A small craft advisory and thunderstorms were forecast for today but we had our hearts set on a traditional Lanier Island Thanksgiving. Actually, we weighed the pro of avoiding travel by remaining at the Tuesday night anchorage vs. being stuck there for the next three days, until the winds calmed, with no access to land, other human beings, (or cells/internet). So we left, traveled 30 miles, and made it only an hour after the winds began whipping. Of course the “no anchoring cable crossing” sign did not correspond with that on the chart. No one responded when we tried to contact the harbormaster on the marine radio, to request clarification. However, the marina operator answered when we tried him, hoping to sell us some dock space, but pleading ignorance about the anchoring question – he later admitted that he was also the harbormaster – all the while with Elias’ dinosaurs singing Twinkle Twinkle in the background.
Since we anticipate that everything will be closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving, we will have stayed on the boat for 3 solid days – once again the title of that play “No Exit” pops into my head. Actually, I am amazed that Jonas and Elias can envelope themselves in creative play, in that oversized closet room with a 2 x 2 foot floor space – for a 9 hour period (coming above deck only for lunch, swing bridges, and barges) - although I sometimes become apprehensive when they start pulling out their Halloween fireman’s ax and Ninja “defensive” sword. When I dare to sneak below to grab some cookies, they quickly discover and accost me with urgent requests.
Looking forward to opening that can of Campbells condensed turkey noodle soup tomorrow…
shake and bake
let's partake
belly ache
Thursday, Nov. 25th:
Did you ever wonder what a turkey eats on Thanksgiving?...Anyway...considering our present circumstances, we tried fishing for our meal - unfortunately, the stuffing we caught was a bit too soggy. So contrary to what one may have imagined, we really did have a quasi-traditional holiday feast - the “shake and bake and inflate” turkey was just right for our Suzie Homemaker oven. Since counter space was not a standard option in this vessel, we alternated between counter space use and stove top cooking (in Jonas & Elias’ bedroom) - the stove/oven range conveniently (?) rocks, so as to maintain a level position as the boat sways, which can be challenging when opening the oven door to check the turkey, the weight of which causes tilting stove top pans to spill their contents. Nonetheless, we did enjoy our feast, complete with fixings - missing only the requisite gravy boat (which we failed to locate at the nearest marina).
Although some may presume we have too much time on our hands, we're usually actively traveling/navigating or touring (get out those violins) - so it was nice to dedicate a day to hanging out on the boat (not that we had a choice, with the 30 mile gusts and closed establishments).
Jekyll Island cottage
Jekyll Island Club porch
yes, we know what happens if we're not back before midnight (Jekyll Island coach tour)
Sunday, Nov. 28th:
Land Ho! We chose to tie up the dinghy at the free boat launch, as opposed to the $5 marina dingy dock. Although we were eager to walk on solid ground again, the extra 5 mile scenic trek to the same marina was questionable. As we hiked, Tom happened upon a crocodile - exhibiting my protective parental response, I jumped back, knocking over Elias. We opted to anchor at Jekyll Island and take a cab to Brunswick (to retrieve our mail), as opposed to sailing there directly - since we learned that Brunswick is 7 miles off the ICW. After 3-1/2 days aboard, we thought that selecting cab fare over another half day sail was wise. To our surprise, it would cost $50 roundtrip for the Brunswick post office venture - it seemed a bit foolish to pay 50 bucks for our household mail. Tom had been looking forward to that Cruising World Magazine, but it’d be more economical to just purchase a 2 year subscription. Instead, we asked a disgruntled postal carrier to forward the mail to Fernandina, Florida - to which he asked ‘Fernandina Beach?’ - to which Tom replied, “no, just Fernandina.” Well, it was Beach, so we plan to spend the next few weeks sailing to ‘just Fernandina,’ in search of our catalogs. In the meanwhile, we decided to explore Jekyll Island - which at one time could claim to represent 1/6 of the world’s wealth - they must have made it on their taxi cab business. We enjoyed a very cold and windy yet picturesque beach, following our visit to the ice cream shop (2 doors down from the Jekyll Island post office). More loggerhead turtle nesting areas are found at Jekyll Island beaches than almost anywhere (nice tie in with aforementioned turtle book e-mail). The following day we took a horse and carriage historical tour of the Island - home of the famed and exclusive Jekyll Island Club - termed as the playground for the rich and famous. This tour also seemed a bit heavily weighted with mansion ghost stories.
The sail to Jekyll Island was a mere 2-1/2 hours - funny how my perspective has changed... in my prior life, 45 minutes could be viewed as too much, and now 8 to 9 hours is the norm!. Well, it looks like I’m caught up on my narratives - I just hope nothing ironic occurs tomorrow. Onward and southward to sunny Florida...
Monday, Nov. 29th:
And here's the next episode in "As the Priority Mail Travels"...Tom arrived bright and early at the Fernandina Beach Post Office, only to learn that Fernandina Beach has 2 post offices - guess where our mail was? Right! Well, they were able to have the other post office deliver it to the one where we waited. In the interim, Tom took the boys for haircuts and I solitarily did laundry for 3.5 hours - oops, how did that laundry bag fall in the mud and soil all the contained clean laundry? I guess I'll have to have another 3.5 solo hours to remedy that.
I wish Dad would stop rocking the boat