May, 2019 - Florida Keys - North Carolina

We had a list of long-overdue boat stuff to take care when we arrived back in the US. A big one was that the life raft that came with the boat was far overdue for service, and when they inflated it, it fell apart. We spent the big bucks to replace our eight-person offshore life raft, and I hope to never see the inside of it!

Loey with the life raft Lorelei helped me pick up the new raft in Ft. Lauderdale. This one is identicle to our new one, only smaller.

We visited the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, and the girls are really gung-ho about raising some money for the patients.

Turtle hospital After visiting the turtle hospital, the girls decided to raise some money for them with a lemonade stand at the marina. We also adopted a turtle, so they are really looking forward to the mail with updates on their new charge.

Mr. T release Watching the release Mr. T, the loggerhead, back into the wild after his recuperation at the Turtle Hospital. Track his current location here.

I mostly post pictures of the exciting stuff, but here, some of our daily grind is just hanging out at the pool and getting our school work done.

hot stone massage at the pool Hot stone mermaid massages at the pool.

chatting with GranMiri and Papa Video chatting with GranMiri and Papa.

Eagle Ray in Marathon We were waved off the dock in Marathon by this beautiful Eagle Ray.

We are starting to get the hang of this passage making stuff. It was five days up to Beaufort, North Carolina.

Audrey making breakfast at sea Audrey has really been a helpful member of the crew lately. She has taken over about half of the meal prep on passage.

girls excited to spot land The girls were excited to spot land after 5 days at sea.

Beaufort is such a cute town, with lots to do! I think we’ll stay awhile.

Beaufort Farmer's Market Strolling the Saturday Farmer’s Market.

Mother's Day family photo The obligatory annual family photo. I do it every year on Mother’s Day so everyone feels like they have to smile. We even managed to get Lark into this one!

Making new friends with the kids from Diablo We met some fun new friends in Beaufort from SV Diablo!

playing trivia with Andrea and Erik We are so lucky to have friends like Erik and Andrea! They made a stop in Beaufort to see us! Here we are playing trivia under our official team name, Traveling Lark.

getting muddy on Carrot Island These kids love getting muddy together!

catching crabs Aiden’s got real skill at catching crabs!

Traveling Lark The whole gang.

decorating Jacob Decorating Jacob

beach treasure The beaches around the anchorage here are great! We found tons of treasure.

building sand castles

girls reading in an oak tree The girls’ favorite land spot in Beaufort. This old oak tree is a fun place to climb, play, dangle, and read.

Audrey's Oak Tree nature journal Audrey’s Nature Journal about the tree.

Pirates at the Museum Visiting the Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

sea monsters at the library The Museum had a beautiful library full of cool maritime books.

choosing a book Audrey felt like Belle from Beauty and the Beast choosing her next book.

wild horses on Carrot Island from our dinghy Getting a good look at the wild horses on Carrot Island from our dinghy. These horses are not the same Spanish herd that went down on the Shackleford Banks. These guys belonged to a farmer from Beaufort that would pasture them here in the early 1900s. When he died the town decided to leave them there, because they were thriving.