ROOM WITH A VIEW!

Our "free" wine!

  The conversation went something like this. Diane was texting our "cruise director" Laura Campbell (she and husband Pat are already in Miami and reminded us that she was very busy working on her tan!) and asked her where a good anchorage was in Hilton Head and what there was to do. Laura's response was that they always went to the Harbor Town Yacht Basin near the southern end of the island...they have nice shops! Well, that wasn't quite enough but then Laura (I love ya!) commented that we would receive a free bottle of wine on arrival! Well, that sealed the deal and we shaped course for this resort marina. I had trouble getting the guy on the radio to give me verbal directions to our slip and found out why when another guy met us at the harbor entrance (the marina is sort of in the shape of a big circle cut into the shore) in a small dingy, showed us our slip, helped with dock lines and then presented Diane with a very nice bottle of Chardonnay!

View from our dock at lighthouse

 Part of the Sea Pines Resort, this marina is easily the nicest we've been in with something like 3 world-class golf courses, 6-7 restaurants, a fitness center, and yes...SHOPS! LOTS AND LOTS OF SHOPS! Thank God Diane is determined to follow a budget...not that Magic has room for anything! This place even has it's own lighthouse, reportedly the most photographed thing on Hilton Head. We climbed to the top after lunch ($3.50 each please!) and were rewarded with spectacular views of the marina, much of the resort, and the 18th green of one of the golf courses. The view, and the mini-museum along the interior walls as we climbed to the top were worth the price!
  After dinner aboard (Diane made a killer soup with the leftover turkey!) and a rousing game of cribbage (it's an exciting life we lead!!) Diane and I decided to hit the resort and sample the nightlife....NOT! I guess rich people don't do much at night except count their money, because this place was just about dead! We walked all over the place before we finally found a restaurant with a bar where we could have a drink. Geeze guys, open up those fat wallets, go out after dark and hire a band! That's OK, the drinks may have been a bit pricy, but what the heck, we were pretending to be rich!

Broken water fitting- source of the leak!

  OK, I need to put a short note in here about just how awesome my first mate is. Ever since we left home, Magic has been plagued with a very minor, irksome water leak that caused the bilge pump to run every hour or so. We my wife is...in addition to very cute... tenacious when it comes to finding the root of a problem. She just never gives up! I just sat back, nodded my head and watched Diane perform her Sherlock Holmes impersonation! It took exactly 3 weeks of sleuthing and eliminating possible sources of the leak, but late yesterday, she found the problem! A fitting, hidden behind a panel in the shower stall, had developed a very small crack and was allowing a trickle (not even that much!) of water to run down into the bilge. We even had a spare (this had happened once before and I'd ordered several spares!) fitting and in fairly quick order I'd replaced the part and we were once again leak free...until next time. There is an old saying in the sailing world; "Cruising is fixing your boat in exotic locations!" I can confirm that statement! Did I mention I really, REALLY love my wife?!!