So yes I am a little behind on this update.  It's been a very busy 2 months for us so I am updating now.

As of Aug 28th, we have made ourselves comfortable just outside of Matthews, VA.  We visited with Andy's parents one day and the rest of the time that we were there became a comfortable leisurely stay.  We went grocery shopping once a week to the local food lion where I remained freshly stocked with groceries.  Every morning started slowly with our morning cup of joe and breakfast.  Since it's summer, the days are still warm and once the sun goes down, it cools off significantly.  The dogs enjoyed getting off the boat every day to explore the nearby campground and mingle with the people ashore. They also demanded their afternoon water time in the river where they chased sticks and learned how to jump off the dock and into the water.  Even little George was doing this and got very upset and let you know all about it if you took too long to throw the stick for him to retrieve.  Never have I heard such a commanding bark from my little boy.  

3rd ~ Sadly today is the day that we get the laundry done, final provisions topped off, make water and take the pups out for their final play with the Fosters on land and in the water.  They both got baths this evening and we tied up the dinghy and Free Spirit is now ready to make waves and start moving again.  It's been fun staying here for as long as we did and we will certainly have to come back again.

4th ~ Anchor pulled up and left the safety of this anchorage at 7am.  We were greeted by our new friends as they waved us off the dock.  It was sad to leave.  The dogs were also very mad and confused like why are we leaving?  We love it here.  They played so hard yesterday that today, they both settled down for some good sleep as we cruised northward.  We ended the evening in the Solomon Islands.  I suppose under different circumstances this would be a nice place to anchor.  However, it's so far inside the river that we stayed just outside the Cheseapeke bay and behind the military base.  I do not recommend this when the wind is blowing. It's an very unprotected anchorage even though our research advised us that there was some protection.  The water was deep so we had to let out more chain than normal but it was rocky and very uncomfortable. I just went to bed and didn't even bother making dinner.  The puppies were also getting squishy.  Andy went to help another boat that was in distress with a torn sail and it started raining which just made the situation there worse.

5th ~ Not much sleep for either of us.  At this point, we just wanted to get to Annapolis and be on the mooring ball, settle in and get some sleep.... Grabbed a ball without issue, sat and cried for minute.  This was a huge goal and accomplishment for the both of us.  We made it from Clearwater to Annapolis as our maiden trip and while we have had our share of ups and downs, if I had to do it all over again, I would howver, I would just be better prepared for this journey.

6th-12th ~ Well we were supposed to be working for the powerboat and sailboat shows helping to set up but it's been delayed to we have taken the time to be tourists a little.  We wandered downtown Annapolis, found our favorite ice cream shoppe for our afternoon or evening treats.  Made a trip to the local bread bakery and the grocery store.  

13th - 20th ~ TIme to make some progress on this ole gal so she can sparkle for the boat show.  I sanded the cockpit table and the companion way cover. Once smooth, I was able to varnish both and applied 3 coats to each.  As it's cooler out, it's taking longer to dry but it does look amazing beautiful.  Next up, time to paint the topside and remove the remaining fire damage from the e-bikes.  The difference is suttle but noticeable for sure.  Now she's looking good.  We also sanded down the teak handrails and the stand for the wind scoops.  Everything got some attention for the time that could dedicate to it.  We still have more work to do to finish the project.  Both the foredeck and the aft deck need top side repainted and just the aft deck needs varnishing.  Weather has changed so we can't finish these projects becuase it's too cold and nothing will dry and we are starting work soon so we won't have time to complete this. We found Truxton Park which is just off Spa Creek that has hiking traiils.  The dogs enjoyed it!  Lots of new smells, things to see and how far can go on the trails.  The dogs also had a shrimp boil for dinner, wow, they loved it! 

21st ~ Still not working for the boat shows, we are hopeful this will be very soon as we were told we needed to be by the 8th to start working but as of today, nothing yet.  Anyway, Andy went to look at the auto piliot to see if he could figure out what is wrong with it. Low and behold, the block of wood where the auto pilot was attached shattered.  So as usual what you think is a quick job, turns into a project that takes days and a ton more hours. Andy had to epoxy and clamp it together.  Once dried, he glassed it into the boat and allowed to dry.  The auto pilot ram was then reattched and working again.  

29th ~ Finally, Andy is able to start working with the Annapolis Boat shows getting the docks ready for the powerboat show.  Andy will be work 12+ hours per day getting ready for the boat shows.  I will be handling ticket sales and check in during the shows.  

October is going to be a great month for us as we look forward to the Sailboat show and extending our trip.  we are out of money so we are hoping this will allow us to add some funds to the cruising kitty so we can continue onward. Where will we go?  When are we leaving?  who knows, there is a lot to decide in the next couple of weeks.  

Well, what a month it has been!

We have become comfortable in our new routine which is bad... Friday nights we have Raw Oysters at Bradleys, Take the Circut cars to Publix for weekly groceries, Pizza one night with friends at Nico's and then to CVS for ice cream, Sunday morning breakfasts with other cruisers, relaxing days spent at the local sandbar just north of Peanut Island... I can feel it becoming a sticky bottom...

July 4th we had an evening thunderstorm pop up where we briefly had 30 knot winds, the fireworks show was not cancelled and we were able to enjoy the fireworks all around us.  What a nice way to end the eveing for us. 

6th ~ Our final trip to Peannut to get the dogs out for a good play and walk around the island and playing before we leave and continue our journey north. The dogs enjoyed the park however, we had another thunderstorm pop up while walking them at the park, so we ducked and covered under another boat.  George was not happy at all and ready to head back to the boat but we wanted to make sure they were going to be able to travel without getting sick. Once the rain let up we ordered a pizza (yes, there are plenty of food boats around to order and enjoy while in the water) so we ordered a large pepperoni pizza and they delivered to us at the sand bar... then of course, it starts to rain again so for the 1st time ever, we are eating pizza in the water while its raining... it was possible the best pizza I have ever eaten or maybe it was just the situation but it was one of those once in a life experiences.

8th ~ We left West Palm Beach today and stopped in Fort Pierce.  What a beautiful cruise, we had to run the Iron Sail (Engine) because there was litterally no wind and the seas were so flat!  Nothing happened but it was very relaxing. It was so flat and calm, it made it a beautiful day for cruising (if you owned a motor yacht). 

After much discussions, we decided to stay on the intercoastal just take our time going as there was not going to be any wind again and calm seas so at least we can jump out of the channel at Ponce Inlet to make our way to St Augustine. 

10th ~ We arrived in St Augustine and plan on staying here for a week.  We grabbed a mooring ball from the city marina.  It was the 1st time that we were able to grab a ball without issue.  We went ashore and took the puppies as they have the dog park right in front.  They dogs were so happy.  Then they went on a long walk.  Found a cute little ice cream shop and enjoyed an ice cream sandwhich and got some water for the dogs.  We also visited the Fort while there for a couple of days as well as went to the St Augustine Whiskey Distillery.  Andy's girls also came out for a visit one evening.  We rented a car and went to our friends house who was graciously holding all of our Amazon packages.  Wow, forgot all that we ordered, it was like Christmas.  Took a bit to open all of the boxes and to match them to the orders we placed to make sure that we got everything that was ordered. We were good there!  We also took a walk or 2 around historic downtown, viewed local churches and catherdals.  After a week, we were ready to move on.

19th ~ Heading out to the open ocean.... Nancy and puppies got squishy... ugh! We finally made it to St Mary's for the evening.  We then made a next planned stop at Jekyll Island.  We stayed here for a week! Why you ask, because we needed to make another repair on the generator that caused us to stay longer than the few days we had planned.  We did find out that the Jeykell Island marina will allow you to park your dingy there for $20 a day but doing that you have full use of all of the amenities they have.  They offer restrooms, pool, picnic area, bicyles, car (free) and golf carts.  What a deal!  We used the biucyles one day and the pool each day that we purchased the dinghy dock because that was a wonderful treat for us.  The pool was shaded and clean!  There is a resturant onsite that had some pretty delicious food as well!  We took the dogs to the beach a couple of times as well but that GA mud is something else.  No sand on the beach there, but there are a lot of oyster shells on the beach. Dogs didn't seem to care.

25th ~ TIme to move on... It's hot in GA... We continue on to SC and make our way to Hilton Head. 

26th & 27th ~ We planned on spending several nights here.  Again took the dogs to the beach but the water is so hot here. Almost 90 degress so it doesn't cool you off much.  Took a dingy ride around the island.  Not much to do here unless you want to spend time at a resort or do some golfing which neither insterest us.  So off we go to the next destination.

We are ending the month in Charleston, SC!  Wow, talk about walking... you have to walk everywhere to get anywhere.  We did take a uber ride to Boone Hall & Gardens as we wanted to see the historical plantations.  Also, went to City Market and found the local free dingy to go to publix.  Stocked up on produce and food so we can continue north.  This is the last planned stop for food until we get to Virginia with a planned stock up to do in Annapolis.  

Well hello again!  We made it another month out on the hook.  We made it to West Palm Beach and drooped the hook in anchorage just ouside the intercoastal and near the free public docks.  

We found the publix, there is quite a bit of activity with restaurants and parks.  We have taken the pups ashore to get their business done at the numerous parks and they have their good long walks.  

Papa John's pizza closed for good just shortly after we got here however, we were abel to pick up a pizza and have it together at the seawall for a lunch date.  We made it to Peanut island for a beach day with the puppies and unfornutely, we were not able to snorkel or dive at Blue Heron, they don't allow dinghies anywhere close to the area for us so that will have to be another trip.  There is a huge sandbar just north of Peanut that at low tide is exteremly you barely have 2 inches of water to walk on.  Great place for us to take the puppies as George was able to walk around and lay down in the water without drowning.  We found a food barge that sold burgers and hotdogs so we stopped for some lunch and got the dogs each a hot dog while we enjoyed our burgers.

We are now settled in for here for at least a week as we attempt to get the generator fixed and the auto pilot... little did we know we would be here for over a month! Since the last passage, we decided to make the best use of our time here and scrub down the boat, I took all of the cushions out of the cockpit and scrubbed them and also washed down the cockpit as well as we spilled some soda and food.  Also, washed down the boat and all canvas.  Cleaned rugs in the boat and usual boat chores, food shopping and laundry.

Friday night with other cruisers is a tradition, dozen of oysters for $12!  Ye-rah! Andy was in heaven. Sundays are a cruisers breakfast so that is always something that we both look forward to doing.  

Friends from the bahamas came over early and detoured their trip to hang out with us for a few days before they continued their journey back home for hurricane season. We eat, drank, floated at peanut and overall had a wonderful visit with them.  We miss them bunches and can't wait to see them again in a few months.  

In the meantime, Andy has finished the install of the high output 24 volt alternator on the Yanmar engine, we also had to seek the advice of a westerbeke professional to figure out why we can't get this generator fixed.  Found a bunch more broken wires, leaks from the heat exchanger and some switches that need to be replaced.  So one piece at a time to get each thing corrected. Oil was changed in the generator and some other general maintence was done.  

I wanted to get some sewing repairs done but just didn't have what I needed to complete those projects so I placed an amazon order and had everything shipped to our next location for pick up.  Otherwise, it's been a pretty quiet month with no much going on and not able to do too much exploring as we need to have the generator or alternator working.  

Finally, we were advised by the city of West Palm that we needed to vacate the anchorage for the upcoming holiday festivties... so we took the puppies for good walk, emptied trash and pulled the anchor to drop in another anchorage.... what a quiet month this has been, not nearly as expensive as last monthly but still more than expected.

Happy May everyone!  I wanted to provide the update now for the month of May as we have landed at a new location but first, let's update you with everything that happened once we arrived in Marathon. 

We had been to Marathon before however, it was by car and we passed on by because we didn't see it from the water side and really didnt understand how much of a gem this place really is.  Also, it has a very sticky bottom and you don't want to leave!

Upon entering the Boot Key Harbor, we ran into some people we knew from back home and they left several months ago and were prepaing to leave that morning to continue their cruising adventures.  So we said hello and wished them well.  Exchanged phone #'s and she gave me all of the info for the harbor, things to do and places to check out.  They never stayed in the mooring field so they didn't have feedback to provide us.  A few hours later, they sent a text saying there were on their way back as their engine died and they were not able to travel.  They made it 5 miles before that happened so we helped them come back into the harbor on a ball while they figured out what they were going to do.

Join us for the Sh*tshow that we can sometime have.  This is our 1st experience grabbing a ball and well we didn't exactly know how to do this and lost the boat hook.  Called on the radio for assistance to get on the ball and someone was able to assist us.  Once on the ball, we shook out the nerves and tension and went to the office to check in.  Found out it was cheaper to stay for the month rather than just a 2 1/2  weeks.  Since we needed the dinghy docks for the dog, that just made sense for us.  What an active marina this is.  There is something going on every day, you can get mail, do laundry, have a long shower and free bike rentals, they have a project room and place to sit and relax and watch tv and eat ice cream in the hot afternoon.

So since we were going to be staying the month, it was time to get settled and ready to live. We picked up the mess from everything that fell while we were heeled over on one side.  Started laundry and emtpied trash and tried to figure out what our new normal is.  Turns out our new normal is starting our day around noon and finishing it at 3pm so we can socialize with people and have some fun.  

So things that needed to be repaired while we had access was the following: contact sailrite for repair parts needed for the sewing machine, repair the Jib sail, figure out the issue with the generator, order new batteries and fix the ice machine.  Those were the major items for us to tackle.  There were a slew of other small items which obviously I can't remember so they must have been minor. 

Where do we even begin with the issues that we had?  We also finally received the final bill for the engine install that was more that what was expected.  It caused a little pain to make that payment but we knew it was coming and were mostly ready for it.  What we weren't prepared for was all of the other items that broke and the expense that came along with getting them fixed. 

Within a day of grabbing the ball is when the issue with the generator started, the batteries shortly after.  After doing some research, phoning a friend and doing countless hours of testing we came to the following conclusion. First, the generator took several weeks to get sorted out and that will be detailed in just a minute.  Once we realized that the generator is not working and able to charge the batteries and knowing that there was no way we had enough solar on board to charge the batteries and that we could only allow them to drop to 50% and the amount of engery required, this was going to be an issue.  We were left with the only option of running the engine to charge the batteries.  That lasted about a day or so before the 1st battery died and luickily we had an extra battery on board to replace the one that wasn't working.  About another day or so, the rest of the bank died.  Now what do we do and how or where can we get batteries, what kind, do we go to lithium now?  

Of course no one has the batteries that we need and they needed to be ordered from someplace.  We did a temporary stop gap to help us.  We spent $200 on 2 new 12 volt batteries and didn't care about taking them down below their charging state as this was just going to be a short lived thing.  So off in an uber and off to Advanced auto we got, pick up 2 batteries and take them back, removed all of the old ones and connected the 2 new ones, charged and we are back in business however, we had to leave the engine on every couple of hours to charge.  Our 1st night, we completely shut down the boat to everything that was not essential. New bedtime routine.. unplug and shut down the boat before bed!  We ordered our new battery bank with Epoch batteries.  We ordered with them for various reasons and we will go into full detail with that once we release the viedo install in a few weeks.  

In the meantime, we are diagnosing the generator and changing all items as we go thru.  New fuel filters both inside and outside the generator, changed raycor filter, checked all connecting wires and discovered no voltage to the fuel shutoff solenoid and found the back of the solenoid was bulged and bad, order 2 new solenoid from amazon and they both went bad as soon as they were installed so we replaced with factory OEM part. Found a broken wire in the back of the genie after looking at the skematics, replaced the broken wire and by passed all safeties so we can run until the new solenoid was in and replaced.  Then started perfectly and works fine. This entire process took several weeks to get the generator restarted. 

Changed the oil in both the generator and the main engine so they are good to go now.  The new Epoch Batteries are installed and working fine and taking a full charge and we are able to run the AC at night to sleep and still have plenty left over in morning. 

We did try to have a little fun while we were in marathon and took the dinghy out to Sombero Reef for some snorkeling, did several beach days with the puppies, drift dinghy raft on the full moon, and rented a car for the day to do a road trip in the keys... again, stay tuned for that video to come out as well.

Time to preapre to leave Marathon.  Got a hole in the dinghy while in the dinghy channel.  No idea what we hit or how it happened since there isn't anything there.  So one more repair before leaving.  So far, it's holding.... 

We finally left Marathon and made our way to Rodriguez Key for a sleep and were going to try and stay the next day to do some snorkeling in Key Largo at Pennacamp. At some point duriing the route from Marathon to Rodriguez Key... we lost the autopilot. That didn't quite work out as well as we had hoped. Nancy was seasick and it turned out to just be a down day for all aboard.  Now the auto pilot wasn't working it gives us time to figure out that new issue. Andy was able to figure it out along with several phone calls to Raymarine for assistance and determined it was the ACU 400 that does not have voltage to the clutch side of the unit.  So a new one of those is now required which means when we can get to a place to pick up a new unit and replace is in order.  Most likely in West Palm.  In the meantime, movies and food and relaxing which is not something that we have been able to do in a while. We left the next morning and anchored outside of No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne.  What a cute little place!  There is a state park, beaches, hiking trails, restaurants, bars, fuel and water there.  Definatley a great place to stay while waiting for a weather wiindow to cross over to the bahamas.  

We left Key Biscane and anchored in Lake Worth at West Palm Beach  for the next few days while we fix the new set of issues... So wish us some luck that June will be better.  It's getting expensive out here.  I would say that  if you have a budget to cruise, you need to be resourceful in your funds and figure out what can and can't be done and try if at all possible to leave with more than you think you will needed because you will need it!

Here's to another month on the water and hoping it doesn't get too crazy out here. Let's fix these items that are broken and move on to our next ports of call.  In the meantime, coffee and breakfast are in order while I am typing out this novel and doing laundry.  I hope to wash the boat and clean the cockpit. There is also some fun planned in here as well if we can fit it in.  Looks to be a great place for the puppies as well.