Author: Chris McLean

February 12- 19, 2024

This has been the Februaryist February ever.

Those warm, sunny intervals have been good for sighting critters. Gators and turtles gather in the afternoon sunny spots.

The white ibis have been clustering around the shallow edges of Cypress Wetlands. They splash, eat, and preen. They’re entertaining to watch.

Fairly soon the birds will be building nests in the trees in the islands in the Wetlands.

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This weekend was typical low country February highs in the 50s and gray. Those cloudy days are rough on energy levels. Some days it’s difficult to even get off Lailia.

We were motivated on Saturday morning to workout at the Y before our regular bagel brunch. I even made it out to Crystal Lake Park for a bit since it’s on the way to the grocery store.

Sunday, however, was a true day of rest: I stayed on Lailia while John went to hit a pickleball for a while.

February 5-11, 2024

Even though we’re not actively cruising, Lailia needs maintenance. The bonkers windstorm that hit us last month bent the metal davit that supports our dinghy. John recently noticed that all the bouncing during that same storm pulled off a skeen chock, the thingy that keeps dock lines from rubbing on the bow pulpit when they’re cleated on the dock.

Because they can absorb a lot of force, skeen chocks have to be through bolted, meaning it’s not just a matter of screwing a bolt through the top – John has to get into the chain locker to make sure it’s securely fastened all the way through the deck.

The chain locker is a tiny compartment at the bow. It’s not deep enough to climb into, so any work that has to be done in there requires boat yoga contortions.

John had experience with these contortions (from all the repair work on the windlass and the wash down pump) and made the repair. No doubt there are several f-bombs still floating on the ICW towards Port Royal Sound.

John also thinks he’s found and addressed the source of the leak that somehow finds its way into the hold where I store my pants. Hopefully this is true as there’s nothing as irritating as pulling soaking wet jeans out of a drawer.

Lailia also needs her inverter/charger replaced. This will require a different yoga pose as the system weighs about 70 lbs and needs to be installed on a panel in our narrow engine room. John will tackle this job soon.

Boat life – it’s not all sunrises and dolphins.

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This week also started gray and cloudy so when the sun finally started to shine, it felt like a gift. I’ve been working with some out-of-state consultants who suggested going out for dinner on Wednesday. Of course we suggested Fish Camp. Along with great food and service, they have a gorgeous view of the sunset from their porch.

And after a very, very busy week, John and I headed to DQ for Friday sundaes.

Back in the 80s Loverboy sang about working for the weekend. Saturday is our day – we can reconnect and relax. A February Saturday with temps in the upper 60s is a bonus!

We took a quick afternoon hike to Little Hunting Island.

The stinkhorns are emerging! These orange fungi smell awful but the odor isn’t too strong. I used to see them in the spring at Caw Caw, too. They do attract flies probably because of their nasty funk.

It’s cool to see this beach at low tide: there’s cool sand textures left by the retreating water and swaths of clam shells.

Little Hunting Island has a boneyard beach marked with dozens of drowned trees left behind by the massive erosion on this island.

Low tide brought out both wading birds (like herons) and shorebirds (like sanderlings and willets). It’s entertaining watching the shorebirds scampering along the edges of the water.

Two cool birds were at the nature center feeder – a pine warbler and a rose finch. I heard the painted buntings are back, too.

Yep…this bird watching thing sneaks up like aging does.

All the rain and yuck from the beginning of the week perked up the resurrection ferns, which grow on many live oaks.

Clouds returned Saturday evening, muting the bright sunset but we still had some evening color to end our shiny day

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.

January 16-28, 2024

A truism about this area is, “If you don’t like today’s weather, just wait until tomorrow.” We have had fog, cold, fog, clouds, warmth, fog, wind, warmth, sunshine, fog, more wind, and more fog.

Our marina posted lots of notices about the potential for freezing weather.  John made sure our water tank was topped off.  We have multiple heat sources (especially when we are plugged into shore power) which keeps us warm and cozy.

I made reservations at Old Bull Tavern so we could celebrate John’s birthday INSIDE this time.  It was far too cold to even consider sitting in the courtyard.

Neither of us is a fan of cold weather so we spent last weekend hanging on Lailia and binging Succession.

This part of the ICW has an 8-9 foot tidal change; the floating docks move up and down this much twice a day.  The fixed dock is really high, so when we get a low tide we have quite an adventure!  Somehow, it’s almost always low tide when we have a load of groceries. John refers to this climb as “scaling the Matterhorn.”

Clouds rolled in with warm weather last week.   Warmth is good (especially when the walk between Lailia and the marina showers is really, really far – and up a ramp!)

Gators love the warm weather even more than I do.  They’ve been basking in large numbers at Cypress Wetlands this week.  I’ve been able to test out my new camera on these reptile buddies.

This warmth has also created lots of opportunities for advection fog that happens when the warm air hits the cooler water surface.  Mornings and evenings look atmospheric and mysterious (but are really, really drippy-damp).

Probably unrelated to fog (but who really knows?) dolphins have been hanging out at the marina. John got some great videos that he sends me while I am working. I love my job but I love dolphins, too, and wish I got to see them daily.

Early in the week I thought I would photograph the  fog mid-day at a stop in a local park.  This spot is halfway between the two schools I was visiting that day, so I planned to eat my lunch there. 

Bald eagles stymied that plan: their nest is adjacent to the parking lot.  As my schedule allows, I will stop in to check on their nest (but won’t linger). 

I’ve heard that one way to know you’re getting older is how excited you get about birds.  Like one day you’re clubbing and the next day you’re telling everyone about the birds you see. 

(I can feel myself aging as I write this) I’m into birding.  I have good conversations about birds with the (other old) folks I see at Cypress Wetlands.  I tell myself that I am only there because I am hoping to see my favorite bird…and then remember that I did not have a favorite bird until I got older.  Sigh.

Occasionally I get lucky and get to see the sun as it works its way through the fog.  We have so many boat landings around here (and my time in Charleston makes me leave for work way too early) that I can usually find a great spot to soak up the scenery.

Friday was a reminder of how gorgeous the Low Country can be: once the fog burned off, it was sunny with temps in the mid-70s. 

Friday night was also a date night kind of night – pizza followed up by sundaes at Dairy Queen.  It might not be everyone’s idea of fun, but it works for us.

Saturday was foggy, again.  When we returned from breakfast, the sun was trying to burn through.  It starts looking as if we’re in a black and white movie.

Hopefully we’re out of the fog for a bit – Sunday morning was one of the brightest we’ve seen for a long time.  It’s cooler and more windy, but I can live with mid-60s and sunshine in January!

The bluebirds were out today!  I can feel my years building up while I am still holding out for sighting my favorite bird. 

January 12-15, 2025

We had a couple of calm days but the wind kicked up bit Friday afternoon – and so did some fog.

The bounce wasn’t as bad as Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s crud but…

The secret to an easier evening comes in a little box (and bonus – it helps me get to sleep even earlier).

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It was still pretty breezy on Saturday although the wind clocked around enough to calm the ICW down. The best part of Saturday was getting to hike with Amy and Bo, plus the group they were camping with.

The four of us were last together before Covid, when Bo and John joined Amy and me on an IB workshop trip in the Tahoe area. I’m hoping that this summer’s Tahoe workshops have enough participants so we can all return to California.

We hiked a little over 4 miles on Diamond Back Rattlesnake and Maritime Forest trails at Hunting Island Beach.

We got some extra time with them at Shell Ring Brewery – it was cold and windy, but the fire helped a little.

We had Sunday dinner with our friends Chris and Colin, who made their annual visit back to their former home in Hilton Head. Our last dinner together was in December of 2022 in Vero Beach.

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Colder weather is on its way but I enjoyed as much time outside as I could today. I saw one of the larger gators (probably a good 11+ footer) this afternoon while I did a couple of loops at Crystal Lake Park on Ladys Island. I rarely walk in this park because I don’t usually see much there – it’s peaceful and it’s on the way to the grocery store, but apparently I’ve just not been there when this buddy was out.

An osprey was also hunting at the lake

Two years ago (January 15, 2022) we set out on our big adventure; we spent our first two nights docked in this marina. I don’t really know what that means except in a weird way, I guess we’ve been fortunate enough to return to people and places that bring us happiness, and we get to do this together.

January 8-9, 2024

2024 has definitely brought some tumultuous weather.  Today brought the worst weather we’ve experienced since we have been on Lailia.

Winds were so high today that schools moved to e-learning: all work was done online from home.  Since students were still learning, we won’t have to make up the day.

The forecast was for high winds and even higher gusts, with the worst coming from the south-southeast – the kind that whomps us terribly.  There’s nothing about being in cruddy weather that appeals to me; John’s really different, though!

I spent Tuesday night in a hotel while John stayed in Lailia. 

John is really, really tough and clearly has a really strong stomach!

He has really good timing and balance, too, which he needed to get off Lailia while she was hobby-horsing this afternoon.

Out of an abundance of caution, our marina shut off electric to the dock this afternoon, so I added another night to my hotel stay. 

Since the wind clocked around, John felt it was ok to leave Lailia tonight and join me in the hotel.  When I went to pick him up this afternoon we walked to Lailia – walking on a moving dock with waves breaking and boats slamming into the water was pretty exciting.

Unfortunately, our davits have been damaged by all of the slamming action.  We may lose the dinghy but our fingers are crossed!

This junky weather is moving north so tomorrow we should be back normal…although more strong  winds are forecast for this weekend. 

Port Royal, SC

Can’t beat fireworks at 9:00PM – especially ones we can watch from Lailia’s bow! It’s a fine way for us to say goodbye to 2023 (and not deal with traffic).

Whatever you do January 1 sets the stage for the whole year.

If that’s true, our year will be magical…

Full of sunshine and nature…

We’ll take time to notice small things…

And keep clear of spookiness…

And we’ll enjoy tasty food…

Here’s hoping that 2024 brings joy and love to all.

December 21-30, 2023 (To Birmingham, Alabama and Beverly Hills, Florida)

Winter break started with an early dismissal on the 21st. The afternoon was warm and sunny, we took a quick trip to Hunting Island. How wonderful it is to live in the Low Country, where a December beach walk only requires a light jacket!

We still had a few errands to run before we headed to see our boys in Alabama. Even though my alarm was off, I was up early enough to see the sunrise. The water was glassy-calm.

Apparently the dolphins were also happy to celebrate Friday. They put on quite a show!

Last year we were moored in Vero Beach at Christmas. We had seen our boys at Thanksgiving and thought we would be okay not being with them at Christmas – but we really, really missed them. There was no doubt that we would all be together for Christmas this year.

Eric and his friend Aida flew into Atlanta, which was on our way to Birmingham. We timed everything well so we could arrive in ATL at approximately the time Eric’s flight was to land.

The flight was a little delayed, which wasn’t terrible. What was terrible was that the delayed flight sat on the tarmac for over an hour, just waiting for an open gate.

Getting some extra time with Eric was worth it, though.

Time with our kids never seems to last long enough.

We spent Christmas Eve at the studio. We played a drawing game with charcoal.

John and the kids also played darts.

Christmas day dinner was at Kevin’s boss’s farm. Miniature goats are amazing!

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A few weeks ago I learned that when it gets cold in Florida, manatees move into the warm springs that feed the Crystal River. These springs are about five hours from Beaufort (and Atlanta) so it seemed like a perfect detour home.

We wound up driving about 8 hours from Birmingham to an Air BNB in Beverly Hills, FL.

I had a lot of time on that drive to rethink the plan. Eight hours is just a really, really long time to sit in a car! I was also concerned that we wouldn’t see many manatees.

The ride was worth it.

Since temperatures were in the upper 40s and lower 50s, hundreds of manatees were in the 72° springs.

Fortunately, the ride home is much shorter than the ride from Birmingham.

Penn State played Ole Miss at noon, so we stopped in Brunswick, GA so John could catch the game. We had been at Silver Bluff a little over a year ago, so this seemed like a great spot to hang for a while.

Here’s to ending 2023 with love and adventures.