Finishing up our Trip, Almost

 

Pictures: One of our evening distractions while cruising is Mexican Train dominoes; Jean and Doug from Maine (their cruising boat is MIM); one of the monkeys we saw on a South Carolina island--strange but true; entrance to Windmill Harbor on Hilton Head Island, through a private lock; Ken at a fish market in Georgetown SC; several college sailing teams were in Oriental NC for a regatta when we were there; The Bean, at the town dock in Oriental

Pictures: Two Coast Guard officers checking out our safety equipment in Norfo;k VA; our boat with a ferry next to us, and a Navy ship in the background in Portsmouth VA; Heidi trying to blend in with the street mural in Hampton VA; the Travelift is moving VICTORIOUS at Deltaville Boatyard--there is another boat like ours on the right; Sienna showing off her moves; Kenny with Harold in his backyard; almost everyone from our extended family, at Easter.

From Florida to Virginia we had a very interesting series of small cities (or large towns): St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach (FL), Hilton Head, Beaufort (SC), Charleston, Georgetown (SC), Wrightsville Beach, Oriental (NC), Portsmouth (VA) and Hampton. In each of these towns we either got fuel, food, beer, or all three. We also hid from strong winds in Swansboro SC and Great Bridge VA, two days at each place. Any one of these towns would be a great destination for a long weekend or a week. Of these towns, the only one that we just passed and did not stop at was Charleston. They suffered damage from the hurricane in the fall and the marina that we prefer was still not open for business yet.
There was not much boat traffic, a combination of the winds, and the cooler weather. Some days we only see two or three other cruisers' boats, and only a handful of local fishing boats. However, in Kilkenny GA we anchored next to another cruising couple from Maine, on a trawler of similar size to ours. We had seen them coming out of a small creek not on the official ICW route earlier in the day and asked them where they had come from. It turns out that they had diverted to a small island in the string of Georgia Sea Islands because there are lemurs on the island, imported from Madagascar. It is otherwise uninhabited. They seem to be there for a research project. A few days later we stopped with our new Maine friends and checked out another island, this time in South Carolina, named Morgan Island. You can't go ashore, another research project, but this time there were rhesus monkeys that had the run of the island. We watched a few of them near the shore, and in the trees.
In Hilton Head we stayed at an unusual marina, part of a gated community, and the access to the marina was through a private small lock. Inside the harbor there was no tide, hardly any wind (and it was very gusty during our stay there) and the marina staff was very friendly and helpful. This part of Hilton Head is separate from the bike trails that wind through the rest of the island, and a big bridge and highway keeps you from accessing any of the roads suitable for walking or biking. During our 48 hours there we did get an Uber ride to a great lunch place. We also got to watch college sailboat race teams each day as they left through the lock and practiced during their spring break.
We had a visitor to our boat in Beaufort SC that really made us grin! Peter Mahoney and his crew steamed through our mooring area in their Hull lobster boat, headed straight for us. They had just brought the boat back from the Bahamas and up the coast this far, and it was so good to see them. We exchanged news that evening with Peter, and the next morning he was off before we got up.
Being back in The South (for some reason Florida is not as "South" as Georgia, S. Carolina, N.Carolina and Virginia) means that most music we can find on the radio is Country. We are back to having more opportunities to eat fresh shrimp, crab, grits, biscuits with gravy, and hush puppies. There are some days with long trips through the marshes on the ICW but there we usually see osprey, eagles, loons, pelicans, dolphins, and one day an alligator.
Our stay in Oriental NC was at a free dock that the town provides. It is next to some nice stores and a great coffee shop with ice cream, too. We watched some of the NCAA basketball tournaments at a pub there, both womens and mens. Teams from South Carolina  and North Carolina were victors.
In Virginia, near Norfolk and Portsmouth, we were chosen for a Coast Guard Safety boarding. It was a gray, cold day and there were no other cruising boats around so its not surprising they picked us. They launched an inflatable chase boat from a larger boat, and three "Coasties" came alongside of our boat, telling us not to slow down and to let two of them board while the third piloted the inflatable parallel to us.  The boarding party, one male and one female, checked a few items off of a safety list (we passed) and then asked us questions about our boat as they were curious about its design.
Later that day we walked around the area of Portsmouth that is near to their complimentary city dock. We took in a gallery opening at one of the museums (there were at least 5 museums within 4 blocks) and a free jazz concert with refreshments at another part of the same museum. In Hampton, our stop the next day, we found a new brewery right at the dinghy dock near our anchorage. It is called Bull Island Beer and they make some delicious brews.
The reason we are not home yet is that we stopped at Deltaville VA, had our boat hauled out so that the bottom can be painted (it is important to do this at least once each year). We will do the painting ourselves, but first we rented a car and drove home to visit our family back in Massachusetts. In addition to a few casual visits, we got to be part of a very nice Easter dinner at Jamie and Justin's house and to visit with Pete and Eri several times. Of course this means that we got reacquainted with grandchildren Kenny and Sienna after too long away from them. This was a 13 day detour that we both agreed worked out well.  Today is the first day we are back at Deltaville. We will fill you in on the rest of the trip in a few weeks.