JewelryByDeb

Silvertone Lariat Necklace

Approximately 19 inches long

 Assorted links with aqua and coral colored beads

 Contact:  

gbelch@rocketmail.com

or IM on FB

JewelryByDeb

 Lariat Necklace

Approximately 15 inches long

Handmade Copper findings and links

Assorted beads in earth tone colors

Email me at gbelch@rocketmail.com or IM me on FB if interested!

Charleston, SC

The marina

If possible, we try to spend a few days in Charleston on our way south, and on our way home.  We have good friends here and it is a great stop for fun and getting boat chores done.  We usually stay in a marina, after re-fueling, and take the opportunity to do laundry, spray off the boat (get that salt water off), and re-provision with some fresh veggies and fruit, plus any other maintenance issues that need to be taken care of. 

Sunset view of the marina

Sun Daze was docked at the end of this dock, then at the end of the left side dock, over a thousand steps to the boat!  Good exercise!

After settling in and our chores completed, we start walking.  Charleston is lovely any time of the year, but spring is pretty special.


 

Dogwood in bloom

Azaleas

Dogwood blossoms

We typically walk the Battery on the waterfront.  Large historical homes with lovely gardens and views overlooking the harbor.

The Battery

After a couple of hours, we are ready to eat.  Loads of places to choose from and we try to visit some place new each time we are here.  Of course, we always have our fav spots too!

Tuna Tartar

Raw Seafood Plateau

Kaminsky's Dessert Cafe is one of those favorite spots.  The Berry Cobbler here is out of this world!

 

Berry Cobbler topped with vanilla bean ice cream

Charleston is a city that loves throwing fantastic events and festivals.  The Cooper River Bridge Run was going on while we were here.  A world class 10K foot race, reported being the 3rd largest in the USA.  Lots of spectators and loads of runners and walkers from all over were here to participate.  Our good friend, Becky, was participating in the event.  GO BECKY!!!

The Lowcounty Cajun Festival was also going on this weekend.  A day of Zydeco music, Cajun and Creole foods, along with vendors selling their wares.  Becky was also there.  She is the owner of Simply Sail.  She makes fabulous hand poured all natural soy candles.  She had a booth at the festival.  Her candles are great, I love them.  Check out her website @ htpps://simplysail.indiemade.com

Becky's booth at the Lowcounty Cajun Fest

The weekend flew by and we had a blast with Marcus and Becky.  But home is calling.  We will be traveling the ICW due to weather forecasts, so we need to get going.  Our house sitters are ready to pass the key back to us and I am ready to get back!   I miss my family and friends there and spring at home is my favorite time of year.  


NC...here we come!


Until next time...


Enjoy!

Off Shore Passages

For those of you that have been on the sea in a boat... you will appreciate this post. The pic above - this is what I call perfect sea conditions.  Flat calm and oily slick.  The open waters are beautiful, breathtaking when the seas are like this. 

But...we only see the sea in this state on rare occasions.  It is magical to be on the open water with barely a ripple noted.  I LOVE IT when we can move around on the big water in this tranquility.  However, this was not the case with our passage from Jacksonville, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina.  The seas did not look like the pics above! For us, this is a journey that takes us about 36 hours to travel off shore on Sun Daze.  If we traveled the IntraCoastal Waterway, it would have taken about 5 days.  Sun Daze is a small catamaran with top cruising speed of 6-7 knots with the sails up and a good breeze. No breeze and we are motoring a bit slower.  Off shore we can travel day and night and get to our destination sooner, while on the ICW we can only travel during daylight and often have to wait for lower bridges to open to allow us to pass through.  So when it is safe, we take the opportunity to go off shore for the faster route. 

I have a confession to make.  I am not a true sailor at heart.  Oh, it is wonderful on the rivers or lakes with a bit of breeze to carry you along.  But in the ocean, a good breeze means waves.  And sometimes big ones.  I am not a fan of big waves.  I have a tendency to get sea sick and big waves means I am more sea sick.  Our 36 hour trip to Charleston was one of big waves.  I am still getting nauseous from thinking of it.  The constant motion along with looking out at waves higher on one side than our boat and the other side dipping down and knowing that in a few seconds your stomach will lurch upwards as the boat transitions from side to side...😵Oh my goodness...not fun and the hours just seem to pass ever so slowly.  For the cruisers that spend days on end on the open waters...my hats off to you.  I know I could never do that.  We know cruisers that have traveled around the world and sometimes have been off shore for longer than 20 days at a time.  Nope, not for me. 

My captain is such a sport, as I am pretty much helpless in this state.  He handles the boat, fixes his meals and makes sure we are safe, while I lay in the salon waiting to pass out.  On a positive note...it is a way to loose a few pounds.

I was so, so HAPPY!!!! when we entered Charleston Harbor.  It is amazing how the sea sickness just disappears with getting in calm waters.  Although this time, it did take me a few hours to feel back to my old self.  Whew.  Am hoping the rest of our journey back home is flat calm.  I can hope, right?

So as you can see from this post, our time traveling is not all sunshine and huge big smiles on my face.  But, it is a small price to pay for the rest of our treasured time on the waters.  

Now, it is time to enjoy the tastes, sounds, and sights of this beautiful city of Charleston.   

Until next time...

Enjoy!

Back in the USA!

Well, here we are!  Back in the states.  It was an uneventful crossing.  Took us about 37 hours.  Entered in Fort Pierce Inlet, cleared with customs and got some much needed rest.  After some restful sleep, we started up the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW).  

And we are having to pull out sweaters and long pants!  It is cold!  We were hoping for warmer temps, but still we are glad to be back in the US.  

 

We are making treks north.  Will probably stop in Charleston for a couple of days, but otherwise we are in move north mode.  Trying to get in as many ICW miles as we can in daylight.  Until we can get good weather to go off shore, the ICW makes for a long ride back to NC.    

So sharing some pictures of the beautiful Florida sky!  

Until next time...

Enjoy!

Heading Home Already?

Sun Daze at marina in Nassau

Time has flown by quickly and we are getting ready to start the journey home.  We usually stop in Nassau before crossing the tongue of the ocean.  That leg of the journey is about 36 hours for us, since Sun Daze's top cruising speed is about 6.5 knots.  Not very fast at all.  So we like to stop here in Nassau to obtain fuel, some fresh vegetables, and get our last taste of the true Bahamian food.  

Nassau is not where we hang out.  Too touristy and not laid back enough for us.  But it is a good stopping point for entering or leaving the Exumas.  A few days here to stock up and ready ourselves for coming back to the real world.  We enjoy hanging out in Potter's Cay while in Nassau. 

 

Bridge to Paradise Island

Potter's Cay is located under the bridge heading to Paradise Island.  Now I know a lot of you would love to venture across the bridge, but we tend to hang out with the locals under the bridge.  Here you will find many "shacks" that are run by the local Bahamians, and the locals come here to have lunch and chill on their down time.

Lunch of fried fresh hog snapper

Nothing fancy here, though.  As a matter of fact, the first time I was introduced to Potter's Cay,  I was a bit hesitant of eating anything offered here.  None of these little shacks would ever pass US health inspections, but when in the Bahamas, do as the Bahamians do, right?  And we have eaten here many times and never had any issues.  Plus, you cannot get fish any fresher.  The hog snapper above was just caught and cleaned and we were able to choose which fish we wanted to eat.  It was fabulous!

 

Our favorite guy for conch salad

We typically stay at the marina for a couple of days waiting for a weather window to cross over the tongue of the ocean and head over the gulf stream back to Florida.  So we will eat at the shacks as much as we can.  And this is the place for fresh conch salad!

Conch salad ingredients

The conch is caught fresh daily, extracted from the shell, then pounded to tenderize.  It is then chopped, along with onions, tomatoes, and peppers.  Some like to add cucumber or fruit, like mango or pineapple.  We usually stick with the basic salad.  

 

Conch salad...almost done!

The Bahamians like their conch salad spicy!  Most add ghost peppers, and although we like it spicy, we can't eat it as hot as they do.   So we ask to have it "lightly spiced".  Otherwise, we would not be able to handle it.   With a finish of fresh lime and sour orange juice on top...it is ready.  So good!!!

 

One of our favorite shacks...Mr. Bones Seafood - the best hog snapper!

Our bellies full of what will be our last real Bahamian food for a while...we make sure the boat is ready to go.  Now all we have to do is wait for a good weather opportunity to head out of the harbor.  It is with mixed feelings as we are getting close to leaving this beautiful country.  Excited to get back home, but sad to leave the lovely people, the exquisite views and our days of leisure.  

After looking at the weather forecast, it appears the winds will be in our favor for the next couple of days.  So there it is...we are ready to head home.   

Until next time...Bahamas...we love you!

Enjoy!

Laundry Day in the Exumas

View from the laundry mat

Once again, we are in the small community of Black Point.  One of the many reasons we frequent this lovely place is the fact they have the best laundry facilities around.  No rusty water here and the machines are well taken care of.  Plus, look at the view... nice to look at this while folding up freshly cleaned laundry!

 

Sun Daze waiting for us to get back with clean laundry

Laundry day is something we have to plan to do while staying here.  No washer or dryer on the boat, so we need to be at a place where there are facilities.  Not many in the Exumas, so when we are in this area, we like to do our laundry here in Black Point.   We gather our laundry, place in a bag or two, that can be easily carried from the boat, to the dinghy and then to the the laundry mat.   Then once there, climb out of the dinghy, with the laundry, onto the dock, walk to the facility, which is not far in this case.  Laundry mats here take tokens, not quarters.  If you don't already have tokens, you must seek out the person that has the tokens.  Ida is usually close by, but we have had to walk to several different locations to obtain tokens.  She may be off the island and left tokens to someone else.  Of course, you don't know this ahead of time, so you must seek to find who may have them.  But then...we are on island time...a bit of walking here and there is no problem. 

 

dock at the laundry mat

Walking around the community

We have several loads to do while here, so it takes most of the morning or afternoon.  Most of the time, we try to get to the laundry mat early, to beat the other boaters.  That way we don't have to wait for machines.  So we relax while the laundry is doing its thing.  Sometimes sitting in the shade with ice cream if we can find any at the local store.  

View from Sunset Bar

After ice cream, we will walk to the other side of the island, which is the ocean side.  Then back to the sound side for a stop at Sunset Bar for a chat with Poppy.

ocean side

View from Sunset Bar

What are these?  See them here, but don't know what they are called

Once our laundry is cleaned, dried and folded...we carefully place it in our bags and return back to the boat, via the dinghy...

...have to climbed off the dock, back into the dinghy and slowly motor back to boat without getting cleaned laundry wet or salty.  Then put it all away and head back to town for more fun!

We try to get on land as much as we can to interact with the locals and to get much needed exercise.  Then back to the boat for dinner, if not done in town, and watch another beautiful sunset.   A little reading, then off to bed in nice, clean sheets!!!

Until next time...

Enjoy!

 

Farmer's Cay Exumas

Farmer's Cay, in the Exumas, is one of our favorite places to visit.  I can say the feel of this place has changed somewhat since my first visit, but it is still at the top of my list.  The people are the best.  We have grown to love them and they call us 'family'.  It is always good to see our friends here. 

 

Lunch is usually at Brenda's. Brenda has a small cafe right off the docks and serves lunch and dinner.  Cracked conch is our favorite, but her conch fritters are good too.   Ali used to run Ali's Bar, but is now retired and occasionally helps his wife.  Both are dear to us and we enjoy spending time with both of them.  Ali still loves to fish, and we usually join him for a day or two of fishing while we are here.  We were able to snag a few keepers this go round, and gave them to the locals.  

Our dear friends, Brenda and Altimus

Ty's Bar and Grill is on the bank side of the cay with a sandy beach that offers  the most beautiful sunsets around.   During the day, excursions from Nassau brings in tourists for a quick stop for lunch and beach volleyball.

The dock comes alive when the mail arrives, bringing in supplies from Nassau.  It's always fun to watch the activity.

 

The conch shack located on the dock offers fresh conch salad, and you can watch the green sea turtles while enjoying your salad.

 

As you can see, it does attract tourist boats. 

 

 

Farmer's Cay makes us feel welcomed and the beauty is beyond words.  We always love coming here to visit.

Until next time...

Enjoy!