Hello from across the Border!

Strange things to say on a boat..."watch out for that tree!"

After 188 days, six states and the Bahamas…we have crossed the border to state #7…The Commonwealth of Virginia!!  We have traveled over 3300 miles and still have so much more to see, do and experience.

Our time in Belhaven was short-lived but enjoyable and Friday 4/28/17 we docked at Alligator River Marina…on the cusp of the infamous AlbemarleSound in North Carolina!  Our final night in North Carolina!

JusMad, neighbors from Belhaven-look at this water! YUCK!

We threw off the dock lines E A R L Y Saturday morning at 6:40 – yes, waaaay before coffee:30!  But we wanted to get as far as possible since we have a low pressure heading our way (read: wind, waves, rain).  And the AlbemarleSound has a well-earned reputation of being “the most violent crossing of the loop” but it’s only 15 miles of being tossed around – how bad could it be??

Well, the good Lord really knows how to take care of us!!  The Lower Place along with Satori, Bajan Speed, GeLaMa, North Star and a sailboat without a name crossed together in about 3.5 hours without incident!  Yes, it was WINDY but the swells were 1-3’ from the south (that’s good)!!  The boat interior was secured for much worse conditions – nobody got sick and it was a beautiful day!  All glory to God!

I needed a dependable cup holder in high seas...another use for Duct Tape!!

We continued for another 60ish miles and found ourselves at a FREE city dock in Chesapeake VA.  All the neighboring marinas were full so we didn’t mind staying tied to a dock for FREE!!  Satori joined us and the others had reservations at various paid slips.  We got off the boat and walked a short distance to the nicest town & grabbed a light dinner.  When we stay for free somewhere we always like to support the local economy in some way – dinner seemed like a good idea!

We have been studying the upcoming weather outlook and it does look nasty.  Tomorrow’s plan includes leaving the dock by 7:00 AM – I know, this early morning stuff is beginning to feel like a schedule!!  We have a standing reservation in Deltaville VA for May 3-6 and  Deltaville is about 80 miles from our current location.  So we may slip up the James or York Rivers to wait out the storm Sunday & Monday nights.  Who knows what kind of unexpected adventure is waiting for us?

As our journey continues please remember our military troops AND their families.  The sound of fighter jets overhead for 30-45 minutes really brought reality back to us.

God Bless!