November came in like a lion - quite windy and cold! Jeff needed some equipment from Home Depot for his upcoming one day trip to Detroit, so we bundled up and drove to Hilton Head. After we found everything we needed, we drove back to Port Royal. We enjoyed the Port Royal Landing Marina and felt totally confident in leaving the boat there during our four day trip to Atlanta for the annual RETA conference.
Back to Hilton Head on Tuesday to drop Jeff off at the airport, then I explored the shops in the area. The next day I made the round trip again to Hilton Head to retrieve Jeff and before coming back to Port Royal, we stopped at Cris and Dean's in Bluffton and all went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant called Claude and Uli's. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals - neat place!
Can you believe it? We had to return to Hilton Head one more time (4 round trips in 4 days - about a 40 minute commute from Port Royal) so that I could get a much needed haircut and color. I know you guys out there just don't "get it" as to why we women are so particular about who does our hair, but believe me, it was well worth it to have a referral to someone as talented as Joanna. Thanks Cris!
Immediately after I was finished, we took off for Atlanta. Watermelons anyone?
Certainly nothing compared to the water shots and sunsets I've been posting... A little fun and games for the spouses at the conference. Oh the things we do... Nona and I each won a Coach clutch for participating in this game!
One day when the boys were able to break free, we decided to take the MARTA to Buckhead to enjoy lunch at the Buckhead Diner and then walk it off at the Lenox Mall. Twyla and I enjoyed the shops, while Harry and Jeff talked business. Thank goodness for comfy chairs in the mall!
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| Obviously NOT your standard diner!
We left the next afternoon after Jeff presented his last technical paper with hopes of not getting caught in the Atlanta rush hour traffic. Thanks to Google maps, we were diverted to avoid an hour delay. I love that feature. We made it back to Port Royal by 7 and went straight to the Dockside restaurant, which turned out to be a great choice. It reminded us of the Fisherman's Friend restaurant in Maine - which we frequent with friends usually on Friday nights. They both serve great cornbread! So much food over the past 4 days. Time to put the brakes on!
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On Saturday the 8th of November, after Jeff picked up our outboard for the dinghy which needed a new water pump, we headed out at noon toward Windmill Harbour in Hilton Head. About a half hour into our trip and in the middle of lunch we were flagged down by flashing blue lights - you know the kind! The Sheriff's office and Coast Guard had paired up and we were the lucky ones to get boarded and inspected. The same thing happened on our way up the coast in June in NYC. So, 20 minutes later with our "pass inspection" sheet in hand, we were given the thumbs up. Onward, once again.
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| Check out that gun! |
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| Bridge to Hilton Head Island |
Windmill Harbour is one of the first marina/housing development in the Hilton Head area. They have a lock in order to enter the marina. We came in at low tide and instead of waiting for the tide to turn we pushed through the silt to get into the lock. Our draft is 5'9" and the estimated depth in the entrance to the lock was 5+. When we were secure in the lock, they opened the floodgates. Very cool to watch the water pour in and bring us up approx. 5 feet to the water level in the marina. This is an incredibly secure marina. No current, no tide. We love it! The neighborhood is beautiful with pretty homes, large trees and Spanish moss hanging, typical South Carolina style.
More soon... on our way to St. Augustine!
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