Ebb and Flow of Life

January 29-February 4, 2024

We had some very sad news on Friday: John’s dear brother Warren passed away. John and Warren both owned and loved to ride motorcycles and especially liked to go on rides with each other, from the mountains in North Carolina to the low country in South Carolina to the Florida Keys. Warren wasn’t just an older brother to John but one of his very best friends. We always looked forward to seeing Warren and his wife Linda when we stopped in New Smyrna Beach.

Warren was truly a one of a kind man, with a full-body laugh and a fun-loving personality.

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The poet Mary Oliver said, “Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” We’re incredibly fortunate to live in a place where there’s so much to astonish us, from dark clouds rolling in over the water to golden sunrises.

Sunset across Battery Creek is regularly spectacular.

And occasionally we’re on the docks to witness how the tide begins to flow back through the pluff mud banks of the river.

And if everything seemed really perfect for a couple of minutes on Saturday, it was because my bestie Samantha and I fixed the world as we walked multiple trails. (And yes, we took photos of alligators as if I don’t have a million already).

We also located a black vulture nest.

While Saturday’s weather was perfect for a Low Country February, Sunday was cloudy, cool, and really windy. This time the wind was from the north so Lailia’s not bouncing that much (the big blow that rocked us so hard was from the south). It’s noisy, though, with the sounds of the wind blowing through our masts and the loose halyards clanging on other boats. Lailia is an older boat, and she, like many of us, also tends to creak a bit when she moves. The sound of the wind tends to bother me when it goes on for days as it did for a week when we were in the Bahamas; going to work tomorrow will help me catch a break from the sound. The wind should die down a lot by Wednesday.