ALPENGLOW: October 2014

October 30, 2014

BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA

We sailed offshore, overnight from Charleston to Beaufort. We could only wish every overnight sails were like this one. Light winds but strong enough to sail with small waves on a close reach. To keep awake, I stretch & dance to XM Sirius radio. I discovered new moves when the boat heals over.

There is a Beaufort in North and South Carolina. Both are pronounced quite differently.

Beaufort has a wonderful waterfront full of small cafes & restaurants with people playing their guitars and banjos. This is where Rick showed me how to play cribbage.

WHAT A NICE WAY TO SPEND AN AFTERNOON

Beaufort is the 2nd oldest city in South Carolina after Charleston. Numerous films were made here including 'Forest Gump', 'The Big Chill', 'GI Jane', 'Platoon' and more because of the beautiful landscapes and historical background. We found the house where 'The Big Chill' was filmed and a park where 'Forest Gump' was filmed.

BEAUFORT IS FULL OF LARGE TREES WITH SPANICH MOSS HANGING FROM IT

October 23, 2014

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Tim turned 50 on the day we arrived in Charleston, October 20th. All he asked for his birthday was a haircut which I managed to do several days later. To celebrate we went out for a seafood dinner with Rick & Nancy.

This is our second time in Charleston. This time we visited Fort Sumter & the Aquarium.

Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry sea fort which is best known as the site upon which the shots that started the American Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861.

I had a girly afternoon with Nancy of "Angel Eyes". We visited the small aquarium & found a wonderful lunch place.

HELICOPTER LANDING ON A MEGA YATCH

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

CHARLESTON IS FULL OF BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPING

THERE ARE NUMEOUS MANSIONS IN CHARLESTON
WHICH COST AROUND 6 MILLON

October 18, 2014

CAPE LOOKOUT, NC -> WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC -> BALD HEAD ISLAND

SHAKLEFORD BANKS

Shakleford banks at Cape Lookout is home to wild horses. Historical research and genetics testing indicates that these wild horses descended from a core group of the old type of Spanish horses.

We then sailed overnight to Wrightsville Beach, NC. We biked 25 miles the next day to visit our sailing buddies from last year. Nancy & Rick "Angel Eyes" were in Wilmington, NC. It was such a nice reunion. We spent 2 months sailing the Bahamas with them last year sharing Mahi Mahi and lobsters. We will sail with them to Charleston next.

RICK & NANCY

WRIGHTSVILLE SELLS BEER FROM QUEBEC.

We left Wrightsville Beach and went down the ICW to Bald Head Island. You can't anchor there so we took a slip. It's well worth the stop. At this Island, there are no cars, just golf carts and bikes. We biked all around, watched the Bluefish tournament, walked the beach, and did a nature hike. I definitely recommend visiting this beautiful Island.

LGHTHOUSE ON BALD HEAD ISLAND

GEOTEXTILE TUBES

One weird thing about North Carolina is that there is NO happy hour. Basically, they aren't allowed to discount drinks. Oh well, we still had drinks at our Happy hour !

October 1, 2014

BEAUFORT, North Carolina: August - October 2014

For 2 months in the hot, sticky, humid summer of 2014, Tim worked 7 days a week, 10 hour days, fixing and replacing parts on our boat. Once most of the list was accomplished (you know the list is never completed), we left Beaufort, North Carolina on our journey south along the US coast, then the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean.

Some of the major things that were done to Alpenglow: Replace the port & starboard chain plates, install a new arch, replace all the fresh water hoses, replace the holding tank hose, replace some of the electrical wires, add a new solar panel, install new companion way doors, the list goes on and on.