At 8:30 am, we were told we had to move our boat to a different slip than we agreed upon the day before. And, we had to do it now because the owner of the slip was waiting for us to move even though the day prior we were told they were coming in the afternoon. We were frustrated that we were put in a rush situation. It was not slack tide, but the current wasn’t bad. We hurried up and moved the boat. Mornings seem to be challenging while we’ve been here. Mike and crew did great and we docked the boat with no issues. In moments like this ti reminds us we’ve got skill and should try to stress less. We now have a great view of a nearby bridge!

Kelly caught Jen’s cold. It isn’t covid, it is just a regular cold. Jen has been sick for several days now, so Kelly is hoping to shorten the time. She is gargling with salt water, taking vitamin C and strong OTC meds. It was a quiet, uneventful day. 

Jen made breakfast and took a nap, as she is still a little sick too. Kelly worked on blog posts and Mike worked.

After work, Jen and Mike ran some errands including going to Sea Eagle Fish Store for local shrimp. Jen cooked it with pasta and it was great. Our Beaufort friends, Marsha and Steve, are right…the local shrimp here is great!

In the pictures below you’ll see Jen standing next to one of the pilings at low tide, a similar picture can be found in yesterdays post of her next to the piling at high tide… The 9.5ft tide change around here is insane!

Happy Birthday Michael!!! Hard to believe Michael is 20 years old today. It’s true that time flies. We are so proud of what great young man Michael he has become. Also, we are thankful of all the work Michael did on our boat to get us ready for our big journey. He may not be traveling with us physically, but he is always with us. We love you with all our hearts, Michael.

Our morning started with a bit of a scare. Our neighbor at the dock pulled away just before high tide which was a strong current. He got away from the dock fine, but as he tried to make the turn into the ICW in reverse, the current pushed his stern into our anchor at the bow. Jen and Kelly were still sleeping, and it was a very loud awakening.  Mike was outside at the stern and we all came running to the bow. There is no visible damage to the boat, but it took some time to free our anchor from his boat. They have some damage, but it could have been worse. They were shaken by it and decided to bring the boat back to its slip and not go anywhere. Smart move. Don’t travel when you are stressed. The lesson learned is to wait for currents to slow down. When maneuvering in tight spaces, currents can be your worst enemy.

Mid-morning, the dock master told us we had to move our boat because someone that rents our slip full time is coming back! After some negotiating and expressing some frustration, we agreed to move the boat tomorrow to the slip next to us in the morning during slack tide. We were not happy about moving because there is always some risk moving the boat.  

In the afternoon, Kelly did 8 loads of laundry which included sheets and blankets.  Marina laundry prices range from occasionally free to $6 for wash/dry load. Today, laundry is $3.50 to wash and dry. There were 3 washers and 3 dryers and a nice folding table and because some machines were occupied, laundry took 5 hours. We were glad to have it done. The prior marina had broken machines and Hilton had none, due to a past hurricane.  

Mike did some boat projects in the evening, and we called it an early night.

One of our friends from Marathon, Marsha and Steve Parkes, live in Beaufort, SC. They dropped off one of their cars today for us to use while we are here. So awesome!  

Marsha and Steve are both recovering from COVID so we are unable to spend time with them. However, Steve did take us for a short drive around town and show us many points of interest. Marsha and her family have a lot of history in town. He showed the house she was born in and all the homes her family has owned and still owns. It was so much fun.

Afterwards, we went to “Q on Bay” for lunch. Because of staffing issues at all restaurants, the wait was 45 min. long so we ate at the bar instead. It turned out to be more fun anyway. We met a nice couple from Chicago that loved hearing about our trip. We also met Andrew, on a sailboat by himself. We saw him in the morning, pull his boat up to a free city dock all by himself!! It was so impressive, and it was fun to meet him.  The food was really good – brisket sliders, loaded grits, stew, mozzarella sticks…. We also enjoyed beer flights. We each had 4 flights and loved all of them. We will definitely be coming back.

Afterwards, Jen was still recovering from being sick, so she rested on the boat while Mike and Kelly took a drive.  Beaufort is a nice small town. There are a lot parks to explore. It was late in the day, so nothing was open, but we enjoyed driving around.  

Later that night, we got a pizza from a famous restaurant in town, “Hearth Wood Fired Pizza”. The mushroom pizza with truffle oil was great. The caesar salad was a bit sad and boring. We might be back but won’t order a salad!!