On the road again...

Hello Everyone!

We are finally on our way back North to Noank, CT, and Block Island!

Here's the latest on our Adventures: Since the engine trouble and repairs dragged on, we drove the pickup truck to CT. This way, once the boat was back home, we wouldn't have to make another trip from Florida to bring it back. We left our condo in Punta Gorda, crossed the state of Florida to Palm City, spent a night on the boat, and loaded some stuff into the truck to take home.

On the way across Florida, we stopped to pick blueberries. It was the first time I ever recall picking blueberries. They were so sweet!

We took off early Monday, 4/7, to drive north. Our first stop was Savannah, GA. We had a great visit and loved the architecture and history.

We had Low Country Boil for dinner in Savannah! So good!

On Tuesday, we drove to Norfolk, VA. We stayed the night close to the marina where we had stayed when taking AdventureUS both North and South on the ICW (Norfolk is Mile Marker "0", the start of the Intracoastal Waterway). Here are pictures from the trip. We drove along the coast and visited Tybee Island and Chincoteague Island.

We took the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which goes over and under the water. It is considered one of the world’s largest bridge-tunnel complexes and was named one of the “Seven Engineering Wonders of the World.”

On Wednesday, we drove to Wildwood, New Jersey, via the Lewes to Cape May ferry. We had never taken this route before and decided, why not?

We arrived home in CT on Thursday, April 10th, and spent the next week getting back into the swing of things at our place and catching up with friends. I celebrated my birthday with a day in the kitchen, and then my father and sister came over for dinner! It was a perfect birthday!

We learned the boat repair should be completed by the end of the week, but we decided to spend Easter at home with family and fly back to Florida on Monday, 4/21.

On Monday, 4/21 we flew back to Vero Beach airport. Thank you Dad and Marsha for the ride to the airport and Dick and Carol for picking us up! It all worked out perfectly.

On Tuesday, April 22, we embarked on our adventure back home!

We traveled 89 miles to the Merritt Island Bridge at MM 893 and had the anchorage all to ourselves. Unfortunately, this was our second option because the first time we tried to slow down and anchor, the port engine stalled again, and we started dragging after we anchored. So, we pulled up the anchor and moved north to the next bridge, where there was plenty of space. Needless to say, we were both pretty bummed that the engine repair didn't do the trick.

The next morning, we traveled 55 miles to Daytona Beach, where we caught up with Island Time and Easy Rider. We spent three nights and had a great time. It was Jeep week in Daytona; we saw so many cool Jeeps! We played mini-golf at Pop Golf, had a morning walk to get coffee, and did lots of relaxing. We ate well at The Garlic, Sam's Coal Fired Pizza, and the Chart House.

We had a drink at the top of Daytona! Wow, what a view!

While there, Gerry changed fuel filters, hoping it would help with the engine issue.

On April 26, we left our friends and headed north again. After 112 miles, we anchored in a beautiful creek called Plum Orchard on Cumberland Island in St Mary's, GA. After dinner, my phone beeped, and we received a message on Nebo (an app we use to connect with other boaters and track our daily trips). They had flown their drone and were sharing pictures. We were so excited and grateful for the pictures. We even saw a few horses.

On the 27th, we traveled 79 miles to Sunbury Crab Company and tied up. This was a repeat of our trip down. The shrimp was so fresh and delicious that we had to return.

On the 28th, we traveled 77 miles to Beaufort, SC, where I am drafting this blog. We woke up to rain but decided to get going anyway. We drove from down below to stay warm and dry. After a few hours, we were able to go to the flybridge. It was much windier than forecasted, and we got wet from the saltwater spray! We were happy to be tied to the dock.

As we traveled, one area was pretty narrow! See how close the red and green are? We had to go through! Luckily, it was high tide, and we made it without issue. We are still collecting ducks and other trinkets along the way.

Update on the engine: Gerry has been trying all sorts of things to keep the boat from stalling when we slow down and take the boat out of gear, especially when docking. What seems to have worked/helped is that we transfer fuel from our forward tank to the main tank the last 30 minutes of our trip, which cools the fuel and keeps the fuel injector pump from getting stuck. Additionally, he adjusted the idle up from 750 RPM to 900 RPM, which seems to help. Today, when we pulled in, we did not stall! YEA! Also, the engine restarted warm!! Not quite confident yet.

We plan to head north of Charleston, SC, to the Isle of Palms tomorrow. Gerry and Dave made this stop last spring, but it will be my first time visiting.