Hello everyone!
Well thanks to Dylan’s hard work, we have been feasting on crab every night! I’ve attached pictures of the boys with some of their catch, as well as pictures from Boone Hall Plantation, where we went to see a battle re-enactment yesterday. The boys have their crab trap set out at the end of one of the piers and have baited it with shrimp shells, crab guts and a can of cat food (on the suggestion of Uncle Dave). Today Dylan is going to try something suggested by one of the marina staff Hugh, who seems to have adopted our family. Dylan is going to tie a raw chicken leg to the end of the fishing line on a fishing pole, and sit there and “jig” for crab. I guess this really does work, and when you feel a crab on the end, you reel up slowly and simply place them on the dock. We will let you know how this works out....
Sunday afternoon we spent at the Boone Hall Plantation, where they had a re-enactment of the Battle of Secessionville at Fort Lamar on James Island, just south of Charleston, on June 16, 1982 where the North were defeated by the South. It was quite realistic, everyone in full battle dress, some on horseback, and lots of firepower, from black powder rifles and cannons (blanks of course). There were white tents set up, some sold Birch Beer and Lemonade (in brown bottles with corks) which was delicious, some sold period dress and jewellery, civil war rifles and uniforms, and there were quilting and basket making demonstrations. We toured the main floor of the plantation mansion, and the row of slave houses. These are all the original buildings. Everything is surrounded by huge trees hanging with Spanish moss, just beautiful but kind of eerie at the same time, as it took you back to what life was like for these people. It was a great history lesson for the boys, and for us.
It’s hard to believe it is already November 10. We were in Walmart yesterday, all the Christmas stuff is out of course, Christmas music is playing but it just doesn’t jive with the weather and surroundings... outside they are selling fall bedding plants and all kinds of beautiful bushes. We are not complaining by any means, it will just take some getting used to. The weather has been beautiful the last five days, sunny and low to mid seventies. We are getting a lot accomplished on the boat. We have the dinghy on the dock, we scrubbed and pressure-washed her and she is ready to go. Greg has been chipping away at the rust around the scuppers and is making slow and steady progress. The decks look fantastic after a good pressure wash, much more than we expected. Brett and I have been scraping away the old varnish from the sides and dash up on deck. This is a big project that we will continue to work away at this week. The finished result will be well worth it.
We are slowly starting to relax, sleep better and settle into a routine. We are so fortunate to be at this marina, it is a great place to be and the staff so friendly and helpful. I am thoroughly enjoying my new full time job as Galley Wench. I absolutely LOVE my galley! I tried baking in the gas oven, but it is so tiny, I seem to either be burning the top or the bottom and not cooking the centre. So I tried the convection oven (it is a combination Microwave/Convection) and that is definitely the way to go! Baked some yummy chocolate chip cookies! I’ve also used it to cook chicken and potatoes with great results. The fridge and freezer are great, just figuring out a good system to pack everything so I can get it out easily, and so the milk and veggies don’t freeze. The ice maker works grand, so we have two coolers on the deck stocked with ice and cold drinks, beer and coolers. We are a spoiled bunch, aren’t we? And to top it all off, Tim Horton’s coffee (brought a few big tins from Manitoba). LIFE IS GOOD!
We will take some photos around here to send with our next email. I finally got a new USB cord for my camera yesterday (it got left behind in Manitoba) so now can download photos to my laptop to send you. We are still looking for the best and most affordable option to get wireless internet access from our boat, when we are near ports.
Hope all is well with everyone, keep those emails coming, we love to hear from you. Once we get better internet I will get on Facebook and update stuff there. The internet here is lousy, so be patient with us!
Lots of love from the Dutch Dreamers
Greg, Carol, Brett and Dylan Van Wyck
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