Our time in Fort Pierce was winding down; therefore, we spent time socializing with Brenda & Geoff and Jim & Sue and Vince & Mary. At the same time, this great blue heron decided to spend more time with us. He (or she) would appear with no knowledge that Alex was stalking along the inside of the boat to get a much closer view of this giant bird.

On Sunday, March 8, we left Fort Pierce City Marina and headed north about 15 miles to Vero Beach Municipal Marina -- we never travel on weekends and don't normally do such a short cruise! We visited briefly with friends there and then tried to get back into that "cruising mode". We continued north with stops in Cocoa Village, New Smyrna Beach, Palm Coast, and Jacksonville Beach. Friday, March 13 started out slightly foggy, however NOAA said it would burn off by 10 AM so we left! They were wrong and after crossing the St. Johns River, the fog got even worse -- we could barely see over the bow! Jim reported that the radar was working well and just keep looking for anything moving close or for the next marker. By the time we reached Fernandina Beach, the skies were clear and blue. We continued on to a new stop -- St. Marys, GA.

On Saturday, March 14, we woke to this view from Palmetto Moon. Su walked around the small village and stopped at the Visitor Center for information about places to see and places to eat. We had an excellent dinner at a very small place called Paulys Cafe. Then as we walked back to the boat, the fog rolled in again.

Just in case you wondered about the picture above, this is the same view without the fog. On Sunday, March 15, we toured Orange Hall an ante bellum mansion built in the 1820s and considered a perfect example of Greek Revival artchitecture, Cumberland Island Museum, and the Submarine Museum. We decided against taking the ferry over to Cumberland Island as the wind was too strong and the temperatures weren't high enough to make it an enjoyable trip.....it remains on our list of places to visit.

On Monday, March 16, we woke to find ourselves surrounded by....fog. After drinking several cups of coffee and listening to NOAA, we finally concluded that we would leave around 10AM and cruise the 40+ miles to Brunswick, GA. Fortunately, we made the right decision as St. Andrews Sound, one of our favorite sounds, was just gentle swells and it was high tide in Jekyll Creek. In fact, this was our view from Jekyll Creek; we thought we were back in the Chesapeake.

We spent a week at Brunswick Landing Marina because the winds just kept on blowing hard. So much for the phrase, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.... We walked around the village, dined at some great restaurants, and did six loads of laundry since the marina has free machines. We were surprised to learn that Spanish moss hangs in trees other than oak. We thought the moss hanging in a holly tree was a study in contrasts.

On Monday, March 23 we continued our journey with stops in Kilkenny, Beaufort, and Isle of Palms where we stayed an extra day due on high winds. On Friday, March 27 we traveled 98 miles or 10 hours and 30 minutes to Marina Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach. Jim was determined to attend the marina's kickoff cookout on Saturday, March 28. We invited our friends, Joe and Dale, who take care of his car when we are cruising.

On Monday, March 30, Jim, Su and Alex loaded up the car and headed to the condo in Greer.