February 2nd & 3rd, 2010

Hi all;

Some management items first; please remember that the blog bosses list all the stories in ascending order. That is, oldest posts last, newest posts on top. To see the first January posts, click on January, then scroll down the list, etc. Could be that is descending order; I suppose that is a perspective issue. In order to enlarge a photo, just double click it.

After a couple of dreary days we now find ourselves docked at Jekyll Island Harbor Marina, just off Jekyll Creek in Georgia. It has been interesting to note that a lot of the books tend to be a bit pessimistic about the ICW thru Georgia; shoaling in particular. Our opinion, perhaps as yet untested, has been that this has been a faster, smoother, trip than the leg thru South Carolina. The marshes have ranged from lovely, prairie like masses of color to gloomy gus like misty mounds of grasses & sand. Could be the weather has influenced my outlook on this a bit. Although the drizzle hasn't dampened our sense of adventure, it does make one long for a ray of sunshine occasionally. Speaking of sense of adventure, there is nothing quite like hissing and rumbling thru the fog & drizzle looking for a little red triangle that some coast guards person stuck on a pole in the middle of the swamps, hopefully on the correct edge of the channel. Find that one, then find the next one. Tug & barge coming? Dunno, press on! Radar helps, but one of the aging traits it is displaying is a lack of stamina. Boy, is that a bummer sometimes!
Wind and current have been our biggest and most interesting learning experiences. Look at the rooster tail (OK, feather) on the anchor chain in the photo at the left. Shortly after that was taken the boat swung sideways 'cause it couldn't deal with the wind on port side stern vs the current from the starboard side bow. Cool, but a bit unnerving. Newly made acquaintances related how their 46' schooner dragged anchor, went into the mud bank and rolled over onto its side. They were anchored in the next creek over from us last night.
For those of you not familiar with Jekyll Island's history, a quick check on the internet will bring you up to speed much, much faster than I can ever hope to. In short, some really, really, rich folks bought an island to play with in the 30's. It really is a neat place. Old houses surrounded by amazing trees, a working hotel, complete with everything, or anything you might need. Miles of bike trails, acres of lush green grass, and lots of little trains ( wagons) pulled by little red jeeps driven by young folks talking about the really, really, rich folks who built the neat old houses. Still, a great place to hang out. We walked thru the complex, then thru the neighborhood, primarily to just walk after 5 days on the boat. The woods are cool. Lots of Spanish moss hanging from trees, little palm trees, big palm trees, and lots of birds. I'm given to understand that there may also be 'critters around, but as yet, we haven't seen any of those. We may hang here tomorrow; or we may move on, we'll keep you posted. Stay warm & dry. Have a great evening, turn into the skid!