3rd - 6th May.2019 A vacation FROM the boat.

Helene, Bob, myself and Gil

Here’s a confession.... this boating season hasn’t been the most fun yet. We’ve had gremlins aboard Serenada.... more than our fair share of issues. We so needed a little vacay OFF the boat. 

My brother Bob and sister-in-law Helene live in Hendersonville, North Carolina and so it was that we were able to escape! A visit had been in our plans. 

A call to Enterprise Car Rental began our short return to land life. Serenada was left at anchor in Beaufort, South Carolina. Luckily, it was a short row to the public boat launch; across from which was Butler Marine where our dinghy's outboard would be serviced and brought back to life while we were away.

The drive out of South Carolina's low country and into North Carolina's high country was interesting. Back home you might see the odd squirrel victim roadside, but here in low country you see armadillo and possums :(  Real Estate advertises 'Deep Water' lots amongst the grasslands where no water can be seen (?). Shrimp and grits can be had almost anywhere, and you can buy crab pots in Walmart (Gil did). Eventually the grasslands gave way to forests … tree tunnels, as described by Gil, my chauffer. They grow so much taller here than back home. Then into the foothills of the Appalachians.

Hendersonville sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, an incredibly scenic area. Bob & Helene escorted us on several hikes, enjoyed all that much more by us because we hadn't been getting off the boat much without that outboard working.

Our visit with Bob and Helene was awesome. We enjoyed the outdoors....

Bob leading the way

so zen

Blue Ridge mountains

We ate.... Helene is a fabulous cook chef. We just love her hospitality! She just always goes above and beyond. I wished I had taken photos of all of her creations. These were just a few of them...

“Just something quick"

(not in my house)

We enjoyed a tour of the Sierra Nevada Brewery, which included a walk through their grounds showcasing their recycling and conservation efforts …. solar panels for power consumption, huge cisterns for rain water collection, electric car plug-in stations, bat and bird houses, mushroom infused shitake logs, and so much more; capped off with samples of their cold brews :)

chandelier at the brewery

waiting for the tour to start

brew samples

shitake logs

Back at their home, Bob (an electrician) helped Gil repair our broken anchor light, and Gil helped Bob start their garden. We took advantage of their shower and laundry facilities ;) and played games.

The weekend with Bob & Helene was a most welcome respite from our boat issues. It was great to spend time together enjoying! 

relaxing