Florida and keeping the dream alive

You know those post cards that say "Having fun in Florida, wish you were here"? Yep, I used to send those to my friends back in Minnesota while on family vacations in the 90s. (I literally wished they were, because if you've ever been a kid you know how kids feel about family vacations without their friends.) Now, apparently it's coming back to bite me because Florida is as far south as we're going to get this winter.

For months, Scotty and I had planned to make it to the Bahamas with Wind-Lass. It was a lofty goal for new sailboat owners with limited finances and we knew it. But Scotty and I are nothing if not dreamers and go-getters. And so we persevered.

And then our rudder decided to go for a very long swim. Without us.

By mid-January, Florida had started to seem like the promised land, especially since that was where our rudder would be made. So we made the 12-hour drive south to Williston, Florida, where we dropped off our original rudder post to be used with the new rudder mold and kept on driving.

Sometimes when all else fails, it helps to put one foot on the pedal and watch those mile markers fly by.

Before reaching Williston, we spent 24 hours in Charleston, South Carolina, and then one night in Jacksonville, Florida (not to be confused with Jacksonville, North Carolina). As I've mentioned before, the South can be a tad bit redundant when it comes to city names. Okay, the entire East Coast, too.

Anyway, in Jacksonville, we just wanted to get a good night's rest since the rudder shop was already closed for the day. We booked a hotel on Hotwire and wound up with the Omni Jacksonville hotel. It was under construction, but we did manage to get a room on an upper floor away from the noise.

We could even see our van in the adjacent parking lot below, always a plus since we tend to worry that the Yakima box will attract unwanted attention...

Downtown Jacksonville is very corporate. But we did get some decent food at this place and someone kindly snapped an iPhone pic of us together by the waterfront.




And then, we saw some sailboats docked there and wiped away a few salty tears thinking of Wind-Lass.

The next day, our southbound road trip continued. We kept driving to Miami and booked another hotel via Hotwire.

It was right on the beach, but the view from our room left something to be desired...



Still, we made the best of it.

This man cracks me up. I am so lucky.

After two days and some pretty good Cuban food, we gave up on unseasonably cold Miami (in the 50s!) and headed south to the Keys. Because if you can't get to the Bahamas, they're about as close as you can get.

Ice, ice baby (or, Winter 2014 strikes again...)

Yesterday at sunset all remained calm, though the temperatures had begun to drop.



Today, we woke up to this:

Before I opened my eyes, it sounded like tiny pebbles hitting the deck of the boat above our heads. Our usually cozy interior had grown cold, even with two space heaters still blasting away (our main diesel heater is still being finicky). I quickly threw another blanket on our bed and added a few layers before taking a peek outside the companionway.

"Boots" by Scotty

Yep, we're smack in the middle of a ice storm, with both sleet and freezing rain. As any good Midwesterner knows, there IS a difference between the two types of yucky stuff. Today is more than enough to make me want to hop on a plane to somewhere very warm. But there are some things we need to do before we go anywhere, so wait it out we must. Waiting: it's something I'm starting to feel like we've doing all winter.





We were going to put on our new rudder today. Instead, this is what we did:

7:30 a.m.: Woke up with hot lemon water and some writing time in the main salon.

10:45 a.m.: Scotty started the van to melt the thick layer of ice that had accumulated so we could drive to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee.



11:15 a.m.: Actually left for coffee.

11:40 a.m.: Caffeinated beverages procured, we decided to drive to Taco Bell for lunch.

12:15 p.m.: "Mission: Taco Bell" is a success.

"Dish me up, honey," he said. ;)

1:00 p.m.: Stopped at the grocery store for milk so Scotty can make biscuits and gravy for breakfast because we know it's going to be cold and there's nothing like a hot breakfast on a frigid day to cheer up with.

1:15 to 2:00 p.m.: Go for a short drive in our warm vehicle. See a very cold-looking egret with its head tucked into body for warmth. Surprisingly, the roads aren't that bad.

2:00 p.m.: Return to the boatyard. Scotty works on our piece of s*%$ heater that has completely stopped working while I shovel icy snow off the boat deck with a plastic dustpan. And I thought we were going to escape winter this year...



Tomorrow I'll be be back with a post on our recent escape to warmer latitudes (i.e. Florida) and until it heats up somewhat, planning our next one. Our designated theme song of the day: "Escape: The Piña Colada Song". Stay warm, amigos!

A rainy day in charming Charleston

After the loss of our rudder, Scotty and I immediately switched gears to work on replacing this essential piece of our boat. And so, we were back on the road again, this time to get a new one made at Foss Foam in North-Central Florida.

We left North Carolina on Monday, January 13 and decided to make a halfway stop in Charleston, South Carolina for one night.

As usual, we used Hotwire to make a last-minute hotel booking and wound up with the four-star Mills House Wyndham Grand Charleston hotel. I downloaded the Hotwire app to my phone to score a $25 discount for bookings over $100 and the total came to $103.94. Not too shabby for this view and the room was pretty nice, too.

We would have camped, but it was raining, among other excuses. And after weeks of boatyard life and van camping, it feels really great to have a big bed to stretch out in and a television.

Of course, Charleston is too gorgeous of a city to stay holed up in even the nicest of hotel rooms.

The next day we had to make a visit to the famous Angel Oak on nearby John's Island. A southern live oak, the tree is estimated to be anywhere between 400 and 1500 years old.

Its branches are so big and heavy that they touch the ground.

Scotty took me here on our first trip to Charleston together in 2008 and it was fun to see this massive and beautiful tree again.



We also stopped by a park Scotty used to ride his bike at when he lived in Charleston a decade ago, the James Island Country Park.



It's definitely worth checking out for a peaceful walk or bike ride if you're in the area. If the weather had been nicer, we would have considered camping there as well, though at $40 a site, it's not exactly cheap.

You can take a man out of the South... :)

They have some pretty sweet houses for rent there, too.

I'd love to rent one of these for a fun weekend with family or friends.



Charleston may be known as a fashionable and sometimes touristy city, but there's a lot more to do here than just shop and eat. Take a drive through the nearby islands, admire the historic buildings, and you might find yourself wondering why you would ever want to leave.



Wind-Lass might just have to sail this way in the future...