A-HA! Moment

In a recent visit to the bank I had an A-HA moment.  I don't know if many people have these types of moments at the bank except maybe --oops, I guess I didn't beat that check to the bank with my deposit.  I am not talking about those kinds of situations at the bank.

It all started because  the teller asked me if I had been in town (we are in St. Simons) for the Fourth of July.  I responded by telling her we had come down after my husband ran in the Peachtree Road Race.  She was in awe that we would travel after the race.  I explained to her that he had never run (without being chased) before and he ran the race only because Katy told him he couldn't and his Uncle Eddie challenged him.  He wanted to finish the race and make it to St. Simons for fireworks.  Steve loves fireworks.

It occurred to me at that moment that I should try that same technique Katy  & Eddie used so effectively  for my own personal devices.  I have  imagined several scenarios...

•  there is no way you can remodel our bathroom that is 21 years old, it is   impossible.  
•  you cannot possibly figure out how to enlarge our laundry room, it would require an architect to design. 
•  you cannot built a pergola over the deck, it wouldn't be structurally sound.
•  you cannot add arbor in the yard to grow muscadines, it's just too hard and the deer would eat everything

The teller jumped in with her own ideas.

• No, honey there is no way you could survive doing the laundry for a week.
• No Dear, it would probably kill you to do the grocery shopping for a month.

I wish I had known this technique when shopping with the girls years ago...
 

•  Steve, You can't take all three daughters shopping for swim suits (insert any sort of apparel here) without pulling out your hair or killing one of the girls and stay in budget.  

Happy A-HA moments!

Joy

July 4th Celebration

Our Independence Day celebration began early with a drive to Atlanta for Steve to run in the Peachtree Road Race.  We had packed the car the night before after I returned from a disastrous tennis match.  I have never played so poorly.  The plan was to go to Atlanta, drop Steve off at the race and for me to find a parking place with the other 60,000 or so people looking for parking places.  Lucky for us, Katy called to tell us she had been called off work so I could park at her apartment where we could easily walk up to Peachtree and watch for Steve to run by.  

We met some very uniquely dressed people on our way to Peachtree.  These guys had been up all night celebrating the Third and Fourth of July.  They were quite friendly...

Katy and I were asked by many passersby to take their photos with Golden Shoes Mick.  Suddenly Steve appeared galloping down Peachtree Road.  

Steve finished the race in 55 minutes--his goal was under an hour.  He met up with Eddie and Martha who drove him to Katy's.  We headed to the Varsity--what better place to grab a snack after the big race--and took off for St. Simons Island for the fireworks. 

We decided not to drive to the village of St. Simons choosing instead to look for the fireworks from the fly bridge of the boat.  Great decision--we could see three different displays throughout the evening. 

Happy Independence Day to All



Joy

The Amara Zee

I was reading in the stateroom late on Monday afternoon when I heard yelling to grab lines, more yelling to move lines, and even more yelling to move the lines once again.  I rushed up and out to see if I could give a hand and discovered this boat docking beside us.  It was covered up with young people trying to carry out the instructions the captain was barking at them.  They were all smiles but weren't clear about how to follow the captains docking instructions.  Finally, the dock master gave some  orders to the captain and crew which cleared up all the problems.  The lines were adjusted and the Amara Zee was tucked in for the day.  The crew of actors and actresses aboard the Amara Zee provided us with much entertainment as they came off the boat in groups eager to get showers or go for a run to stretch their legs.  We heard them late into the night laughing, singing, and playing a guitar.  

On board were the Caravan Stage company which performs on the deck of this boat.  The masts and rigging are used for scenery, lighting and special effects.  The shows are staged on the entire deck and on the surrounding ground while the boat is docked.  The boat has a shallow draft which allows it greater mobility for performance venues.  It is not however a sea worthy vessel--it would not be wise to take this boat out into the ocean. 

"Hacked" is the name of the current performance.  They were leaving Jacksonville heading to Portsmouth Virginia for 3 days of shows in early July with performances through out the summer in Maryland, New Jersey, and Canada before finishing the season in Brooklyn, New York.  

These performers obviously fell for Piper who ate up all the attention

This boat has an actual starboard .  The term starboard comes from early boating before ships had rudders on their center lines.  They were guided by a steering oar (steering board).  The steering oar was  attached to the right side of the ship because there were more right handed sailors than left handed sailors.  Starboard became the term for the side from which the boat was steered.   Today starboard means the right side of the boat and port means the left side.  

As I was making coffee the next morning I glanced out the window to see two of the men aboard using our water hose after removing the spray attachment.  I don't mind sharing our hose or our water, but they were using it to bathe on the dock.  Showers are provided by the marina with both hot and cold running water.  They had options.   They obviously did not understand that the hose provides our CLEAN DRINKING water because they proceeded to put the hose directly onto their armpits, head and bodies.   Looks like we will be cleaning the hose with Clorox.  

Life at the marina is always interesting....


Joy 

Fort Frederica

In the 1700's Georgia was known as debatable land to the British owned South Carolina and the Spanish owned Florida.  It was on St. Simons Island that the battle between the Spanish and the British over who would own Georgia was fought.  James Oglethorpe established Fort Frederica on the Frederica river in 1736.  In 1742, Spanish from Cuba and Florida landed on St. Simons for battle.  The Battle at Bloody Marsh led to the retreat of the Spanish and allowed the British to claim Georgia as its territory.  Unfortunately, the victory led to the closure of Fort Frederica and the demise of the town Frederica within the boundaries of the fort.  Fort Frederica is run by the National Park Service.  

The Fort was surrounded by a moat created by it's proximity to the river.  The moat can be seen today as well as the remnants of several of the buildings.  

The deer roam freely around--we were treated to a couple of fawns playing in the fields.  Although it was in the upper eighties when we visited, we were kept cool by the large trees covered in moss which shaded most of the park. 



Joy

Jekyll to SSI

On the ride from Jekyll to SSI we encountered a freighter.

Steve stared him down and he went quickly out of the harbor

Nice view from the foredeck

We docked the boat stern in when we arrived at Morningstar so that we can lower the dinghy easily and explore some of the smaller creeks and rivers.  Glenn took a  few more pictures at the end of our trip.

I have been asked several times if I can drive the boat.  I can and I have but it makes Steve very nervous when anyone other than himself is driving.  Since we had more hands on board to help, I moved the boat off the dock and drove out to sea 3 miles of this trip and some of the way back inside.  Here is proof---

Joy

Brunswick to Jekyll Island

We visited Jekyll Island by car one day and were pleasantly surprised.  The state is rebuilding many hotels and has built a new Convention Center with a terrific park adjacent by the waterfront.  There are miles and miles of bike trails that are wide and separated from traffic--however, there is not much, if any traffic on Jekyll.  We had lunch at SeaJays at the Jekyll Marina.  While the Martin family was aboard, we took Meandering Joy from Brunswick to Jekyll.  (OH, I almost forgot--there is a terrific tennis center with clay courts on Jekyll--more on this later)

Jekyll Island Club

Jekyll Island Marina just past the bridge

Check out tomorrow's post for our ride back to Morningstar Marina.

Joy

St. Simons Sound to Brunswick

The tides here is St. Simons vary from 7-9 feet depending on the phase of the moon.  Because of this variation, we try to leave and arrive at the marina at slack tide which is the point at which the water is neither rushing in or out.  We do this because handling the boat can be more difficult with water rushing in or out and winds blowing different directions.  We headed out of Morningstar Marina about 8:00 and needed to stay out until about 2:00 to hit the next slack tide.  After heading out to sea for 3 miles, we turned around and headed to Brunswick.  

View of the Brunswick Landing Marina in the distance from the Fly Bridge--and an anonymous foot.

More pics tomorrow!

Joy