A very bitter sweet event. Good, yes, it means the humidity will be sucked right out of the boat and leave us with a climate controlled living space. Bad, yes, meaning the boat is now closed up and makes it a little more difficult to enter the boat through the v-birth. It’s good though because it becomes our little cave. Our little retreat away from the world.

This also means that we can do something we have been waiting all winter for! Since it is now climate controlled and the humidity is taken out of the boat not having to worry about mildew or mold as much, we can put more foam into our bed. We have been waiting to add another layer of foam onto our bed and after one night, it was worth the wait.

As always been said, life is a series of compromises and that could never be more true for our life aboard Papillon. My only goal is to stay positive and look at the brighter side of things. At least we are docked and have the ability to have our umbilical cord (shore power).

When arriving back in Hilton Head we had a hard choice to either dock or to anchor here and accepted the fact that as much as we like to anchor and live off the dock it was going to be a necessity to live on the dock, and I have loved every second of it for the convenience factor alone.

As long as the weather has been decent we have taken the boat out almost every weekend. Rain and strong winds have kept us docked for the last two weeks and hear the wind calling or names, especially last night. 30+ winds rocked, swayed and rattled the boat all last night. We believe these were the strongest winds we have had on the boat so far, sustained winds that is. 45+ gusts we felt as well.

So now, as I sit in my nice new warm office, I am enjoying every second being at a desk able to get work done without the close spaces of the boat. Yes, Morning Sock Studios now has offices in Hilton Head Island! More on that to come soon.

So for now, stay warm and to all our sailing buddies in the south, we miss you!

Our chord or something went bad and bad melted the connection plug, outlet and all! We were very close to having a fire break out. Thankfully Curtis with his sixth sense, our Christmas miracle came and was able to catch it in time.

The harbor master even came down Christmas morning to replace the bad end and fix the box. That is why we love Palmetto Bay!

We wish all of you the best this Christmas and hope you have had your own little miracle too.

Right after my last post when we reached St. Simmons Island, we weighed our options on how we were to make it the rest of the way back. Weighing everything out, the determining factor being the fact we did not want to motor through 150 miles of Georgia ICW. It is known to be the worst part of the water way from Virginia to Florida and it is true! With some depths at no more than 4 feet at low tide, it makes it very hard to navigate through when you draw 5’5″. This means only navigating during daylight as well as only at mid to high tides. What does all this mean? In short, it would take us a minimum of three days to get back… Or we could jump out the inlet and head offshore and scoot past it all and be back in Hilton Head the next day. It was almost a no brainer.

After making a few preparations and grilling up some food, we headed off shore at 5:00 pm as the sun set on St. Simmons island behind us.

Seas were 3-5 feet with light winds which made the seas perfect for sailboat only wish we had slightly more wind to fill the sails better, but ill take it!

We headed into the Savannah River channel around 5:00 am as the moon set, giving a spectacular view of the starry sky, but gave a very weird feeling with all the container ships scattered in the area. We made the cut for the Calibogue as the sun started to rise and headed in. Docking around 8 to open arms and a big “welcome home” from Curtis’ mom and our old harbor master.

It’s a bitter sweet arrival as we hear all our friends heading for warmer waters and we are back at the cold docks we are so familiar with. But that’s ok. Work must go on and we have lots of it! Our plan is to work our butts off and get some of our to do list done on the boat as well.

One thing IS for sure, Papillon will be sailing more now that we are here. It’s good to be back.

We anchored early and started to heat the boat up as soon as we could. Cranked on the troller, made tea and I cranked on the generator and cooked up a tasty meal.

Roasted garlic soy sauce carrots that were to die for, tempeh and quinoa. So good! We finished up the night watching a movie and headed to bed. We did not have the best nights sleep but sleep it was. The troller had to be filled up at least one in the night. My brave husband getting out from the covers to fill it up while I huddled in bed for warmth.

Morning came way too soon when our normal 5am cruising wake up time hit. We decided since it was way too cold to go back to sleep. So 7am crept up and we finally decided it was time to move on.

Cold it was! Beautiful as ever. And what do u do when it’s 45 degrees out an you do not have a dodger or enclosed Bimini? You bundle up! Bad on my part forgetting the gloves though. I did find a ton of hand Warner’s though!

My favorite part of the day was the fishing boat pass with hundreds of birds swarming around. Always a cool site.

I hope everyone is staying warm tonight! More to come tomorrow! Night!

Last night we stayed on the dock and prepped for our departure. This usually includes dropping the truck off in storage (or an amazing friend’s drive way), any last groceries, ice for the new Yeti cooler (blocked ice cause it lasts forever!) and a hot shower. We enjoyed our last night and woke up at 5 am and headed out.

We had a 50 mile day today which is great and didn’t do terrible with fuel either. Ended up in a nice little spot outside Amelia Island.

Our event and highlight for the day was chilling with Eugene the pelican. He first checked us out as he passed by the boat and cruised along side us for a few minutes and left. Within a few minutes he came back for a stay. Grabbed on to our railing and hung on before jumping off and landing on our traveler! He had to be there for at least five minutes! I happened to be sitting in the companion way when he jumped on and thought he was going to attack my head! I got out safely and soon later he left, only to return again a few minutes later! As we reached downtown Jacksonville he said his farewells and move on. We will miss you Eugene!

Love the slight sway of the boat. I loved last night prepping for the cold inside and the lantern strongly lit. So cozy and safe.

I guess my body is telling me that we are ready to go! Lets get away from this place and on to the next.

I will say one thing though, I am not looking forward to pulling up the anchor on a freezing morning and the ice cold waters. And yes, there are freeze warnings out for us for Saturday night. Wish us luck!

Turns out over 50 people showed and had a feast of our own. Curtis and I give thanks for all the new friends we have made and to all our friends and family near and far. And the biggest thing we give thanks for is we are officially back in true water!

We hope everyone had as great a thanksgiving as we have had. And most all we thank all of you our loyal followers for following us along and keeping us doing what we love. Thank you!

We also found out that the crack we thought was a crack was just a separation of the keel to hull joint. Not your typical crack but easily fixed and not as much of a big deal. This means there is no structural damage to our keel and our boat. YAY!

So as much as we wanted to strip the bottom, it’s just not feasible in the amount of time we have as well as the tools that we have will not do the job in a timely manner.

Yesterday we, I mean Curtis, started on the blisters and the crack and have run into another not known situation. The West Systems is not drying fast since it is freakin’ cold! Now, it’s not cold as in it’s going to snow, but damp, dreary, stay in bed and watch movies all day cold. And if you have ever worked with West Systems you know that the warmer it is outside the faster it dries. So after curing over night it is still not as hard as we would like it but the show must go on.

Today is sanding down the epoxy, add more epoxy and finishing sanding. We will be taking a ride to St. Augustine today to get some supplies as well.

In the mean time while C works down below, I have been inside cleaning, organizing and oiling. I have three coats on the navigation station and two on the small closet. Let me tell you, the nav. station looks amazing! Our poly wipe on oil is such a good find. So I am sanding and wiping and oiling the day away, burning time by doing work for Morning Sock.

So as of right now, our eta to splash (being put back into the water) will be either Tuesday or Wednesday. We will see how things go! More to come soon!

Click to view slideshow.

Yesterday was a very long drawn out day. Once we got to the boat and felt with out keep”problem” the boat didn’t get moved at it’s 1pm moving time. Finally by 3 we were moving to our spot in the yard. The rest of the day was set up, running for a few supplies and cleaning the interior so we can sleep in there and not be totally disgusted.

Bugs were everywhere! All I have to say is at least Lovebugs don’t bite, but they were everywhere and we already knew that. We did have other crawling bugs around but the bug bomb Cutis set off last time knocked them out. So when we got back it was cleaning time. After 5 hours and an amazing husband who did most of the hard work (and cleaning up the bugs) we were in a live able boat.

After a long day it felt good to get to sleep in our home once. And that was the first day. So today we start sanding and see where the day takes us.

This brings us to our much anticipated boat bottom job in Green Cove Springs Marina. As much of you know we did run into some problems when our boat was blocked, and as of right now I can’t say too much about it yet but more to come later.

So we have packed up all our belongings that have been packed up from the boat, brought to Hilton Head and now are being taken BACK to the boat. Thankfully we only need to bring what is necessary right now and the rest can be taken to the boat once we are back in Hilton Head. We have a LOT of things that need to be taken back including gas jugs, supplies for the bottom job, ladders, bottom paint, spot lights, air compressor and well the list goes on. Not to mention our clothes and other things.

So for now we say bye, and head off tomorrow morning to St. Augustine where we will stay with friends tomorrow and also have a nice jam session as we get into our groove of boat work. More to come soon!

For the last few weeks I have been making smoothies every other day or so. Usually containing any random fruit that may be located in the house as well as frozen fruit picked up from the store. I mix and match depending on what is on my mind and throw it in. Here is a list of what I may normally include in my smoothies when available:

• Orange Juice
• Frozen mixed fruit (contains peaches, cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries, etc)
• Apples
• Pear
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Banana
• Blueberries
• Plain Vanilla Yogurt or any yogurt when available, even Greek!
• Peanut Butter
• Almond Milk or soy milk (I am allergic to soy milk so we don’t use that)

I just was looking up some other recipes that people suggest and noticed somethings that I have thought of using but haven’t yet or I have but is not part of the normal routine. These are things like:

• Nutella
• Flax Seed
• Spinach
• Pineapple
• Or any fruit at that
• Whey Protein powder
• Avocado
• Kiwi
• Cranberry

I would recommend using frozen fruit to thicken your smoothie instead of ice, I try to make sure that the smoothie is nice and creamy because there is nothing I hate more than drinking a smoothie and getting big chunks of ice in it. So make sure to blend well.

Click to view slideshow.

On Sunday as many of you know, in Hilton Head and the rest of the world,  there is not much to do as far as a night life. So our evening fell short to making a run to Piggly Wiggly in Bluffton where they have an excellent selection of beer. We grabbed some new selections and hoped they would yield a tasty treat, then headed back home to catch the season premiere of The Walking Dead.

Nevertheless, Monday was great! We went down to Java Joe’s and had coffee while we did some work and the guys played their guitars. They even had some other musicians sit in so it was a nice change of pace. In the evening we started off at Bluffton Wild Wings for a beer with an old friend of ours then headed to Hilton Head to see The Martin Lesch Trio at The Jazz Corner where Whitley Deputy was singing with the band. What an amazing time that was! Curtis and I have only been there a hand full of times and is always exceptional. We all shared a bottle of wine while listened to some amazing music. We can’t wait to go back!

Ending the evening we went to see one of our clients and friends, Pills for the Program at Remy’s, and caught another exceptional performance from them. They were on their A game and the nice thing was they had a decent audience to play for which was a nice change for a Monday. What a great night that was. Once in a while you just have one of those evenings that just makes everything worth while and that was defiantly one of them. Great friends, great music and great wine. Can’t beat that.

Click to view slideshow.

1. The Creative Professional’s Guide to Money by Ilise Benun. She is founder of Marketing Mentor (www.marketing-mentor.com). An amazing women whom we have had the pleasure to meet. On our boat we do have a few books that we have read before and many we have not, this one I have yet to read but have had in my possession awhile. In fact, Curtis and I are mentioned in this book, page 29 to be exact! This book is on how to think about it, how to talk about it and how to manage it. More for the creative group than anything else. A refresher and just looking to get some good tips and keep me thinking.

2. A book called Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. It is actually a New York Times Bestseller! One great thing about being a cruiser is the free tables that can be found at the different marinas as well as the give and get books. Give a book, get a book. Well during the first few months here at Hidden Harbor I found this book (it was actually shown/talked about on the TV series Six Feet Under) and was intrigued. Morbid I know, you don’t need to tell me. Well I read about the book, it was intriguing enough for me to take it home. Let me tell you what the back cover says, “Stiff is oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers – some willingly, some unwittingly – have been involved in science’s boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. In this fascinating account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries and tell the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.”

I know what you are all thinking, I’M CRAZY!!! But, I’m not. So far I have learned about how things have come about. Surgeons have learned what they know by using cadavers to learn how to do everything from open heart surgery to a face lift and nose jobs with their help. These unnamed people have taken the test to let them see how to truly do the job correctly and let these doctors explore so when it becomes your turn to be under the knife they know what they are doing. Now, don’t go and give me lectures of why it is wrong or right unless you go ahead and read the book. I am just getting a lesson on history and how these cadavers have saved our lives without us even knowing it. Interesting don’t you think?

Click to view slideshow.

Here are the paintings I have been working on that are finished. More in the works soon!

If your interested in purchasing either of these please let me know. They are for sale.

“Gone to the Birds” acrylic on two canvases. Measures 10″ tall.
“Ballpark Heaven” acrylic on canvas. Measures 12″x12″

Also you will see two other paintings “the mad monkey” and “man o’ man” that I started last night. I will post photos when these sketches turn into the final paintings.

Click to view slideshow.

We ordered the Gyro, a greek salad and the baklava for desert. In case you don’t know, my background started in food and beverage as a line cook/sous chef for nearly seven years working in some of the best fine dining restaurants in Hilton Head. The atmosphere of Theo’s is a nautical theme which kinda took me by surprise since it’s a Greek restaurant. However, the food and service was AMAZING. If you are cruising through St. Augustine and are looking for an affordable place to eat that has great food we highly recommend eating there. While you are on that end of town you might as well stop over at the Sailor’s Exchange. Even you don’t need anything, it’s worth taking a look around. The staff there is very friendly and helpful and you can find all kinds of good stuff.

We started off by prepping the boat for the winds that were coming from Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac. Taking off the tarps so they wouldn’t rip, and other misc. things that needed to be done. Ate some breakfast and headed off to the farmer’s market. After instructing Curtis of the wrong market location (thought the one for yesterday was at the wrong location and I took all blame for this mistake), we headed to the Linkinville Farmer’s Market.

I was sad to see that they only had two tables of veggies and fruit, and one of the tables was mostly filled with food that had stickers on them which I assume were resold items from a food market. My main goal though was to get some cucumbers to make some cucumber salad and that’s what we left with which is fine by me.

This weekend there was also a Skimboard Competition going on at Vilano Beach here in St. Augsutine. This beach is very unique because the beach drops off fast into the water and there is a breaker right off the water which creates great waves. This is located on the north side of the St. Augustine inlet. They even allow cars to park on the beach here, which was awesome for me as I have never been to a beach that allows that.

With Hurricane Isaac nearby the waters were swelling and churning, biggest waves I have ever seen. They were barreling and the skim-boarders were eating it up. Was fun to see before a huge band of storm headed our way. It was an amazing sight, and I could have sat there all day watching the saves just roll in. A beautiful site. I was glad that we were not out on the water though trying to make it into the inlet for safe harbor. It would have been terrifying. For once, I was safe on land, standing on the rock jetty that lines the inlet instead of viewing it from the waters.

As we made our way back to the car I did get to snap a photo of this awesome old beach hotel called Magic Beach Motel, with these awesome Flamingos lining the outside walls. I would love to stay in a place like that!

Back in January they put in a brand new Publix so we stopped to get some burgers to grill. I have to say this was the best Publix I have ever been to. Even though it was new, every employee that we passed or passed us said hello with a smile and asked us if we could need help with anything. It always happens you go in looking for one thing and leave with much more than you planned, my arms were full of goodies and someone even asked if I needed a basket! Never happened to me anywhere else. I was thoroughly impressed!

So while we were grilling up, a Palmetto Bug flew on to the back of my neck, not knowing and just felt something I brushed it off. A min later I felt it again and realized and got it off. I can’t remember the last time I was that grossed out.

But after making burgers and being poured on (perfect timing while we were grilling, grrr) we headed back to the boat for my first encounter with The Godfather. A great ending to an outstanding weekend.

Click to view slideshow.

This hotel located in Vilano Beach, St. Augustine is located on the north side of the inlet. Closed for many years is now open for business after over $1 million in repairs to restore it to it’s 1951 splendor. They all the murals retouched, bathroom tiles salvaged and the flamingos repainted. Even the large neon sign was saved. Everything else is brand new.

This historic motel (1951) caught fire in June 2010, but still stands and is now open for business after all the renovations and even found out that the TV show “Safe Harbor” was filmed at this motel and one of the “Golden Girls” starred on the show.

Click to view slideshow.

Here is an article I found on this hotel. It’s worth reading.

Article by First Coast News
Submitted by Jessica Clark, Reporter
Wednesday, June 20th, 2012, 6:10pm

VILANO BEACH, Fla. — The Magic Beach Motel in Vilano Beach is open for business once again.

“This has been a real fixer upper,” Earl Jensen said. “A real big one!”

Jensen and his wife, Remy, bought the rundown motel two years ago and they’ve brought it back to its original 1951 splendor.

They say the its murals and art deco style drew them to the site.

Over the last year, original murals in every room were retouched, aqua-colored bathroom tile was salvaged, and the flamingos on the exterior walls were repainted. The large neon sign, which reads “Magic Beach Motel” and features a top hat and jumping rabbits, was saved as well.

Practically everything else from the pipes to the pillows is brand new.

The Magic Beach Motel is an icon of Vilano Beach. Vilano is a 23-acre beach town that was a happening hot spot in the 20th century.

But in the 1990s, it went downhill when the big, new bridge over the intracoastal waterway was built a block north of Vilano Beach, “and it bypassed our little town,” Vivian Browning said.

Browning has been called the unofficial mayor of Vilano Beach. She is an advocate of the town and a key player in its revival.

In 2005 and 2006, Browning, along with others in Vilano Beach had grand plans to revitalize the area.

A few years later, the financial market went belly-up and properties in Vilano were foreclosed on.

Then came word that a Publix was moving into town, and  Browning said that store made people and investors think differently of Vilano Beach.

“It’s our anchor,” Browning said of Publix “It says ‘Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval!’ It says, ‘You’re going to make it!’”

Publix opened its doors in the winter.

Now, restaurants and shops have started to line the half-mile main street once again.

Just as it’s been a lot of work to bring Vilano Beach back to life, the motel has taken work too.

The Jensens poured about $1 million into the Magic Beach Motel.

“It’s taken a lot of money,” Earl Jensen noted. “It’s taken a lot of time, a lot of sweat and for my wife … a lot of tears. I mean a lot of tears!” They both laughed.

Now, it seems that Vilano Beach and its old motor lodge have their magic back.

Working side by side, on our own work, its fun to talk and just paint and give inspiration to each other. With my art background I helped teach a few things about how to paint and new techniques, and has paid off for this beautiful work of art she is illustrating. This is one of the first time she has spent more than one day working on her painting and am so proud of her, as she is so proud of herself as well.

With paint strewn about the table, many close calls of paint brushes being washed out in our tea cups and inspiration oozing from our brushes, it’s hard not to want to dive right back in and create.

Click to view slideshow.

So again how my space is limited, I try to cook in one pot. It makes things a lot easier plus, I only have one sauce pan and a small skillet and have to make do with what I have. That being said, I have down sized the entire meal. Mini meatballs it is. I can make the entire meal in the one pot on the stove as small as it is. We invited our friend over for dinner and all chow down, with leftovers still remaining for another meal for us. Make sure to take full advantage of your spices and add your own flair.

A great evening of great food and good friends, can’t beat that.

Home Made Mini Meatballs and Spaghetti Sauce.

Meatballs:
ground meat
fresh minced garlic
crushed red pepper
garlic
pinch of salt
basil

Sauce:
1 onion sautéed
1 large can of tomato puree
1 sugar packet
fresh minced garlic
basil
oregano
pinch of salt
pepper
crushed red pepper

Mix up your meat, I like to do it by hand and just digging right in (of course washing my hands first). Mix it really well with all ingredients. Make them into quarter sized balls for bit sized enjoyment. Brown the balls in your pot and then as they finish put them into the bowl for keeping while you finish the rest of the recipe. Once all the meatballs are browned and cooked, drain out the excess liquid in the pot and throw in a tablespoon of oil and brown your onions. Once they are cooked throw in your garlic and simmer for a minute and throw in the rest of the sauce ingredients as well as the meatballs. Bring to a boil then turn to low and simmer for a few hours. Ours simmered for about 4 hours. Add in your pasta and throw some Parmesan cheese on top and enjoy!

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Storm serges are a huge problem with hurricanes and thankfully we live on a boat and don’t have to worry about the height of the water. Unless, the height of the water goes over the pylons in the marina and the boat rises over them. Then we may have some problems. We also need to figure in the winds and weather or not we are going to stay on the boat or not. Always something.

So for now we prep and go on with our lives and play the waiting game to see what will happen.

Click to view slideshow.

We have now been in St. Augustine for four months, the longest amount of time we have spent in one spot since Dinner Key. Curtis started getting the itch about a month ago but with the sweltering heat, daily storms and the risk of the “H” word, we spent have spent the summer here with delight. Being on a dock is a glorious thing but is also a treat. Endless shore power which lets us have ac, a fridge, and the ability to turn things on without having to listen to a generator run. It has also made it easy to get on and off the boat to run to the showers, or go out on the town without having to get into a dinghy and travel to land with the risk of getting soaked or worry about the weather if we can even get to land. Also with Hidden Harbor having WiFi we can have internet without having to worry about the amount of internet we are using. I have appreciated every second and certainly have not taken it for granted.

But our time here at Hidden Harbor is drawing to a close for the time being. Our sites are set for new waters. Until recently we did not know if we were going to stay longer, or journey to new waters. As our decision was made last night after lots of discussion, we are going to head to Green Cove Springs Marina for our long awaited bottom job. The last time Papillon was out of the water is when we bought her. But now, she needs to have some blisters repaired and barnacles removed. A barrier coat as well as the bottom painted so she will be ready for a full cruising season this fall.

I know, I know, the big question is where will we be heading after this? Well after the month on the hard letting her dry out, we aren’t too sure where we will head from there. Maybe a trip slightly north, maybe heading down south, maybe to the Bahamas! Who knows where the winds will take us. We will get through our month on the hard and figure things out as the time gets closer. So for now, we have less than two weeks left here in St. Augustine and will miss it very much along with all our new friends we have made while we have been here. PLUS we will be back. Whether by car or boat we will return one day but for now we will have to bid farewell.

We will be having a small pot luck with our friends on August 25th. If you would like to come and bid us bon voyage please let us know. We will miss you all!