Christmas 2018 thru January 2019 – The Beginning

My Retirement party is over and the holidays are here before Dee and I shove off on our first real experience of living on our Journey.  Harley is along for the ride as we explore New Orleans with our youngest daughter, Jesse to celebrate Christmas and bring in the New Year.  In 2019, Jesse will graduate from Syracuse with her masters and a new life adventure will begin for Dee and I.

We loved Christmas in New Orleans and exploring all the Creole traditions together.  The hotels were beautifully decorated as they competed in a decorating contest. Apparently, this year a Gingerbread house contest was also added to the decorating contest among the hotels.  We enjoyed walking through the French Quarter and exploring the riverbanks. 

After Christmas we headed over to see Journey in Mobile Bay and check out her new bottom paint.  This would be Jesse’s second time on the boat.  The first time it was Hot!  This time it is Cold!  One day she will get to really enjoying cruising with us.  We did explore Dauphin Island, Alabama and saw some of the damage left by Gordon.  We enjoyed the beach and watching Harley run.  After the new year we will be heading out for our first 3 months living alone, cruising, and learning all about Journey and how to work together.  

We brought in 2019 over in Pensacola with friends and are excited about what 2019 will bring our family and our friends.  It is time to begin so stay tuned…….

Now, It is January 7, 2019 early in the morning, We arrive at the Concord airport for our flight to Journey to begin living on our boat full time.  This will be our trial run as live aboard for 3 months and Harley’s first real experience of being a boat dog.  Coffee to get us started and a screwdriver to celebrate on the flight.  This is about to get real!

We arrived in Mobile Bay and made our final prep on Journey in order  to pull our early the morning of January 9th.  Lots of work has been done on her over the passed 6 months here in Mobile. Dee has worked to update parts and create a beginning point from which we will be able to work. The bottom has been painted, cushions covered, and so much more. Oh and the splurge of some underwater lighting which will take some time for us to get to enjoy. WE never expected the cold weather we were about to endure. As we cruised under the Dog River Bridge and out into the Bay on the morning of the 9th, we were both anxious as a new chapter in our lives was beginning.  It was cold that morning and the breeze was up but we safely crossed the bay and into the InterCoastal Waterway for our cruise up to the Pensacola area.

​We pushed hard that first day and arrived just before sunset which in January is around 5 pm because the days are short this time of year which will take some getting used to during long cold nights on the Journey. We anchored in a spot just under the Navarre bridge in Navarre, Florida.  The evening was beautiful and we enjoyed the sunset at the end of our first day as live a boards.  

The next morning we cruised out the Destin Pass into the gulf waters heading to Port St. Joe.  The gulf waters were calm and allowed us to by pass the ICW which probably saved us a days travel.  We were planning the to take the ICW all the way since the winds had been up the previous day, but the winds were on our side this morning. Harley once again enjoyed the sun and we soon would learn that with engines running and the sun shining she would be most content on Journey.  Just before pulling into Port St. Joe we pass along the coast line of Mexico beach where the eye of Michael crossed a few months before.  We could see the tattered coastline and partial structures that were still standing.  This is such a reminder of how we must respect Mother Nature and why Dee and I always check and double check the weather.

We saw the sunrise early in Port St. Joe as we began our pass through the bridge at Port St. Joe into the intercoastal to Apalachacola.  We arrived early afternoon into Aplachacola and had our first “incident”.  We had decided to stop for fuel and get off the boat.  This would be our first time off since we left Mobile Bay, and we knew Harley needed a chance to get to shore.  Turning off the channel, we took a little short cut and set Journey down on the shallow bottom.  Dee worked hard to wiggle her off and we did not have to make that phone call to Sea Tow, but we did get some silt sucked up into the engine compartment. We spent more time working on the engines to get everything cleaned out before having time off the boat, but Harley still appreciated the stop even though it was shorter then expected as we needed to find a good anchorage for the night closer up toward Carrabelle.

We chose a quiet spot in the St. George Sound for the night with a beautiful beach area.  Harley and I enjoyed the watching the sunset after an exciting day. We were tired and glad to make a stop to rest up while waiting for a window to cross the Gulf over to Steinhatchee, Florida.  

The next day we took Harley to the beach to explore and she enjoyed stretching her legs and running free along the beach.  We were able to take some new shots of Journey on the water after having so much work done in Mobile, Alabama. We were super excited to have this opportunity while out in Shelby to get some new updated pictures and videos of our Journey.  She is looking nice and sleek in the water. 

After some down time from cruising and allowing a front to pass through early one morning we jumped out into the Gulf to begin our crossing leaving Carrabelle and the Dog Island anchorage behind.    Just before the sunset we arrived in Steinhatchee  and docked for the night at the Sea Hag Marina.  This was our first night at a dock since pulling out of Mobile Bay.  We were glad to be tied to the dock for the night after such a long day and were able to grab a beer and watch the sun go down from their top deck.  After a great meal at Roys, who gladly drove over and picked us up and brought us back to the Sea Hag.  What service!  We enjoyed a peaceful night before starting down towards Cedar Key.  

We made a quick overnight stop in Cedar key before heading into Crystal River where we planned to spend a few days enjoying the Manatees. The trip up Crystal River was even better than we thought even with the weather turning colder and colder.  We anchored in King’s bay for the first time with neighbors anchored around us.  The sunsets and sunrises were just perfect here.  Our first adventure out was to do laundry.  We were in walking distance of a laundry mat that yes had wifi so Dee was able to get some work done and I was able to work on various projects.  After this down day, we were ready for some manatee adventures.

So we planned our adventure into the springs to see the manatees.   The next day we bundled up and set out to find the hot springs and the manatees.  The warm clear waters made it easy to spot them and they were sometimes very curious about us and one moved in really close to check us out.  Maybe Harley was what they were curious about.  We enjoyed our stay here but the cold weather was pushing us further south, so we watched our last sunset in Kings Bay and prepared to move down to Tarpon Springs.  

As we cruised down to Tarpon Springs and into the mouth of the Anclote River, we working to find another place to dock for the a few days as a very bad front was headed our way and the winds were going to be up.  We needed to get inland to close on our home in NC and meet up with friends in the area and wanted to secure Journey at a dock for a few days.  Finally, we were able to secure a spot at the Anclote Village Marina where I believe the dock master just took pity on me because I could find no other dock space, so  They made room for us.  We were just in front of Miss Vicki’s restaurant and it was a perfect spot for a few days.  We enjoyed beautiful sunsets and Harley enjoyed the front deck as we listened to music and watch the pelicans enjoy the fish cleaning station at Miss Vicki’s .   

A short ride up the river in Shelby would dump us into Tarpon Springs where we signed our closing papers, overnighted the paperwork off and celebrated with 2 for 1 Margaritas at Yianni’s.  We definitely recommend their Margaritas.  Sit at the bar and tell them SolMates sent you.   The sale was final on our NC home.  Now we really are officially live a boards!  

While on the Anclote River we were able to catch up with some of our Florida Friends we have met while RVing.  We hosted them on Journey for the day and enjoyed catching up and discovering new drinks.  The next day Our Endeavor boat friends took us off Journey  and around Tarpon Springs and shared the infamous Anclote River Boat Club with us.  This is an iconic establishment like nothing we had ever seen.  We had a wonderful time exploring this place with them and listening to some good music.  Many thanks to Mary who provided us with some homemade chili to keep us warm.  The front passed but not without our second “incident”. We left Shelby tied to the dock and attached to one of the davits.  In the middle of the night we were awaken by a loud noise and found Shelby sideways in the water.  New motor partially submerged.  Thanks to the davit she was saved from sinking, but the new motor would need a little love to recover.  Our new hard and fast rule is we never ever leave Shelby down. The next morning we found that it really was as shallow as everyone told us around the Anclote Village Marina.  Wow!  The tide came back and the waters returned and we headed south to continue to seek warmer weather.  

As we headed on down the ICW toward the Tampa Bay Area with an overnight stop at Reddington Shores Beach to try and work on Shelby’s new motor.  We drained the oil, replaced the oil, still no luck.  After several phone calls Thankfully, Curtis at Northeast Marine came to our rescue.  He picked up Shelby and Dee and brought her back to his shop, replaced the oil pressure sensor which thankfully was all that was wrong with our new motor and returned them safely back to the boat launch near Journey.  Now that All is well we headed down into Gulfport, Florida and the Boga Ciega Bay where we would spend a week before heading back to North Carolina.

​Our week in Gulfport was cold and windy, but the sunsets were perfect.  We got some boat work done, explored Gulfport, Found the Getaway at Maximo and a Happy Hour you should not miss after catching up with our broker Lou!  We began preparing Journey to be left at the Gulfport City Marina.  We are on our way home only to return in a week to begin Month 2 on Journey.  Oh and I forgot a new Shelby on the way to Journey.