April 11, 2025 - Back to Minnesota (Our Final Blog)

Knowing that we had a LONG road trip ahead of us, I tried to find a place to store the boat and fly home, but it is really expensive since we need to store it for 10 months.  It would be about $5,000 (storage in Lake City is much, much cheaper).  So, we drive.

We also decided that we will not bring the fishing poles, and we will use or other bikes at home (not our racing bikes) and make sure to buy the chain protector that everyone has told us about (so they won't get as rusty while we are on the boat, and they are getting splashed on with salt water).  As you might recall, the chain on my old bike was so rusty that it broke off earlier this year and at the last marina Kip's bike was frozen and wouldn't even move (we left it in Georgia).  We also think a stand paddle board would be nice to have, so we will add that to our list for next year's trip.  

We arrived back to Elk River in two days.  We took turns driving, but it is a grueling trip (12+ hour a day).  Why the rush, you might ask.  Once Kip gets in the truck, he doesn't like to stop.  When we got home, we were both exhausted.  It is nice to be home, but it is overwhelming at first because of all of the things we need to do to put our life back together here.  

One of the tires on the trailer went flat.  We have a spare, but we don't have the tools to take it off or put a new one on.  Love's gas station came to the rescue again!  One of the mechanics let us use his personal tools to fix it.  

This is the biggest cross I've ever seen alongside a road.

Had to take pictures of the wind farms for Mary - she works in the wind farm department at her job.

We got home and looked out the window to our welcoming committee!  We love the deer that go through our yard on a regular basis.  We spent a couple of days unloading the boat, organizing, doing laundry, etc.  We also noticed that our ash trees alongside the driveway are diseased and will need to be cut down.  Bummer.  We also have plans to spend time with the kids/grandkids soon, which is always fun.

Boating is not for the faint of heart!  There are many challenges (especially when the season is windy, rainy, cold, etc.).  Each situation has to be resolved, decisions need to be made that aren't always fun, there are lots of tasks that are not as easy as it is at home (getting to the grocery store, refilling medicine, using the normal "comforts of home" when anchored out, cooking when the breakers can't handle more than one thing plugged in at the same time), well....  you get the idea.

Even with all of that - we still are in awe of the places we have seen, the people we have met / visited, the adventures we have been on, the quiet times reading, walking the docks, and enjoying the beautiful world that God has created.  It is worth the effort.

See you next January!

  

April 6, 2025 - Spacious Skies Campground, Savannah, GA

We left the boat behind at the campground and drove to Savannah.  We parked at the Visitor Center and purchased Trolley Tours tickets at around 9:00 a.m.  The Trolley holds about 30 people and drives through the town as the driver talks about the history of the city, plus we can get off and on the Trolley at any time to look around on our own.  

We rode the Trolley to stop 11 - River Street.  

The road we rode / walked on was made of stones and it was really bumpy and uneven.  We walked to a coffee shop called Java Burrito.  Kip had a small coffee, and I had a Mexican Mocha.  Yum!  We then found our way to Leopold's ice cream shop.  I had a cup of banana ice cream with chocolate sauce and Kip had strawberry.  

We then walked to the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.  The Cathedral is being renovated, but we were still able to get inside and look around.  Very lovely.  

We hopped on the Trolley again and ended up at the Visitor's Center.  The truck was blocked in by Trolley's, but they eventually moved so we could exit, and we headed to Tybee Beach.  

On the way to Tybee Beach, we were noticing that the docks to the boats were super long (in kind of a marshy area).  Man, you would need an electric bike or utility vehicle to get to your boat before sunset!

The drive was only about a half hour, but once on the island things slowed down significantly.  There were cars everywhere trying to find a place to park.  Kip dropped me off to walk to the beach while he tried to find a place to park.

Boardwalk to the beach.

The beach was windy, and the waves were pretty high.  That didn't seem to bother anyone because the beach was packed full of people!  Music was playing, garbage was all over the place, and the people were having fun.  I walked to the water but there weren't any shells, so I walked back to find Kip and he wasn't much further than when I left him minutes before.  

We drove back to Savannah, stopped for gas and snacks, then went back to the boat.  We both took a nap, then made dinner, watched an episode of "Joe Pickett" and went to bed.  

We had a nice visit to Savannah, I'm glad we stopped.  

April 5, 2025 - Brunswick Landing Marina, Brunswick, Georgia to Spacious Skies Campground, Savannah, GA

Today we have tasks to do because we are taking the boat out of the water and leaving the Brunswick Marina.  

Kip drove the truck to the boat landing and rode a marina bike back.  He lowered the stack on the top of the boat, showered, and are waiting for the tide to come in so we can get to the boat launch without getting stuck in the mud.  We also are storing whatever items in the boat that might bounce around en route.

We drove the boat to the Brunswick boat landing and tied up on the dock.  There are a few boats being taken out / being put in, and there is a pontoon on the dock that is blocking our way.  We spoke with the pontoon guy, and he moved his boat so we could walk our boat along the to the trailer in the water.

Once the boat was on the trailer, we noticed that there were not many barnacles, so we were thrilled.  There wasn't a need to scrap or go to a car wash!  

En route to where, you ask?  We are driving to Savannah and staying in a campground called Spacious Skies for a couple of days (to decompress).  We are fortunate that the campground allows us to sleep on our boat during our stay.  Some campgrounds do not allow that.  

We had an uneventful drive to Savannah and are really happy with the campground. 

No chance we will be going kayaking or swimming in this water!  

Our campsite.  People keep stopping by stating that they have never seen a boat in a campground before!

I cooked spaghetti for supper.  It is too hot for a fire (we love fires).  We watched an episode of "Joe Pickett" and went to bed.

 

April 4, 2025 - Labelle, Florida to Brunswick Landing Marina, Brunswick, Georgia

Up and at tum.  

We had coffee and left the "shed" around 8:30 a.m. for the storage unit to pick up the truck and trailer.  Kip is driving the truck and trailer, and I am in the rental truck following him.

We stopped for bathroom breaks and gas a couple of times.  The traffic was fine on the two-lanes, but the freeway was terrible:  several very severe accidents.  I understand how that happens because people in in this area drive like maniacs!  

We arrived at Brunswick around 4:00 p.m., dropped the truck off and returned to the marina.  We tried to find our key fob to get back onto our dock, but it was nowhere to be found.  While we were searching for it, the rental place called stating that they found it in the rental truck.  Kip took our truck to the rental place to retrieve it.  I stayed at the marina and waited for someone to exit or enter the dock so I could have access.  Once I was in, I grabbed the other fob and went to the gas dock to get ice and pick up our delivery (we purchased a new gps and maps).  

Tonight, Brunswick has a "First Friday" gathering.  The theme is "Elvis".  

We grabbed food from the food trucks, stopped to look at the wares that the vendors were selling, looked at the cars in the car show, and watched a couple of the "Elvis" singers.  

Since we are leaving Brunswick tomorrow, we stopped at the Vampire Penguin again and tried new flavors.  The place was packed!  So good though.

It was dark when we returned to the boat.  We tucked in and called it a night.  

April 3, 2025 - Brunswick Landing Marina, Brunswick to LaBelle, Florida

Last night we stopped at a place called Vampire Penguin in downtown Brunswick.  There isn't an ice cream shop, so shaved ice had to do.  We were very surprised at how good this was!  

Here is our plan for the day:

*    Rent a car or truck.

*    Drive 6+ hours to LaBelle, Florida to pick up the truck and trailer.

*    Stay overnight in LaBelle and have dinner at Forays.

*    The next morning, we will drive both trucks back to Brunswick Marina (we cannot leave the rental          truck in Labelle).

Kip rode a rental bike to the Enterprise car rental (we ended up with a rental truck).  He couldn't use his bike because it is rusted so solid that things aren't even moving.  Two bikes down.  Thank goodness the marina has bikes for us to use.  Once he got back, we left for Labelle.

It seems we can't ignore the Buckey's stop, so we got gas and grabbed a briquet sandwich for lunch.  Instead of a hotel room we rented a storage shed vrbo that was in someone's yard.  It was very unique.  It had all of the same amenities that a hotel room had, and it has a deck.  They really put thought into this because there was a Keurig machine, snacks, sleeping lofts, even a new toothbrush and toothpaste.  

I'm not exactly sure why, but somewhere along the way I had a meltdown.  We walked to Forrays to eat, and I was upset and crying.  Kip was quite unsure as to what was happening, and we ended up being frustrated and could hardly eat dinner.  We walked to the park and sat down and talked.  I think this was due to us not feeling that great, the heat, the long drive, etc.  Overload.  

We went back to the "shed", relaxed, watched one episode of "Joe Picket" and went to sleep.  Hopefully tomorrow will be easier.