Thursday, November 29, 2012

Savannah!!!!!

11/01/2012 =>Turner Creek, GA

0800:  According to all weather reports, today was to be a perfect day for crossing the bay and heading into Georgia!!!!!!!!!  Our boat was getting a bit aromatic (happens when at port for 7 days) and needed a good pump out.  Mike sent me to the store to get coffee and some sammies, while he attempted to leave dock and redock at the pump solo:  I am proud of his ability to do so (everyday getting closer and closer to that extra anchor, me and salty “disappearing”) however, he kinda/maybe/sorta/definitely permanently deflated one of our fenders (oblong inflated rubber bumpers that are used for “fending” or bouncing boat off of piers/docks, etc.).  He wont talk about it with me, but my guess is I am still needed~ ha!
We have a day to kill before going into Savannah.  There are a couple of really good marinas/anchorages right south of the city proper…and since we were at dock for so long, figured to anchor and save some mola before heading into the city!  We got to Turner Creek around 1500.  The designated anchorage is very narrow:  partially inside the actual small channel and very close to power lines only set at 35’…We are anchor shy after Charleston and like chickens, opted to instead go into this very tiny, very rustic marina…the only thing this marina had going for it was the Publix literally in the same parking lot.  Unfortunately, as we were going to be with friends and in a city the next couple of days, reprovisioning was out…and I still felt like crud.  Mike and Salty went for a couple walks that afternoon/night, but I stayed huddled up in the front berth with 10 layers of cloths on, taking the happy pill, and sleeping:  hoping to all that is holy I would recover tomorrow to enjoy our friends in Savannah! 

11/02-05/2012 =>Savannah…and slamming hangovers
Savannah has been a goal for us since the beginning of this trip;  we loved our very fast time here last March and our great friends Tim and Janelle Sandberg live in Atlanta…they agreed to meet us in Savannah when we finally sailed there!  As if that wasn’t incentive enough, our NY great friends Juli, (Mike) Kerr, and (Mike) Lupo also were to be joining us!  Kerr and Lupo’s flights that Thursday were cancelled:  and STILL they wanted to come down (road trip).  Juli’s flight that Friday morning into ATL was still scheduled…random NYC! 
Savannah has 3 options for dockage in the city proper; City docks (first come, first serve), City Market Docks, and the Westin (located across the river, but they have a free ferry).  Our first (and cheapest) option was the City Docks…however we assumed as it was a weekend with a major event (Rock and Roll Marathon), we would be unable to get a spot…so called the City Market, right below the City Docks.  The dock master strongly urged us, as a boat our size, to NOT dock there/city docks, and go to the Westin…well, okay…so we made reservations…As we sailed closer to the City Docks…just to check them out, we noticed only one boat at a 200’ dock…and decided to just screw the reservation at Westin and pull in!  The thing with this area:  you are on a major shipping channel, and thus will be passed by GINORMOUS ships…like 6 story tankers, fully loaded with truck freights (or whatever you call those things that go on MAC trucks)…to say I wish our 3rd bumper was hale and hearty would be an understatement.  Within 45 minutes of being docked, a big freighter went by; at one point, I thought the boat would be on top of the floating dock due to the wake!  Ha!  And the current is INSANE, again think the East River..and tie off to a small dock there…but alas, we were happy to be soclose to all the downtown awesomeness!  Right on River Street, actually! 
I had called ahead and made reservations with a reputable Dog Daycare/Boarding place for Salty.  I figured it would not be fair to her to stick her in the boat all day/night while we were out partying!  Animals Resort has the best reviews, and what looked like the best facility (she was getting her own room, with a car bed and a tv…seriously)..However it was a bit of a journey to get there.  We set out of the boat to walk the long way to drop her off.  We contacted Kerr and Lupo:  they were staying at the Holiday Inn right across from us! They wanted to take the journey with us…little did they (or I) know true distance…or the interesting neighborhoods we would walk through to get there!  Haha!  Plus side, we have know seen ALL the parts of Savannah, good or …scary… (thank you both for taking that…amazing journey with us JOnce Salty was in good hands, I felt like our crazy weekend of Southern Hospitality and Friends could begin!!! 
Janelle, Tim and Juli joined us around 1600!  So excited and happy to have our friends with us!!!  The Sandbergs have never seen the You & I, so of course we needed to show off J.  After a proper viewing, we all went in search of some grub and night life!  I will skip over some of the happenings that night, but you can always ask one of us for stories in person! Ha.
The Savannah Crew
Saturday was set for recovering from Friday night, eating some more good food, and walking around the many squares/parks in Savannah…and I dragged Jules and J to an old cemetery (love these things).  MORE drinking, eating, laughing, joking, etc throughout the night!  And I mayyyy have been a little pushy about taking a Pickle Back Shot J!  We had a blast!
Pickle Back Shots...bad idea
Sunday….dear lawd!  OWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha.  We met back up with the crew; Lupo and Kerr were heading out early for their 13 hr drive home.  Juli’s flight wasn’t until the next day, so we all got brunch in the city market.  Thanks guys for also driving us to pick up the Salt!
After our crew all left, Mike and I decided to hang out for one more night (sooo hurting!)  We were able to set up a dinner reservation at Lady and Sons, the restaurant owned by Paula Dean!  Sunday’s are buffet only, which was great for us, as that was what we wanted anyway!  The food was awesome…but everything and I mean EVERYTHING was covered/drowned/infused with butter…that was fried in butter, then steeped in more butter…but seriously, soooooo good!
11/05-06/2012 =>Isle of Hope and Kilkenny…
Many, many cruisers have mentioned to us to stop at Isle of Hope after Savannah…and we are still trying to figure out why!  We anchored outside the only marina…paid the 11.00 pp for a shower and quasi use of the facility…the walk to the only grocer was very long and down some very shady (no sides to the narrow streets) and not safe!  We grabbed some food to make for dinner and pretty much holed up in the boat for the night (got cold again too!)
The next morning, Mike had planned to meet up with some friends of his grandparents outside their neighborhood in Kilkenny Creek…Awkward moment is when you call said friend of the family, and they have no idea who you are, ha!  Kilkenny Creek is truly in the middle of nowhere Georgia…and a bit scary!  The temp continuously kept dropping all day and into the night; both of us were shivering by 2000.  Mike and I had a long discussion about our trip/ourselves all the while listening to the Presidential Election results on AM radio.. The results are we will be stopping soon, heading back home…but will have to research where the best location for that will be…not to mention we HAVE to at least make it to Florida!  Ha.
 

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