LAT: N 31° 59.0' LON: W 81° 03.4'		high 50s, winds 5 - 15 kts, sunny
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And That Makes 47

1335 - Left Herb River at Slack Tide.
1443 - Arrive at the Isle of Hope Marina.

Arggg me maties, *sniff sniff* I got some sand in me eye, tha's all.

Come on down to the Slowly Shop where the latest items have just arrived! Now everyone can have a piece of Slowly style. An apron for slowly cooking those special meals, a sweatshirt to sport on your slow morning jogs, or maybe a lunchbox, just because...And just in time for Christmas! Walk on into click here and let the shopping spree begin!

The view from our parking space at the Isle of Hope Marina.

Land Ho!

We Come Upon the New World Savannah

The Little Mermaid- Guest Editor

We hung out on the boat this morning. There was no rush as our destination was only five miles away. We had breakfast and worked on the site, read and contemplated what Savannah would hold for us. It was difficult to realize we had reached the end of our trip. A whole new adventure was still to be had, but it involves a job hunt, transportation navigation and choosing where we will actually be able to live. Especially since we have been reminded a couple of times that it is illegal to live aboard in Savannah. A reason for that has yet to be determined.

It was a perfect day and when we decided it was time to set out, we climbed up to the flybridge. It was slack tide and the cruising was easy. There were a couple of bends and then we turned the corner and peered at what was Slowly's new home, at least for December. The Isle of Hope Marina is in a tree covered area, overlooking marsh and forest environs. It is a small marina, and peaceful besides the Grackles that dwell in surrounding trees. Our spot was on the inside of a slim channel of docks in between sailboats parked on both sides. We cruised up between all the boats, and did a good old Boston parallel parking job. After that, all was calm and we tied up and shut off the engines.

The journey concluded with no more fanfare than if we'd puttered out for the afternoon. And there we were, having completed what months before was beyond imagination, and only a few years before simply unimagined all together. With some sadness, we put away our charts and guidebooks and plugged Slowly in. [Take it from me, don't plug in, stay at sea! -Ed.] Tim had some website work to complete so he settled into that in short order.

We were happy that Tevake was catching up to us that evening, because we knew it would still feel like cruising for a while more. After cleaning up in the Marina showers which are nice and clean with lots of hot water, we met Perry and Bethany and all set out to find some nearby food. Our target was Charlie's Cheesesteak. We were on bicycles riding around in the cool evening. The Isle of Hope neighborhood was very cute (as far as we could see by the full moon light), and there were lots of Christmas lights. We got quite lost in the dark, and eventually stopped at the local fire department where some young fire fighters were hanging around outside. Perry borrowed a tool to fix his handlebars, and we met Jay, a local 18 year old who had stopped by the fire station while cruising around on his BMX bike. He very kindly rode with us to show us the way to our dinner. Finding Charlie's, we said goodbye to our escort (he declined our invitation to join us) and headed in for 25 cent wings. Enjoying the food quite a bit, it was nice to think how we could return again soon. Staying put certainly has its advantages.

The restaurant closed up at 9, and we headed back to the marina. Tevake planned to stay another day, and we all went to sleep looking forward to riding the bus into the downtown the next day. There was much exploring to do yet.

Today, Hannah will be interviewing Cap'n Tim:

Tim Hirzel, a few minutes late, meets me for some espresso in the salon. He's dressed simply, in the long sleeve Slowly Crew shirt his mom got him, and some inappropriately warm corduroys. He seems a bit nervous about the interview so we start slowly.
H: Hello Tim.
T: Good morning Hannah. (Tim struts and paces back and forth, starting the espressos.)
H: Soooooo, do you like making faces at yourself in the mirror?
T: Oh yes. It depends on the face. No, no, I do like doing that.
H: That's good. What traits do you admire most in others?
T: A level head and coolness in tough circumstances.
H: That's good cause my head is pretty flat on top. So how old are you anyway?
T: I am 26 and a third years old.
H: Okay old timer, where are you from?
T: I grew up in Wayland Mass.
H: Like way far away land?
T: No, it's only about half an hour from Boston.
H: What are your hobbies?
T: It depends on the day. I really have a passion for learning about things that I don't know about.
H: Hmmmm. You must take a lot of time out of your day for your hobbies then.
T: Are you calling me stupid?
H: I'm asking the questions in this interview. So your passion for learning about new things led you to boats I gather?
T: Yes. The idea of living aboard is what really drew me into boats. I stumbled through the whole learning process about owning Slowly staying one day ahead of the game.
H: You are obviously good at your hobby. It's amazing what you have been able to soak up. So you hadn't taken a boat on a cruise for 47 days before?
T: Not really.
H: I see. So how did you find a great boat like Slowly?
T: Well, I started looking on-line at what kinds of boats there were, and I learned about Trawlers, and they sounded like my kind of boat. And then everyone seemed to agree that Grand Banks were excellent boats, even the wood ones. I combed through yachtworld.com all the time and found one I might be able to afford in Connecticut because she needed work, but it was a lot of cosmetic stuff. To be honest, my ignorance was so profound through the whole process, there must have been higher powers at work.
H: Ignorance is bliss they say. I have time for one more question. What do you think you will come back as in your next life?
T: Uh, a piece of bread.
H: Right. Well, thanks for coming in.
T: Wait, can I change that answer?
H: No. Goodbye.

Another bird, the Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, is one that we are getting quite used to. The males appear black at a distance, but close up they have a iridescent variety of colors (blue, purple, green). The females are a rusty brown. The pigeon of this marina, Hannah must go outside and flap her arms about until they fly off our flybridge. We don't mind them, though we do not want their droppings on board. They make many different calls and are a lot of fun to listen to and we often wonder what they are saying to each other. Also, where there is one, there are many.

For our last day of cruising dinner we had our trip favorite: wings. At Charlie's Cheesesteak we had Teriyaki Hot, Regular Hot, Lemon Pepper and BBQ Hot Wings, all for 25 cents each. We also had a Charlie's Cheesesteak with mixed peppers. All the food was very good and very filling.

Wine Review: Freixenet, Estate Brut, Cordon Negro. This spanish champagne tickled our fancies and throats as we celebrated our arrival to Savannah. It was a solid cheap champagne not from Champagnia. We give it three and a half propellers.

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