Thursday, April 17, 2014 – 6 PM – Leg 11/Day 18 – 17.8 Miles

The long weekend begins. Getting into Hilton Head was a nice change from the anchoring out bit. I got a nice slip right on the edge so I can watch the boats come in and out. It's a great balance from being so solitary for the last few days. I'm going to stay in the slip for the whole weekend as a present to myself. I want to be able to go out and not worry about anything.

I crossed into South Carolina as crossed the Savannah River. It was a very short trek today and to be honest, I really am glad to be out of those marshes. I'm pretty sure that if it was just a little later in the season, I would have been battling swarms of mosquitos. I remember the marsh mosquitos from living in Texas and they are some vicious boogers. I remember going back to move some stuff in July to California and I was bit up pretty good on my legs. I was still scratching those bumps Thanksgiving Day, that's how long they stuck around.

Another fun fact was that I got to traverse the Wright River for a bit. No special meaning to me, but it was nice to be on a river that claimed my namesake. It is quite possible that one of my long lost relatives is the reason it was named as such, we do hail from the North Carolina area. So in that regard, it was nice to be able to say I did that.

The weather has been schizo today – started clear, then looked like it wanted to rain, then back to clear. The temperature is still down, though not as cold as the other day. Funny how 65 and sunny feels great while 65 and cloudy feels cold. Won't need the heater tonight, but the goose down blanket will be covering theses old bones.

There is rain in the forecast for the next few days so we'll play it by ear. I'm going to get out for my birthday, so tomorrow I'm going to rent a car to do some sightseeing. It's my other present to myself. I have the cigars I bought down in Florida and one is going to be lit up tomorrow night. Not sure what else I will do, or where I will end up, but the name of the game is party. I will be looking around for some live music somewhere. Hopefully, they have a little jazz club around somewhere. Off to do some research.

Praying blessings and joy to all those who mean so much to me. I celebrate not only my life, but the lives that God has allowed me to know and love. Thank you God for all the people who I have known through the years.