We know it has been a very long time since we posted anything here, but we haven't BEEN anywhere on the boat since last September.  But finally we are underway again. 

We have been held up by surgeries, weather, Maui and holidays.

In September 2013 we took "Twilight Time" out of the water for the remainder of hurricane season and returned to CA.  In late September Mal had rotator cuff surgery,  and Carol had a cast on her right wrist for 4 weeks for a torn ligament.  In October we left for Maui for 5 weeks for a little recuperation.  We had a wonderful time there (but no golf) catching up with friends.  Weather was perfect and we were, of course, reminded of just how much we love it there, and why we will settle in once our boating days are done.

We returned to CA just before Thanksgiving and were able to catch up with our family and friends there during the holidays.  In early December Carol had a very successful C1-2 fusion, solving the neck pain she had lived with for the last couple of years.  She wore a brace for a couple of months but now only wears it for particularly strenuous activities (like driving and boating.) 

In January we finally returned to NC, just in time for the fiercest winter weather they have had in a long time.  We flew into Charlotte just as the first snowstorm hit.

We spent a couple of days with Carol's brother Paul and his wife, Audrey, at their new home on Lake Norman, near Charlotte.  Very cold there (for NC) - in the teens day and night.

Their dock on Lake Norman

Then we went on to Cary to see Carol's sisters, Joan and Maureen (and husband Fred), and brother Steve.  Very cold there as well.

Finally we got to Beaufort, had the boat put in the water and the next day an ice and snow storm hit! It may not look like much in these pictures, but ice covered the boat and docks and we couldn't even get off the boat for fear we would slip and slide into the water (43 degrees).

Frozen Over

The following day it rained quite a bit and so the ice gradually melted away.  Stayed very cold in Beaufort and we had some AC & Heater issues that had to be resolved before we could take off.   We were finally able to leave Beaufort on Thursday and are currently in Swansboro, another quaint little harbor town at the intersection of the AICW and the White Oak River.  We were going to go to Wrightsville Beach today but morning rain and afternoon BIG winds have delayed that until tomorrow.  The weather looks pretty good for the next few days so we hope that we can get a little further south in the next week, and maybe get warm.  We are soooo looking forward to FL!!