Memorial Day 2015

The Memorial Day Weekend Crowd!

We attended our granddaughters graduation (from 5th to 6th grade) on the Thursday before Memorial Day.  She lives in a different town than us, but it is sort of on the way to the boat so the plan was to head to the boat for Memorial Day weekend after her graduation.  As luck would have it, her principal announced that they did not have to attend the last day of school on Friday.  What better graduation present than a cruise?  So she quickly packed and joined us on our trip.

We decided to go to Cumberland Island.  Some of you may recall that we tried to take Tori to Cumberland Island last year, but mechanical failures left us short of the goal.

Canopy Road

So off to Cumberland Island we went.  We left Friday morning and after 5 hours we dropped anchor with about a dozen other boats off Cumberland Island.

The next day we launched the dinghy and went over to the dinghy dock to explore the Island.  We walked about a mile to the old ice house, which has been turned into a museum.  It showed the history of Cumberland Island which included the era of the Carnegies who at one time owned most of the Island.

Dungeness Ruins

After checking out the Dungeness Dock which was next to the museum and discovering we could have taken our dinghy straight there and avoided the mile walk, we started off for the Dungeness ruins.  We traveled a canopy road that ran from the dock to the ruins of the mansion and as we walked we could just imagine guests arriving to visit the Carnegies and being taken down this road in a horse drawn carriage.  It must have been impressive. After a short carriage ride the visitor would round the bend and suddenly see the huge mansion.  What a sight it must have been before it burned down.  Even now as ruins is it still impressive!

A group of horses grazes on grasses exposed by low tide

A herd of horses wandered the grounds of the mansion grazing on the grass that makes up the huge lawn.  Horses have run wild on the Island for hundreds of years.  At last count there are about 150 still on the Island.  We ran into small groups of them throughout our stay at the Island and could even spot them from Elixir.

After visiting the ruins, we proceeded on towards the beach.  Along the way we visited the small graveyard which was next to what was probably once a small church.

A knarled forest

The walk to the beach was long and much of it was through sand dunes.  By the time we arrived at the beach, we were ready for a dip in the ocean!  I was very surprised that on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, there was barely a person on the 17 mile long beach!  One of the benefits of having a boat! (there is no way to reach the Island by car)  We walked another mile down the beach to a path that cut through the Island through a cool looking forest and ended up back at the dinghy dock.  After a full day, we return to Elixir for some rest and relaxation.

Main Street - Fernandina Beach

Having spent the day on Cumberland Island, Tori decided she wanted to change up the scenery and visit the nearby town of Fernandina Beach, Florida, on Amelia Island.

So Sunday morning we pulled up anchor and traveled a little over an hour to Fernandina Beach.  We pulled into the marina which is right next to the town.  We walked around checking out all the little shops.  We found a great little outdoor patio restaurant and enjoyed a great and relaxing lunch.  Then on to more shops!

A White Sun !

That evening, as we sat on the flybridge of Elixir, I suddenly spotted the moon.  It was only around 5 in the afternoon, so I was surprised to not only see the moon, but I was surprised at how bright it was.  A perfectly round disc of bright white, I called Marie over to look at it.  Just as she did, it started getting brighter until it hurt our eyes to look at it.  It was then that I realized that I was looking at the sun, not the moon!  I had never seen a white sun before so it was pretty cool!

Outside Restaurant

After a fun filled weekend, we returned to Brunswick on Monday.  Because it was a 6 hour trip returning, we stayed on board Monday night and drove Tori home on Tuesday.

After a year of trying, we successfully took Tori on a trip to Cumberland Island!

Tori gets showered by bubbles in Fernandina Beach

Both the day and our trip draw to an end with a great sunset!

Weekend Getaway

Moonlight at Cabin Bluff

One of the things we like to do is leave the dock on a regular weekend and just drop anchor somewhere nearby.  It really doesn't matter where, its just the joy of relaxing out where no one can bother you (ok - except for those pesky cell phones).  Sometimes people ask me why I want a boat that I don't fish on and can't go anywhere fast.  But if you have ever stayed on the beach, whether it be a condo, hotel, or house, you know how relaxing it is to just sit and listen to the wind and the water.  Well that's how it is with a boat.  The only difference is that if I get tired of the scenery or don't like my neighbors, I can move!

So last weekend we dropped anchor off Cabin Bluff, about 3 hours south of Brunswick by boat.  The idea was to relax and also to explore some sandbars I had seen on our way back from Miami.  We departed Thursday night and got there just before sunset.

American Star Cruise Liner passing our anchorage

By the time we woke up on Friday, the day was already starting out on the wrong foot (we'll get to that wrong foot later).  The weather had been predicted to be nice, but we woke to 10-15 mph winds!  Its hard to sit and enjoy the scenery in that kind of wind.

By afternoon, the tide went out enough to expose the sandbars and so we decided to explore them even in the wind.  We hopped in the dinghy and headed to shore.  The first thing we discovered was that it was not a sandbar, but a sand and mud bar.  So with each step you sunk a few inches.  Walking was laborious and you would not want to lay down to soak up the sun as you would also soak up the mud!

American Star the next day at Brunswick

Huge fish at our dock!

Marie suggested that I put out the anchor, but I said it was not necessary as the tide was going out so the the dinghy would end up being completely out of water anyway.  She didn't argue and we went to exploring the little island.  I guess we explored for longer than I realized because suddenly I looked over to see our dinghy drifting across the cove!  "No worry", I told Marie, "I will walk around the cove and retrieve it."  I started winding my way back and forth across the small sandbars which were still exposed, careful not to step on one of the many baby stingrays trapped in the tidal pools, and made my way towards the other side.  No sooner did I cross the last pool of water to reach the other side when the mud/sand just turned into pure muck!  I began sinking deeper and deeper with each step until I was sinking in past my knees.  At that point I became worried that I might sink in deep enough that I couldn't get out.  In addition, I realized the only thing that was keeping me from sinking deeper was that I was walking on the tips of mussels in a large submerged mussel bed.  If any of you have seen them, you know that they create colonies with each one connected to those around them forming a solid foundation but with the sharp edges of their shells all pointing up.......at me!  So I turned around and slowly retraced my long zig-zag path I had taken to get there.  When I was almost back to the starting point, I was closest to the dinghy as the crow flies, or in this case, the fish swims.  So I dove in and swam across the cove to get the dinghy.  Of course the dinghy was beached in a shallow mucky area and so I had to crawl on all fours through the muck to reach the dinghy.  As I climbed over the side of the dinghy, all the muck came with me and our grey dinghy instantly turned black!  At last I got the dinghy into water and started the motor and rescued Marie.

Manatees feeding on our dock!

Later, I felt something on my toe and looked to discover that it was split wide open!  It must of happened when I was walking on the mussel shells but I did not realize it.  Marie immediately went into doctor mode and patched me up but she said I should have gotten several stitches as the cut was about an inch long and fairly deep!

The next day the winds calmed down and it turned out to be a beautiful day.  Marie and I were both worn out, me from my adventure and her from stressing over the odds of my survival, so we just sat on the boat all day and watched the world go by!

The next day, we headed back to Brunswick.  Just like everything in life, boating has its ups and downs, but I'm always ready for the next trip!