New Bern, NC – 4/30-5/8/06

We experienced our worst rough water since Lake Michigan going up the Neuse River on april 30th in route to our friends home on the Trent River just up from New Bern, NC.

Kismet will be sitting at dock for a week while we rent a car to drive to Ohio to visit Jim's parents and help them move out of the house they just sold, then on to Albion to visit Lisa's mother, and finally to our son Skyler's graduation from college.

We are leaving our boat at Wade and Susie Ehlen's (Miss Happ) in New Bern. They were so gracious to offer their dock for us to tie up to while we go on this trip.

Beaufort, NC – 4/28-29/06

Since we left Charleston we've traveled about another 300 miles. The waterway has been spectacular since Jacksonville, FL to just north of Beaufort, SC. 40 miles from Wilmington to Beaufort and only 120 miles to Norfolk, VA.

Beaufort's waterfront and historic downtown was a nice stop for a couple of days. They have one of the best nautical museums we have seen and it was free. We also toured a cemetary with Revolutionary and Civil War grave sties. Lots of history here.

We met up here with Frank and Rona from "Crazy Horse" and finally met Mike & Bobbi who just started their Loop on "Sybaris".

Wilmington, NC – 4/25-27/06

This stop became our 13th state we've been through on the trip. 5 more to go plus Canada. Wilmington has a lot of significant history. They are the 3rd oldest city in NC and at one time it was the largest. They built boats that were used in the Revolutionary War, Civil War and both World Wars. They also have a large shipping industry here. We spent 2 days taking a tour, walking around town seeing the sites and going out to dinner with some Looper friends, Bob & Diane and their friends Mike and Bev, to help celebrate Bog and Diane's 30th wedding anniversary.

Myrtle Beach, SC – 4/23-25/06

We moved on from Bucksport to Myrtle Beach and stayed at a marina where there was about 8 or 9 other Looper boats. The best part of this stop was the pool and a cocktail party we arranged among the 16 other Loopers.

Bucksport, SC – 4/21-22/06

After leaving Georgetown we had a beautiful cruise to Bucksport Marina.Along the way we took a 3 mile detour off of the ICW. It was a beautiful deep side river overgrown with cypress trees. We were able to see the most alligators we have seen while traveling during the whole trip. We spotted 6 of them along the banks, some big, some small, camouflaged among the vegetation.Bucksport was one of those small, down home, places on the ICW with lots of character. They had a restaurant with great home made food and desserts. The people are so friendly we think they were all on some kind of "happy juice". Kind of like Andy Griffith's Mayberry, except on the water.

Georgetown, SC – 4/19-21/06

We anchored out in the harbor of Georgetown, SC for 2 nights while and toured the towns historic sites during the day. A very nice southern town with a great deal of restored civil war era homes.

Leaving Charleston, SC – 4/19/06

After having the pleasure of being with our son Ross for a week enjoying Beaufort, SC and Charleston, SC we had to part ways. It was both sad and happy. Happy he took the time to visit with us and share in our boating adventure and catching up on everything all of our lives. Ross lives in Portland, OR and we don't get to see him as much as we'd like.

The sad part was only that it had to end... however the good news is that Ross left us to fly to Peru and other South America destinations for an educational adventure of his own. His trip will last about a year. We'll both miss him dearly but wish him well in his adventure.

After Ross boarded a bus for the airport in Charleston we left this wonderful city ourselves and cruised 70 miles north to Georgetown, SC, inching our way ever closer to the crystal clear waters of northern Michigan.

Charleston, SC – 4/15-19/06

We spent many days walking or busing around Charleston to see all the amazing houses and parks. We visited Ft. Sumter Easter Sunday and then came back to the boat and Ross cooked up a gourmet meal for us. It was a real treat for us to have him here with us for Easter.

Toms Pt. Creek, SC – 4/14/06

On our way to Charleston we anchored out one night so that Ross could experience the quiet and solitude that we find so precious. It was a very warm night a little buggy but very quiet and calm.

AGLCA Rendezvous, Beaufort, SC – 4/9-13/06

Arrived in Beaufort on Sunday afternoon. Took a tour of town and visited with other "Loopers". The AGLCA events started on Monday and went through Thursday night. We took part in seminars on the waterways north of SC and Canada. There was a cocktail party and dinner every night and the food was very southern and delicious. We reminisced with people who shared time with on the waterway and met many other Loopers we had not met yet.

Wednesday Ross met us in Beaufort to spend some time cruising with us for a week up to Charleston, SC, before he leaves for Peru, South America to spend a couple of years teaching kids english in Peru and snowboarding in Chile.

Savannah, GA – 4/6-8/06

We've had the pleasure to be in Savannah, GA for the last 3 days and what a great town it is. From it's inception the city was laid out with a park square every few blocks, 24 in all. Around the park squares many beautiful homes were built and plenty still survive today. The town was spared during the Civil War because the south surrendered the town to Union forces.

We saw the park that was used in the "Forest Gump" movie that Tom Hanks starred in. We also saw the Home and area that was written about in the novel, and hit movie, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Lisa is now reading the book.

There is so much history here that 2 days exploring was not quite enough. We'll be back.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we are off to Beaufort, N.C. for the AGLCA Rendezvous. We will be joining up with many other Loopers that we have met while doing this trip. Lots of activities and food. The fun never stops.