The weather was once again forecast for some severe wind and storms. We left the free dock fairly early and headed toward Hilton Head. Today’s trip was only about fifteen miles, so it would only take us two to three hours. We are used to traveling at this speed, and it must sound funny to hear how long it takes us, but we’re not in a fast boat!
We made it to the marina and I called in on the radio to let them know we were close. They directed me to our assigned slip and we docked without incident. The dock hand that helped us was a little too close in contact for our comfort, but we were able to stay far enough away and finally get rid of him so we could go about our business adjusting the lines. This had been our docking procedure: pull in, get secure, then I go about adding bumpers and adjusting and adding spring lines as I see fit, while Lauren takes Frank for a quick walk. We got settled in and spent the day on the boat, we ordered dinner from a local restaurant which delivered and it was delicious! It was the first time we’ve had ‘restaurant’ food in a while… She-Crab soup, blackened fish sandwich, salmon with collard greens and potatoes. We stayed inside and dry from the rain that was coming down in buckets.
Day 2: Lauren did some laundry in the morning then we got the bikes off and went for a ride. As we were riding by a small creek I noticed an alligator sunning on the bank. We stopped to look at it and it looked like it wasn’t real- maybe a yard decoration to scare other alligators? – It was far enough away we couldn’t get close to it, so we decided we would check back on the way back to see if it was still there. We were riding to find a hardware store as our sink drain had broke. The ring that connects the drain to the pipe had cracked, so it was now hanging loose. We currently have to use a bucket under the drain to drain the sink…I didn’t think it would be too hard to fix if I could find the right pieces… we decided to see ride to a beach first and found it gated and locked shut. They are closed! We tried the next beach a little farther down the road and it too was closed, with a security guard sitting in a truck at the entrance to make sure no one got in! Oh well- we started back toward the marina and made a stop at the hardware store. I picked up what I thought I needed and we decided to stop at the nearby grocery store too. Once we were stocked with what we could carry on our bikes, we headed back to the marina. We got to the gate of the marina which is in a ‘gated community’ and the officer at the gate tried to give us a hard time. I had to show my drivers license to her (she was not wearing gloves or a mask) and explain we were at the dock. She eventually let us in (with bags of groceries!?) and we continued on. I stopped to see if the alligator’was still there and it was not, so it WAS real, and was now somewhere else. We got back to the boat and unloaded the groceries, then I went to work on the drain. Turns out I didn’t get all the right pieces- I need to replace not just the ring, but the pipe as well. Ughh. I guess we’ll just have to keep using the bucket to drain the sink until we can get to another hardware store. The rest of the night was spent having dinner, walking Frank and planning our next destination…