Friends and family on our trip north

When we last spoke we were dodging bees and moving north.  In spite of a one-week layover in St. Simons, GA, we continue to head north -  pretty quickly.  Cumberland Island was our first stop after Fernandina. For some reason, most of the cruisers tend to skip Cumberland Island. Not sure why as it's insanely picturesque with lots of wildlife and history.  The anchoring is easy and it's right off the ICW - no excuses.  

Sunset on Cumberland, Is

Roger and Millie show the wild horses a little respect.

Classic Cumberland Island trail.

Plum Orchard Mansion owned by Thomas and Lucy Carnegie

Egret at Cumberland Island

We headed to Jekyll Island after Cumberland and we were excited about getting the bikes out for some nice riding. Not to be.  After a short ride, Roger got a flat. No problem, we've got a pump and a tube.  Oops no wrench to get the tire off- that's not OK.  We tried to get a little air in the tire unsuccessfully when a good samaritan rider stopped by to help.  OK - great - back on the road. Well, it obviously flats again.  Chrisy heads off to grab a golf cart and Roger finds good samaritan #2 who happens to have a wrench and a functioning pump.  Roger changes out the tube, calls Chrisy and we're off.  Not so fast.  Roger flats again. Then Chrisy flats. I've lost count by now but it's time to put the bikes away, get a beer, and take the courtesy golf cart from the marina. The rest of the afternoon was actually quite pleasant.  As we found out when we got to a bike shop in St. Simons, our tires are ten years old, cracked, show evidence of being ridden while underinflated, and basically useless.  One of the problems with folding bikes is that their tires aren't exactly "off the shelf."  Amazon to the rescue.  Had the tires shipped to Hilton Head, and we were back in business.  

While we've been moving pretty quickly on our trip north we have been able to coordinate visits with lots of friends and family.  In St. Simons, we met up with Roger's sister Betsy and most of her family as well as cousin William Hanger with lots of his friends and family. 

Betsy and Rick on the beach - Sea Island

Classic Sea Island dinner on the ping-pong table.

We've been visited by a few green flies recently - big ones.  Turns out that Millie is not such a big fan. 

She found an escape on the bow. 

Chrisy has been desperate to get to Savannah, and Roger has always found a reason to keep moving.  Not this year.  A two-night stop gave us a full day to enjoy this lovely city.  Here is the statue of the Waving Lady as she greets returning captains. She's looking for her long-lost boyfriend.

 St. John Cathedral

One of the many squares in Savannah

Cruising buddies Nile and Linda Schneider in Savannah (who we met in 2013) with 

new cruising buddies Karen and Mark.

We have used our reciprocal privileges through Conanicut Yacht Club a few times, but this was probably the best. Free dockage for two nights at the Wexford Yacht Club in Hilton Head... a beautiful Club that you enter via a private lock.

 

..and a free pickleball lesson with a friend-of-a-friend, Karen and the pro, Brian.

On the dock at Wexford - the saga of the bike tires hopefully came to an end with four new tires.

We put those new tires to good use with a 26.5 mile ride around Hilton Head with more cruising buddies, Burt and Prue Preston, who we met in the Bahamas in 2015.

Roger's former colleague at Bancroft School,  Bud Brooks and his wife Carol, with the heavens opening up behind us in Hilton Head. 

Long-time cruising friends Cathy and Allan Rae at their lovely home in Beaufort, SC 

An Egret is always a welcome sight - Seabrook Island

Bruce and Heather Glendinning relocated from Philly down to Seabrook Island, SC

Roger's sister, Betsy's good friend, Clarke Weidlein, joined us for dinner in Southport, SC.