" this weekend. It was a hoot. More on that later. First, we got a call from Roger and Lisa (from Dock B at Summit North Marina). They said they have not overdosed on us yet, or the short time we were apart reset the dosage meter a bit for more time. We think that was a compliment, but not sure. Anyway, on a lark they left the dock with no place to go and were wondering where we were. Two hours later they showed up in rock Hall and we celebrated with a tasty meal of garlic shrimp - 8 shrimps per person. You see, they are on this "No Booze Cruise to Lose" too. Here we are with the breadsticks which are a staple at every meal - gotta be able to crunch on something!

This minimalist eating has got to go. Rog, Lisa and Norm savoring the skinniest breadsticks we ever saw.

Rog and Lisa left the next day. Guess the dosage meter had topped out. Vicki and I could not let the lack of calories or energy stop us. So we used all our energy to WAIT for the Pirates and Wenches Fantasy. This was the third year for this event in Rock Hall. Reenactors came from afar to play pirates, buccaneers and wenches. All kinds of garb was on sale to make oneself a pirate look-a-like. Also for sale were savory culinary treats, the smell of which sent us into epicurian depression. Not to mention the grog!!!! But, we survived with only minor setbacks. We're real proud to still be alcohol-free though.

The wench from island of Tide Hiker. (She had to put on a belt to hold up her shorts!)

And the pirate from island of Tide Hiker showing off his skeleton tatoo.

Queen Ann's Carriage

A Buccaneer from PA

A couple buxom wenches

The Rock Hall pirate encampment fire-roasting a ham. (No, we're not fixated on food.)

The weekend included tavern sing-alongs, pirate skirmishes, Queen Anne's search for Graybeard, a decorated dinghy parade and race, beach parties, etc.

A pirate dinghy

Another pirate dinghy

Don't ask. We don't know either! But it was neat! this was Graybeard's transport.

We captured one of the on-water skirmishes. Take a look--a real blast!

The No Booze Cruise to Lose!

2010-08-14T14:28:00.000-04:00

The deprivation is paying off - Vicki is down 9 lbs and Norm has lost 9.6 lbs in 9 days. Our shorts are now too big and our belts are a notch tighter. No need to buy new wardrobes, though, as we have smaller size shorts that haven't been worn for awhile - quite a while! Two more weeks to go on the strict calorie-restricted, no alcohol diet Then another 3 weeks on the no-starches maintenance diet which does allow a small amount of alcohol -- key word "small". Then a lifetime to eat sensibly like we used to before indulging in the cruising life. That will be a challenge, but we'll be motivated by never-ever-ever wanting to do this diet again!

Bad Luck on the Sassafras River

2010-08-06T09:52:00.000-04:00

Upon leaving Summit North Marina on Tuesday, we cruised 4 hours to the beautiful Sassafras River, intending to stay a few days to explore the creeks by dinghy and hike a local park off one of the creeks. After anchoring in a lovely spot, we dropped the dinghy in the water and... it wouldn't start. No amount of prodding, probing, or bribery would start it. Time to start calling for a small-engine repair service, except that we're out of cell phone range and couldn't hail the upriver marinas on the radio. So, up comes the anchor and we pull the dinghy upriver toward civilization. While Norm is on the phone trying to find a repair person, Vicki is toodling around the river checking out some area by shore that might be good for anchoring when she grounds Tide Hiker - oops. Norm comes to the rescue and backs out of the mud and we're off again. After about 15 minutes of proceeding upriver, Norm looks back and says those dreaded words "Where's the dinghy?" It's immediately evident that when backing off the mud, we cut the line to the dinghy. Turn around the boat to search for the dinghy. There it is -- floating on the side of the river in an area too shallow to take the big boat to retrieve it. So, we anchor on the opposite side of the river, hail the boat next door and they happily take Norm in their dinghy to get Tide Hopper. (Boaters sure are nice people.)

That was quite an adventure and we still hadn't found a repair service. Our best hope was one in Worton creek, about 2 hours south, which was supposed to call us back the next day. And they did! Off we went to Worton creek the next day -- to the fuel dock of Green Point Landing Marina. Jack's repair service had Tide Hopper running in a few minutes and pronounced our problem an anomaly. We were tripped up by an anomaly! He also adjusted the carbuerator and Tide Hopper is purring now.

This is going to be a beautiful weekend for anchoring, so today we're off to the Chester River, a few hours south of here. And we'll be using Tide Hopper alot to let her know we appreciate her. On Monday we'll head into Haven Harbor Marina in Rock Hall to have an adjustment made on a loose support on our new awning.

The No Booze Cruise to Lose

2010-08-06T09:27:00.000-04:00

As you can tell from the previous blog posting, our time in Summit North Marina was a food fest. What you didn't see in the blog is that, over the course of 4 days, Vicki had three birthday cakes. Rog and Lisa surprised her with a yummy carrot cake, Norm bought her favorite Black and White Cake from Papa's bakery, and Peg and Mike brought a decadent chocolate cake. All of which were eaten with abandon. All this eating and partying leads us to ... the No Booze Cruise to Lose which commenced Tuesday upon leaving the marina to cruise the upper Chesapeake. We'll be cruising the eastern shore to Rock Hall/Chester River, then crossing to Annapolis for fuel and cruising the rivers north and south of there until landing in Baltimore for a month at the end of August. During this cruise we're on a diet and no alcohol. So far, we've each lost about 5 pounds. We'll be svelt by the end of August. Stay tuned for updates.

"ists" (very important) and more.........

2010-07-31T09:29:00.002-04:00

Welcome back everyone. Sorry for the delay, but we have been really busy. First, and most important, our "ists" gave us great news. Yes, the internists, dentists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists, opthomologists and cardiologists cleared us for another year of cruising the high seas. In addition, Norm's drug test, required for renewing his US Coast Guard Master license, was negative. Really!! The AA and the APA, however, ordered further evaluation. We escaped.

Second, we did make some improvements to Tide Hiker. We won't go into the miscellaneous small items that have been nagging us for a while. But, outside, the teak cap rails are now looking spiffy again, and we have a new sun shade over the aft cockpit (back porch). And, Tide Hiker's hull and topsides has a fresh coat of wax. Our friends Jeff and Karen Siegel, famous Active Captain (http://www.activecaptain.com/) guru's, gave us a great process for redoing the Teak WITHOUT stain and varnish. Coooooool, huh? Take a look below. Inside, we replaced some old waste hoses (ugh), rebuilt a generator raw water pump, repaired the anchor windless, got the "speed through the water (STW) sender unplugged and working again, sanitized the fresh water tanks, updated all of our electronic charts and replaced old beat-up paper charts. So, we and our vessel are ready to cruise again.

Before

After

Before Sun Shade

After Sun Shade Installed-Curtains Up

After Sun Shade Installed-Curtains Down

Our time here was not spent entirely on medical checkups. Not quite. Nor was our time here spent entirely on Tide Hiker maintenance and improvements. No sir. Our very dear friends made us, forced us to party hardy--sort of a celebration for good "ists" results.

Summit North Marina sponsored a pig roast while we were there. So, we had a great lunch of pork (hot off the spit) and the extras along with our favorite Miller Lite beer. Here's Jerry, Nancy Vicki and Roger partaking. Perfect for the hot, steamy days we've been having.

A trip to Wilmington would not be complete without a rendezvous lunch with friends from Vicki's previous employer, Chase Bank. Here's Norm, Vicki, Dottie, Pat P, and Pat D at the Iron Hill Brewery Restaurant. We got caught up on family, business, cruising. Lots of laughs. Thanks guys for breaking away from your busy day at wo, wo, wo, again, I can't say it. This was the perfect thing to do on a hot steamy day.

Meanwhile, back at Dock B, Roger and Lisa, both acquired the new Droid X smart phones. They were showing them off to us. Wow, the functions and applications on this new device are spectacular. But, it took Norm's daughter, Katie, to tell us about a neat app that's perfect for these hot and steamy days. Here's Rog and Norm demonstrating.

Nancy and Jerry love this great little Sushi restaurant near the marina that they wanted us to try. Scrumptious! The Saki was warm, the raw fish was fresh, tender and mouth-watering. And, the presentation was spectacular. See pic? Thanks Nancy and Jerry.

After dinner we found this bit of good luck on the car. We figured that since we just ate raw fish, why not have this for desert. And, since it probably ate every male in the area, perhaps some "just rewards" were in order. But, Nancy wouldn't have any of it and Jerry was forced to shoo it away.

Mike and Peg Wilson, our neighbors from our old neighborhood visited with their daughter-in-law Tum, and their grandson, Jack. Their son, Joel, is in the service. Vicki made a great dinner and we had lots of laughs with Jack playing at the wheel.

Master Jack at the Helm

Vicki, Tum, Jack, Peg aboard Tide Hiker

We also met Mike and Peg at the Cafe Gelato in Newark, DE (home of the University of Delaware and near our marina). This Cafe was voted best in Delaware Magazine's "Best in 2010" edition. And, rightly so. A great experience in this neat little college town. Mike and Peg will be joining us for some cruise time while in the Chesapeake. Looking forward to having them aboard. After all, the bilge still needs to be cleaned, all the stainless fittings require polishing and the non-skid deck surfaces should be scrubbed. Only kidding, guys.

Peg, Mike, Vicki and Norm at the Cafe Gelato in Newark, DE

Rog and Lisa hosted a "Lime in the Coconut" party aboard C-Venture. Bob and Denise cooked up a heaping pot of their famous crab soup. It was scrumptious. Lisa rustled up some salads and Vicki made a coconut cream pie. The drink of the night, of course, was "Lime in the Coconut", which were as plentiful as the tune, which we sang over and over and over and over.

Bob, Roger, Lisa, Vicki and Denise aboard C-Venture

The "coupon queen" found some great discounts for Houlihan's Restaurant. So, Rog and Lisa joined us as we scurried over there for a cheap meal. The martini "flights" (a selection of three different tastes) where the hit. And, Vicki, who never does martini's joined Lisa for three flights. (Was not a pretty picture the next day.) The food was good though and they gave us coupons for a return visit. Therefore, the "Commander-in-Cheap" led us on a second attack to Houlihan's. This time Mike and Fran, reinforcements from Seaford, DE also joined us.

Lisa, Rog, Mike, Fran, Norm and Vicki at Houlihan's

We've also been doing shopping, went to the movies--you know--all that shore-based fun stuff we don't get to do when cruising. Really liked the new movie "Inception". More later..............

Pictures we missed. Enjoy.

2010-07-15T16:41:00.000-04:00

Norm is showing off the neat birthday card he received from his grandsons, Jake and Evan. Coooool, huh?

While anchoring in the Tred Avon River, we HAD to go to the Robert Morris Inn and try the crabcakes that James Mitchner made famous. So, Mike, Fran, Roger Vicki and Norm dingyed over to Oxford. Unfortunately, Roger's mate, Lisa, had to return to work that day. The crabcakes were fantastic and we all raved about them--only to find out upon our departure, that the restaurant was under new ownership and the crabcake recipie was not the "world famous" recipie that James Mitchner enjoyed. Oh well, they were great in our minds--and on our tounges.

Not to be outdone by the "Inn", we decided to find our own crabs. So, we broke out the chicken necks, rods and reels and began to crab off Mike and Fran's boat, Dauntless. We were very sucessful.

Fran and Mike steamed them up in this steamer and got the mallets out for "slammin" those shells.

Mike, Fran and Norm picked until their stomachs were full. (Vicki does not like to pick crab.) Vicki added cole slaw and another side and we were "a-feastin". Unfortunately, Rober had to anchor up and depart for Baltimore to be with family. Too bad Rog, you missed a great fresh crab lunch.

After sad goodbyes to Mike, Fran and Roger, we were off to Harrington Harbor, North, MD to visit with Ed and Connie Dooley. Of course a couple of meals were had and Ed and Connie gave us the tour of Chesapeake Beach and Deale, MD, very nice towns with tons of boats and boaters. Thanks Ed and Connie--we're looking forward to catching up again with you later this year. You can see what I mean about the number of boats. See the video below.

Ciao for now.

Back to Summit North Marina, Bear, DE

2010-07-11T08:36:00.000-04:00

Our final route for this leg of our adventure: Oxford, MD to Bear, DE (Summit North Marina-our home).
Home-bound route

As I write this, we are still cruising up the Chesapeake Bay to the Elk River and the C&D Canal. Expect to arrive Summit North Marina at 1100. We departed Tolchester at 0600 to catch favorable currents. Tolchester was a kinda nice surprise. The docks and facilities are needing some repair, but they are working on that. A lot of slips are covered and last years heavy snows collapased a couple of them. (Hence, our reasons for going SOUTH in the winter.) But, there is a nice pool, restaurant, tiki bar (w/food) by the beach, a beach with lots of dry drift wood for bonfires, some maintenance facilities and nice people. (VERY PROTECTED MARINA) We met a new Defever couple, Steve and Anna Keiser aboard their new-to-them 49 Motor Yacht, "Journey". (That's the 44+5 for we older Defever members). Nice 2006 model. They joined us for cocktails aboard Tide Hiker and we got acquainted. Very nice Philadelphians--hope we run into them again on the water.

IMPORTANT: WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO UPLOAD PICTURES BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT HAD GOOD CONNECTIONS. WE WILL BE UPLOADING ALL THE PICTURES FROM OUR MOST RECENT CRUISES SOON. WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN AND IF INTERESTED, YOU CAN GO BACK TO THOSE SECTIONS AND SEE THEM. Caio, for now.

Ed and Connie

2010-07-08T18:54:00.000-04:00

The last two days we've been at Shipwright Harbor Marina in Deale MD. This is home port to Ed and Connie who we met last summer in Reedville VA when we and they on their sailboat "Surprise" were socked in at Reedville by storms for a couple days. We kept in touch and met up last fall in New Berne NC by surprise and again in Brunswick GA. They were deluxe hosts - lunch the first day at a local eatery where we found out that Connie is alergic to bivalves ( hey, it's not everyone who can say that!), pool action, then cocktails on their boat that evening. Day 2 - a tour of the nearby towns and then lunch at Chesapeake Beach, then naps and dominoes aboard Tide Hiker. They taught us a new domino game - Chicken Foot - definitely doing that again!

Today we had a short journey to the South River - the Selby Bay Yacht Club. Lovely place - great pool - open only on weekends. We're enjoying the opportunity to go to yacht clubs --now that the MTOA is a member of the Yacht Clubs of America, we have reciprocity with most yacht clubs -- it opens a whole new world. This one which is 10 minutes from Annapolis by car is $1/foot.

Tilghman Island and the Lost Pooch

2010-07-08T18:40:00.001-04:00

We stayed at Tilghman on the Chesapeake for two days, a lovely marina for a nice housing development. Great pool - finally cool water - especially good since it was 102-degrees. Our days were like this - walk/run in the morning after getting up late, poolside for the afternoon, lounge on the boat watching movies in the evening. Very relaxing. The first day we walked to Knapps Narrows. Not much on the island. A lovely cafe "Two if by sea" is just outside the housing development and Harrison's Crab House is about a half-mile away -- we could hear their entertainment from the boat. That's about it for Tilghman Island.

The second day, we went for a run/walk and a young black lab joined us. He had a collar with his name "Clyde" and phone number and was looking in every culvert for water. We figured he was lost. After explaining the situation to another walker in the neighborhood, she pointed us to a house that would help us by calling the phone number - they did and the owner came to claim the pooch. (Stephanie will be so proud of us good samaritans.)

Ahhhhh, finally weather we can anchor in.

2010-07-03T14:49:00.001-04:00

We're still on the Tred Avon River near Oxford, MD. But, we moved over to Plaindealing Creek. We'll have a better view of the fireworks tonight. We're planning on Maryland American crab apps, Coney Island American hot dogs, New England American baked beans, Southern American Chocolate Creme, and Washington American apple pies. Mike and Fran (Dauntless) will be aboard celebrating with us. Ummmmmmm, what a way to celebrate our nations birthday!! Happy Birthday America--We Love You!!

The weather is perfect, warm sunny days and cool breezy nights. Unfortunately, it's supposed to get up into the mid-90's again this week, so we may be going back to the marina's for "juice". We'll have to hit the Wye River on our southern treck in the fall.

We've been crabbing and caught enough for lunch for 3 of us yesterday. (Vicki doesn't like to pick crab.) Ummmmmm!!

For those of you following our journey, here are our routes since we left Southport, SC. Just click on the following link:
Our most recent routes from Southport SC to Oxford, MD

Roger and Lisa and the Big Car Carrier

2010-07-01T18:57:00.000-04:00

We're anchored in Trippe Creek off the Tred Avon River north of Cambridge MD with friends from Dock B-- Roger on C-Venture (Lisa is at work in Delaware - the poor woman) and Mike and Fran on Dauntless. Went into Oxford today and celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary at the Robert Morris Inn - we all had crab cakes which were fabulous. Norm and I took home a chocolate carrot cake because we'd never seen it on a menu before - sampled it when we got back to the boat and it is scrumptious! We felt lucky to get a good meal because we'd all been in Cambridge at the Cambridge Yacht Club for a couple days during which we ate out four times with not-so-hot experiences each time.

Roger and Lisa had a harrowing experience on the way to Cambridge. They left Summit North Marina on a pitch dark night to go a ways and anchor at Still Pond. After emerging from the C&D Canal, Rog noticed that his dinghy was loose, paused in the middle of the channel to fix it while Lisa held the boat in the middle of the channel. While securing the dinghy, Rog looked up and saw a light, looked around and saw another light quite a ways away from the first, indicating that there was a ship bearing down on them and it was VERY CLOSE. He raced to the helm, powered to the side of the channel and the giant car carrier passed them no further away than you would be to a train if you were stopped at the railroad crossing (Need I way that the car carrier is about a zillion times bigger than a train and would run you over without even feeling it?) Fortunately, they got out of it's way. Unfortunately, they caught its wake (big wake) on their beam - Lisa thought the boat was going to swamp - it didn't, but lots of stuff was thrown to and fro --- except the rum which remained upright on the counter! We are truly thankful that they're still with us.

Wildlife! and more......

2010-06-24T16:59:00.000-04:00

We're at Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth VA. It's 100+ degrees today and we were attracted by the advertised pool. What a crummy pool! No shade... a few plastic chairs, but not even a table with an umbrella...and it's in a basin with tall walls around it, so no chance for a breeze to penetrate --- not going there.

Today we saw a bald eagle - that's the first one sighted on this trip up north and it's always a thrill to see them. Two days ago we traveled from Dowry Creek Marina (which has a lovely pool that they were adding very cold well water to while we were swimming - very refreshing) to the Alligator River Marina (which has nothing but a gas station near it). Much of that trip is on the Pungo River-Alligator River Canal (which no longer has any alligators). It's 20 miles of staying in the middle of the canal to avoid the tree trunk snags on either side. There's nothing to do, but look for wildlife. Vicki was quite motivated to do so by the promise of a double chocolate ice cream cone for every unusual wildlife sighting. Unfortunately, Norm can no longer be motivated in that way because Vicki awarded him a double chocolate scoop for life when he saw a bear while we were hiking in the Shenandoah Valley. (Well, we weren't hiking at the time, we were driving to the trailhead in Peg and Mike Wilson's car.) But I digress.

Vicki has been awarded two double chocolate scoops for spotting a fox on the shore and a bear swimming acros the canal. The fox was just sauntering through the trees along the shore. The bear first appeared as "something" swimming across the canal - we could see ears poking up and a small v-shaped wake. We grabbed the binoculars and could only tell it was a bear when it emerged from the water. So, so cool!

As we cruised to Intracoastal Waterway mile marker "0", we passed through the Portsmouth Naval Boat Yards that line the waterway. Look at this new warship being built. Cooooool!! Don't forget, you can click on the picture to get a better view.

More New Places

2010-06-18T17:27:00.000-04:00

After traveling up and down the ICW, it's easy to stay at the places you've been before. It's comforting to know the tried and true, but we like variety so we're trying some new places. Our habit after leaving Southport NC would be to stay in Wrightsville Beach and then make the long trek and many bridges to Rick and Lynnie's marina in Morehead City. Instead, we stopped at the Harbor Village Marina past Wrightsville Beach and 2 bridges after Topsail Inlet. We found this on Active Captain - Jeff and Karen have stayed here twice. You have to call ahead - they don't monitor channel 16, so communication is by phone. The only transient dockage they have is on the fuel dock - floating docks in a residential basin off the ICW. Very nice! Several of the Active Captain entries comment on the excellent Chinese Food delivery, so we're trying that tonight. Tomorrow is a 65 mile run to Beaufort where we'll stay on the Beaufort Docks - another first. The Big Rock marlin tounament is hosted in Morehead City this weekend, so we couldn't get into the Morehead Yacht Basin where we usually stay. Should be fun to be in Beaufort where we'll be right downtown.

Be the "Willow"!

2010-06-16T17:49:00.003-04:00

Our most recent cruise route--3 days from Charleston, SC to Georgetown, SC, to South Myrtle Beach, SC to Southport, NC. Remember, just click on the following link and when the map comes up, just use the zoom buttons to see more detail. Enjoy!
Charleston, SC to Southport, NC

Vicki writes...
Cruising has definitely improved my flexibility in a major way. By flexibility I mean not muttering expletives when circumstances intervene to cause my plans to be modified. This is a very good change.  My temperament is wired to plan ahead. This is definitely and asset, but can get in the way when changes to the plan makes one irritable (perhaps an understatement) as it used to for me.

Today was a good example of how flexibility is needed on the boat.  The alarm woke us up at 4:45am (the earliest yet) to allow us to catch the Cape Fear River with the current in our favor. We won't trave that river when current is against us because it's 3.5 knots, half of our cruising speed.  The first thing Norm said (after that thing he said that I can't repeat when the alarm went off) was "Is that lightening?" Indeed it was. So, we waited. The storms cleared, but not early enough to catch the favorable current on the Cape Fear River. So we changed our plans and went into Southport Marina, a stop just before the river.

At the marina, we sought help with a fuel issue. Norm has been having to change the fuel filters every day since we loaded on fuel just north of Charleston at Isle of Palms Marina. The filters are getting black crud in them every day. Not a good thing.  Maintenance personnel diagnosed the problem and half of the fix (the mechanical half) will be in tomorrow.  The other half (the actual contaminated fuel half) will be treated chemically and cleaned up, hopefully, from the inside. Otherwise we'll require fuel polishing--that's where they pump all 700 gallons through an external filter and return clean fuel to the tank. Wish us luck that the chemical treatment works. So, it looks like we're here for another day - unplanned, but OK.

Yes, boating requires one to bend like the willow. Boaters' mantra: "Be the willow!"

Cooling Off

2010-06-15T19:55:00.000-04:00

We found a new spot -- Barefoot Resort and Yacht Club in Myrtle Beach SC. It was recommended by Bob and Cheryl Klein. It boasts the biggest pool in SC - no kidding! Unfortunately, the place is in receivership, so the resort amenities are all closed down. On a day with 110-degree heat index, we arrived today at 1:00, just when it was starting to feel really stifling, and an afternoon at the pool was mighty fine. Tomorrow is a 10-hour day to Wrightsville Beach. The heat index is forecasted to be 98 degrees - this is what they call a cool spell in the summer south.

Our Recent Routes..........

2010-06-13T20:18:00.000-04:00

Greetings Everyone. Here's a couple maps of our most recent cruises since we left Apollo Beach (Tampa), FL in late May.

Part 1--Tampa to Stuart, FL
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=102224145462847302635.000488e87209d867fe605&t=h&z=9

Part 2--Stuart FL, to Charleston, SC
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=102224145462847302635.000488f1e39a7a0c5000f&t=h&ll=32.944149,-81.134033&spn=5.401605,17.53418&z=7

Shark!

2010-06-12T16:13:00.000-04:00

After a 10 hour cruise, we landed at Port Royal Landing Marina just outside Beaufort SC. We wanted to be at the Beaufort Marina, but they're full! Must have jinxed it by mentioning in the previous blog that we're having no problem finding dockage because everyone has left the south for more temperate climes. Guess everyone is out on the water here for the weekend.

Vicki saw a shark today. She was piloting and a gray fin (she says "ominous" gray fin) came swimming toward Tide Hiker and around to the side of the boat where Vicki could clearly see about a 5-6 foot shark which reinforced her desire to never again swim in anything but a pool.

Where are the Flies?

2010-06-11T17:41:00.000-04:00

Today's cruise was about 8 hours from Golden Isles Marina on St.Simons Island to Kilkenny Marina south of Savannah. Lovely day until we were about 30 minutes out from our destination where we ran into a t-storm. Fortunatlely, it was quite a tame storm - some lightening, moderate rain for a short time, but no wind. We were afraid that the Georgia biting flies would be swarming, but so far there have only been a few. Of course, those few managed to bite both of us!

Kilkenny Marina is truly "Deliverance" country in the Georgia marshes. The docks are as rickety as some of the finger piers on Dock B and we said a prayer when Norm plugged into exposed electric outlet. Still, the people are very nice as they are pretty much anywhere. It's a great country and we're happy to once again be seeing a beautiful slice of it as we travel north.

No Problem Finding Dockage

2010-06-10T18:33:00.000-04:00

Well, we're having no problem finding dockage because everyone leaves Florida in the summer... and we've discovered why -- it'a stinking hot with temps in the 90s and humidity at 80%. Anchoring would be a prescription for no sleep, so we're tied to land every night. After Titusville, we spent a night at Pete and Lil Satterlee's dock in New Smyrna Beach. They were in the Bahamas, but had given us the go-ahead to use their dock. We taxied to the movie theater to see Prince of Persia which was a fun action romp. Tuesday night was the St. Augustine City Dock. Yesterday at Fernandina Beach Municipal Marina we celebrated Norm's birthday at Luigi's with linguini and clams in white sauce (Norm) and lasagna (Vicki). Both meals were excellent and we dined al fresco which was delightful. We arrived about noon today at Golden Isles Marina near Brunswick GA, used the courtesy car for a run to the grocery store, then Vicki spent a couple hours doing laundry at the marina laundry facility. She decided not to do laundry onboard thinking that it's not a good idea to operate our washer and dryer in the 100-degree heat in the engine room -- they're really not designed to operate in that heat, and replacing them would be a major, major headache.

We're getting back into the swing of using the blog after sitting still in Tampa for the winter -- we'll try to update every few days.

Finally Heading North

2010-06-06T16:49:00.000-04:00

We left Stuart two days ago. Norm finished all the maintenance. Vicki Jazzercized and Publixed and Best Buyed. We're happy to finally be moving north. Last night was Vero Beach where we walked about 1.5 miles to the beach and had cocktails in Adirondack chairs overlooking the ocean. Tonight we're in Titusville - arrived just before the storms.

Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart

2010-05-27T17:00:00.002-04:00

We arrived in Stuart FL yesterday - on the east coast again. Norm promptly went to work with his head down in the bilge working on plumbing. It turns out that one of the blades in the impeller inside the mascerator had a hole in it, so wasn't able to move the waste out of the boat. The boat smelled like a sewer while being worked on, but is fine now. Luckly, or plannily, Norm had a spare mascerator. The old one will be rebuilt so that once again we will have a spare. Next up - what is that funny sound near the starboard engine? The mechanic figured out it was a problem with the alternator - a new one is on its way and will be installed on Saturday. So, all problems are at bay on Tide Hiker. We get to enjoy a few days at the lovely Sunset Bay marina over the Memorial Day weekend.

Had a great cocktail hour and dinner with friends who are also here - Joe Nekola on Sea Pearl, Nelson aboard Isolde, Nancy and Steve whom we just met aboard Salty Turtle. Ron and Charma were also with us last night, but left today to head back to Apollo Beach. It 's great to connect with them all again. Gotta go - time for cocktail hour at Sailor's Return.

The Endless Class Reunion

2010-05-25T20:02:00.000-04:00

We're in Clewiston on the west coast of Lake Okeechobee, crossing the lake to Stuart tomorrow where we'll meet up with Joe Nekola and Ron and Charma Owens. No tar balls in sight today! We did escape a thunderstorm by docking 30 minutes before it arrived. Several boats arrived in the thick of the wind and we ran out to help them dock. We enjoyed a cocktail with them at the tiki bar and found out they used to be members of the DeFever Cruisers group and know many of the people we do - they spent some time recently with Joe Nekola in the Bahamas. Too cool to always be running into someone we know while cruising or someone who knows someone we know-- it's like an endless class reunion --- or maybe not. Anyway, it's good to be on the water again - there's no experience quite like it.

The Dancing with the Stars finale is tonight - all 3 hours of it. (Norm is thrilled.) Go Nicole and Derek!

Back On The Water Again

2010-05-24T17:05:00.000-04:00

We're baaaaaaack!!

Yes, we're back on the water again. This is our second cruise day after leaving Apollo Beach, FL yesterday morning. We're currently anchored off Useppa Island. This anchorage is a bit exposed, but the forecast calls for mild weather tonight. Useppa you ask? Why are you South you ask? Wern't you going North to the Tennessee River you ask? Yes, we were. But, thanks to BP, our esteemed government, and the rest of the incompentent bandits responsible for that disasterous oil spill, we must ESCAPE. Our intended route across the Gulf of Mexico to Mobile Bay and up the inland rivers was "scrapped" in favor of safer environs. While we might have beat the oil to Mobile Bay, we're not sure it won't be there when we try to return to the Gulf later. So, we'll retrace out steps down to Ft Myers, across the Okeechobee Waterway and up the East coast to the Chesapeake for the summer. As most of you know, our insurance requires us to be North of Florida's hurricane season before July 1.

The powers of suggestion are alive and well, Yesterday, as we cruised down the Intracoastal Waterway Norm thought he saw a "tar ball". Of course it was only a bag in the water. We got a laugh out of that.

Also, many of you know we were in Apollo Beach much longer than expected. Our hosts there, Ron and Charma Owens were awesome. They allowed us to dock Tide Hiker at their place while they docked Waypoint (thier boat) at a neighbor's. We were only supposed to be there while Ron did some work on Tide Hiker (he's an accomplished carpenter and electrician, among other boat maintenance skills) while we completed some previously arranged travel. But, when Vicki's mom unexpectantly required assistance, we needed additional time. Even though we were planning to move over to the local marina, Ron and Charma accomodated our dilemna with smiles, generousity. We will never forget their kindness and friendship. And, the work Ron did on Tide Hiker, was supurb! Thanks Ron and Charma!

Being in Apollo Beach had some additional benefits. Norm's aunt and uncle live in Sun City Center, just 5 or so miles south. And a friend he worked with in NYC in the 70's lives just an hour north. Norm was able to visit his relatives several times and get reacquainted with his friend after 30 years. Awesome!

That's all for this update. Thanks for tuning in and come back from time to time, see our progress on Google Maps when we enter them and read about our adventures.

Meet Joyce........

2010-04-08T19:32:00.001-04:00

What a great trip to Milwaukee. On our first night there, we met and got to know Joyce, our little 4-week young grand-miracle. We also got reacquainted with Jake and Evan, our 6-year and 3-year young grand-miracles. And, we had great visits with Chris and Katie our 30-something miracles; Joel and Dave, our 30-something miracles-in law; and, Russ, Chris's father miracle-in-law. We very much missed Colleen, our other 30-something miracle and Brian, our other 30-sometning miracle-in-law.

Joyce Evelyn Duris--Only Hours Old

Grandma Vicki and Joyce

Grandpa Norm and Joyce

Mom, holding Joyce and Aunt Katie

Future "Dancing with the Stars" Equipment

We dined on great food and many adult beverages. In fact, our grandson, Chez Evan prepared the entire meal that night. Look--

Chez Evan, proud of his cooking.

On Friday, Vicki's niece, Rachel and nephew, Alex visited with us. They drove up from Rockford, IL, Vicki's home town too. We had a great visit with them. We all went to the local ice arena. Unfortunately, the only pictures we took of Rachel and Alex were videos on the ice rink which this new blog format will not permit.

Jake, who scored 7 goals in his latest hockey game

Evan made his debut skating try but preferred instead to tire out Grandpa Norm in the arcade

Vicki and Norm met with their friends Cindy and Steve Warner for dinner on Saturday night. Cindy and Vicki worked together at Miller for many years.

Norm, Vicki, Steve, Cindy

On Easter Sunday, we all met up for an early dinner at a local restaurant. Unfortunately, Dave, Jake and Evan left earlier that day for home up in central Wisconsin.

Of course we had to visit with the Easter Bunny too.

Russ (Joel's dad), Katie, Norm, Chris, Margaret (Jerrod's girl friend), Jerrod (Joel's brother), Joel, Virginia (Joel's mom), Vicki

On Monday, we once again went over to Chris and Joel's. Vicki spent the entire day cooking up meals for our new mom and dad. Norm made three trips to the grocery store and kept the cooking utensiles clean for the next batch of meals. It was quite a production. Vicki cooked and froze over 30 meals for them so they would not have to worry about cooking while adapting to life with a new baby. So, Joel rewarded us by grilling up some bison-burgers and sausage for dinner.

Chris and Joel and Joyce--bye for now!

California to Arizona to Florida.....then to Wisconsin! Wow!

2010-03-27T13:31:00.000-04:00

Our recent travels from Tampa and return via the Panama Canal. Just click on this link:

Round Trip to-from Tampa via the Panama Canal

Last Saturday, we flew from San Diego to Tucson, AZ. We planned to stop in Tucson to visit Vicki's Mom, Avie, and Norm's cousin, Frank. Avie is in the process of moving from her home of 20+ years to an apartment in a senior living community. The change has been difficult but everything is falling nicely into place. Avie will have an almost new custom and expanded apartment with great views of the Santa Catalina mountains. Still plenty to do, of course, with the real estate closing, moving, estate sales, etc. And, Vicki will be making another trip to Tucson in April/May for 6-weeks to assist with all of that.

In the meantime we all needed a break. So, we met with Norm's cousin Frank Naughton and his wife Claudia for dinner one night. We had lots of laughs, great adult beverages and tasty food. Thanks Frank and Claudia for visiting with us.

Frank, Claudia, Avie, Vicki, Norm

Well, it was time to continue our journey back to our own boat/home. So, an early flight out of Tucson got us into Tampa early evening. Found Tide Hiker in need of a bath, but in great shape. Spring is here and the trees are budding and everything's "greening up". It's beautiful here and we're very grateful to Ron and Charma for allowing us to dock here.

We're now doing haircuts, exercise, diets, laundry, dry cleaning, catching up with friends and mail and preparing for our next trip to Milwaukee to meet our new granddaughter, Joyce, and the rest of the family. We're really excited!!