We finally finished all the projects at Bennett Brothers Yard on 12/31/05 and started South. Almost scary, but everything onboard was working when we left. We left on a beautiful sunny day and enjoyed a 38 mile run on the inter coastal waterway to Southport, NC. On Sunday 1/1 we moved on to Myrtle Beach, SC and found a marina in mid afternoon to hole up for the weather that moved in today with thunderstorms and fog and rain. Hopefully it will blow out tonight and we'll continue South tomorrow. It really feels good to be moving again. We are trying to reestablish contact with other cruisers we have met to find out where they are and which way they are headed. It will be fun if we can connect with them again.

It is Carolina winter here. Not like Chicago, but 50 or 60 in the daytime and 40's at night. It makes sleeping under blankets feel very good and a hot shower in the morning is heaven.

This morning we walked a half mile from the marina across highway 117 (4 lanes) to the Little River Diner- a 1950's joint with images of Elvis and Marilyn M, Thunderbirds and Chevy Impalas. They had great pancakes and friendly local diner service. We loved it.

The economy of the South is changing rapidly. Several of the marinas we stayed at last year have been sold to build condos, reserving the dock space for mega yachts to go with million dollar condos. Property values throughout the coastal areas are increasing 30% or more per year (sometimes doubling in the last year). Unless something happens to increase the value of marine traffic to the region trips like ours may no longer be possible for middle class boaters. We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to do this now.