Errands, Repairs, and New Friends!

On Friday, Scott and I took a walk around the neighborhood, despite the off and on drizzle. We try to get some fresh air and stretch our legs whenever possible. Our marina is located on Wilmington Island. The area surrounding Savannah is made up of islands, leading out to the Atlantic. During our walk, we stumbled onto Paula Dean's house, so I grabbed the chance to snap a few pictures. After we'd headed back up the road, her daughter-in-law passed us, on her way to the house. I was glad she didn't catch me in "stalker fan" mode. I'm not usually that bad.

After our walk, we borrowed Dick, the marina owner's car and headed out to the bank, post office, liquor store, and grocery store (you know by now, how I love to check out a grocery store). I was wondering out loud to Scott where Paula Dean did her grocery shopping. Just after that, Scott caught site of one of her sons in the store; guess I had my answer. After unloading all of our loot, we decided to take a bike ride. We'd noticed a bike path while we were out in the car. Before heading out, we ran into Jim. He's a boat broker, and was showing a sail boat at the marina. We made plans to meet him and Peggy on their boat for cocktails later.

Jim and Peggy keep their boat at Sail Harbor, so Scott and I had just a short walk down the pier to meet them aboard for happy hour. After a drink or two, we showed them our boat. Then we all decided it was time to eat, so we hopped in Jim's car to head to dinner. Jim and Peggy took us to the Oyster Bar, one of their favorite places to eat. Our meal was great, and we spent time trading boat stories. Scott also found Jim’s local water/tide knowledge very helpful. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening with Jim and Peggy, and looked forward to seeing them the next evening for the lighted boat parade!

On Saturday am, we were debating whether to go back into Savannah for lunch. Scott decided to do his weekly check of the bilge, and discovered that our bilge pump wasn't working. After some fiddling, it became clear that we needed a new one. So, going into town was out. Scott borrowed Dick's car again and headed off to buy a new pump. I took the opportunity to take advantage of the FREE laundry and wash up all of our sheets, blankets and towels. I also did my weekly boat cleaning.

I use my bike to go back and forth to do laundry, as it is usually a bit of a hike to the machines at most marinas. It was no different at Sail Harbor. However, the tide changes here are so great, that the way from the piers to shore goes from a parallel bridge to a really steep ramp. I had to get up some good speed to make it up the ramp to shore. In the am, when I was dropping trash to the dumpster, it was a lot steeper. Try as I might, I couldn't get up enough speed to make it up the ramp. Not enough bike riding experience I guess. That should change in the next few months!

Scott arrived back with the pump, and quickly had it installed. We were back in business, keeping water out of the boat, not in!