Panacea: Georgia on my mind

Finally!! We found the weather window last Thurs and shoved off for Jekyll. Our dear friends, Mike and Mary, and neighbor, Bobby were there to see us off and help with our lines. It was a 4.5 hour trip and went very well. We are pretty proud of ourselves as this area is notoriously known on the ICW as tricky to navigate. We left on a rising tide as it can get very shallow in spots. In one area we meandered off course by maybe 5 yds and the water went from 8 ft to only about 2 ft below our keel!! As they say -on the ICW it's not if you will go aground, it's when. If we had been on a low tide we would have grounded for sure. Then you have basically 4 choices - try to maneuver off (hopefully it's mud or sand) which sometimes can be done; call a tow service you signed up with (like AAA), call an independent service (VERY expensive) or wait for up to 6 hours for the next rising tide. Either way, it's very humbling say nothing of embarrassing!! We will get our turn!! When we arrived they had us tie up temporarily to the face dock, rather in a slip to be shared with another boat. Face docks are normally reserved for the over nighters. However, since we will be here 6 mos we talked them into letting us stay and we love it. Wide open to the ICW so we can watch all the traffic, wide open sunset view (see pic) and better air. The boat rolls more due to the boat wakes, but we like that - perfect!! Everyone here is so friendly and they are several doggies - Susie, a daschund who always barks until she gets to know you; Pearl Ann, a yorkie who contstantly barks until you are out of sight (her mom says that once she has been formally introduced to the boys she will "allow" them to be here and all will be well); and Todo - a shitzu across from us who never barks and who loves Teddy. Several others to meet yet. Last eve one of the couples hosted a potluck featuring jumbolaya (they are from LA). It was a great time - everyone brought a side dish - with great food!! Today we took a drive around the island (it is 7 mi long and 1 1/5 miles wide - we can walk to the ocean and dogs are allowed on the beach! Google Jekyll Island - the history is fascinating. It was privately owned, at one time, by the fat cats - Carnegie, Goodyear etc. Lots of tours to take and things to see. Twenty miles of bike paths which we plan to use as the marina has courtesy bikes. Picture Ted in a basket and Sam running along side Alan - it's going to be interesting!! Tomorrow we're going to - guess where - Home Depot and Walmart!! Sad, isn't it? They are in Brunswick which is across the bridge - about a 25 min ride. Some things never change!! See you next week!!