VERY OLD Oak Tree

This tree in McClellanville, South Carolina, is 1000 years old!

The oak tree is 150 feet high with a circumference of 36 feet. 

Here are Mary and Tori on our way back from visiting the tree.

Dolphin Escort

Two dolphins escort us out of the harbor and onto the Atlantic ICW
as we head north to Beaufort, North Carolina.

Scenes from Savannah, GA

The Mercer-Williams House in Savannah, Georgia

The house was the setting for a great part of the book and the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." The movie was directed by Clint Eastwood and Kevin Spacey played the role of the owner, Jim Williams. 

The Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah -- This place is within walking distance from the Hinckley Yacht Services Marina. 

The Bonaventure Cemetery plays a role in the book and movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," as well. A very historic cemetery with many residents dating pre-Civil War, and some born in the mid-to-late 1700s.  

Savannah existed as a port town prior to the United States.

We wanted to find a specific grave, that of Savannah resident, poet and writer Conrad Aiken. On his gravestone -- actually a bench -- is the inscription, “Cosmos Mariner Destination Unknown."  We sat on the bench and watched the Wilmington River flow by. Later, as we left Savannah heading North, we passed by that same spot on the river, and gave a toot of the tugboat horn to the residents of the Bonaventure Cemetery. If we ever own another boat, I will lobby to name it the “Cosmos Mariner” --
with the hailing port “Destination Unknown.”

Savannah residents love to throw a party for any reason. When General William Tecumseh Sherman was on his march to the sea, burning every thing in his path, Savannah’s prominent residents went out to meet Sherman and negotiated that they would turn over Savannah to him if he would not damage or burn the city. Sherman agreed and stayed one month, enjoying the food and the run of the town. He then moved south again, burning every city, town and plantation to the ground. (See my post of Tennessee River -- the Civil War battle Shiloh, where people thought that General Sherman was insane.)  In my opinion, his “March to the Sea” was proof of his insanity.  Perhaps the phrase “scorched earth policy” is derived from his
March to the Sea. He presented the City of Savannah to

President Lincoln as a Christmas gift.

Jekyll Island, Georgia

Once the winter home for the Vanderbilt, JP Morgan, Goodyear,
Singer and Rockefeller families. 

The entire island was purchased and became a private club. When all the club members were gathered on the island they represented 1/6 of the world's wealth. Not the United States' wealth but the WORLD’S wealth. 
The club was established in 1886 and continued until 1942.
It is now a Georgia State Park opened to the public. 

Joseph Pulitzer built this cottage and the family donated it to become
the Island’s infirmary.

The large dwellings were referred to as cottages. 

Almost all the club members had summer homes in Nantucket and other New England areas. The Jekyll island winter cottages were used from January through March, then they left for the summer homes in the North.

If you are interested in reading more about this island and the people who wintered there, check out this book.

Pelicans in Georgia!

The pelicans accompanied the Gammel Dansk on the upper Mississippi
as we headed south to warmer weather. The pelicans followed us
down the rivers to the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and now Georgia. 

We saw this group on a small sandbar as we entered the State of Georgia.
As if they were welcoming us to their winter home. It has also been fun to see them soar above the water looking for fish then abruptly
diving into the water to catch the fish. 

So Long Florida

We stayed here almost three weeks enjoying the warmth and sun
and the luxury amenities of the Hammocks Marina.  

Luxuries included a Paul Manafort humidor and cigar lounge and a Konstantine Kelemnik Russian caviar and oyster bar.
But alas, we must move on.
We are now in Jacksonville Beach. This weekend we will be
on Amelia Island in the state of Georgia. 

So long Florida. Thanks for the sun and warmth while it was 51 below zero in Red Wing, Minnesota. We will be back next winter. Florida’s winter is the best summer we have experienced in many years.
Summers in Alaska and Puget Sound were never this good. 

Moon Sightings

Shots of the Spring Moon -- by Moon Dog Dan howling at the moon.

Wonderful heavenly view at 10:55pm.

Great Loop Association Newsletter Article

We were interviewed by the GREAT LOOP ASSOCIATION for their March newsletter. Not the typical Loopers. 

To read the entire article, click here.

Our Florida Route

Here's a map showing our route.  

We are at Fort Pierce for 3 days. Tomorrow we head northeast to Melbourne. Then Titusville and visit NASA.

Sights and Sounds of the Okeechobee Waterway

See the shadow of our Washington Flag and boat on the
Okeechobee Waterway near sunset.

And hear the birds that were settling in the grasses.

We stopped briefly to let Tori and Mary get off the boat
(Tori's nature was calling).

And here's the sunset sky with our wake.

This all while heading to the Roland Martin Marina in Clewiston, FL.

Ortona Lock

Ortona Lock gates closing behind us.

On the Okeechobee Waterway, planning to reach the Atlantic Ocean at Stuart, Florida on Monday March 4.

And a March 5 update:  We are at Fort Pierce, Florida waiting for winds and waves to subside. Then up the ICW heading toward St. Augustine, Florida.

Honey Fitz

A Presidential Yacht on the Okeechobee Waterway

This was JFK's yacht back in the day -- and the Presidential Seal is on the smokestack.  It actually served as a yacht for five U.S. Presidents.  For more information, and to see great interior shots of the yacht,
follow this link:
https://gcaptain.com/photo-tour-of-jfks-presidential-yacht-honey-fitz/.

One Voice, Two Lives

We met David Wisnea at Dan's 101st Airborne Convention in Tampa, FL.

He asked to sit with us at a dinner and explained how he was liberated from the Auschwitz Death Camp by members of the 101st Airborne during WWII. He is 95. He sang the national anthem the next day to officially open the convention. You might be interested in reading his book,
One Voice, Two Lives.
https://www.onevoicetwolives.com/david/ 

If you buy the book, donate it to your library so others can read about the Holocaust.  Some people deny it ever happened. 

101st Airborne Convention

A side trip to Tampa Bay, Florida for Dan's 101st Airborne convention.

 

It is 50 years since 1969. Dan arrived in Vietnam in December 1968 and spent all of 1969 in Vietnam. He returned CONUS (continental United States) on February 13th, 1970. We met Sal, a medic and great guy. His stories are much different than Dan's as he treated and cared for wounded
and dying soldiers. A great guy. 

Here's a picture of young Dan carrying all his supplies on his back.
An early version of a Tiny House.

 If you're interested in seeing more pictures of young Dan in Vietnam,
with other members of Delta '69-'70, click here.

Manatees!

Look at these manatees swimming -- there is a mother and baby.  And one of them has scrapes on its back from a run-in with a propeller.