Anchored at Cumberland Island

This evening I purposely soaked in the beauty of Cumberland Island. As the sun was setting and the moon on the rise, deer were walking near shore where the ponies had previously been grazing. The breeze was over 20 knots today and calmed down tonight. Our view of the Cumberland Island shoreline is peaceful. We are anchored further north than our previous stops. When looking west from this position, we have a view of Kings Bay, the submarine base.
Yesterday, when Hold Fast was still on the mooring at Fernandina Beach, we headed in for lunch at a highly reviewed and affordable restaurant [Karibrew]. As we were pulling up to the dinghy dock, we spied the adventuresome Auto-Paul and Shari attempting a covert mission out to Hold Fast. It was a pleasant surprise and a very nice welcome back to the states! After lunch, Paul and Myron prepared their dinghy (Quick Trip) and Shari and I did a little grocery shopping. I am always glad to have fresh tomatoes and onions for salsa. Hold Fast towed both dinghies out to Cumberland Island. We continued our visit at anchor here and munched on fantastic snacks that Shari brought. It was not as heart wrenching to see them depart because we will see them again in a few days - hopefully for Thursday night pizza!
Cumberland Island had been evacuated due to tropical storm Beryl and was only reopened to visitors today. We got in a good walk, saw the ponies and their colts up close, and visited with the park rangers, one of whom opened the Carnegie office building (taffy house) and showed us around. After our walk we had lunch with Dennis and Annaka aboard 'Bodyguard,' a steel boat about 39'. Dennis and Annaka are from the Netherlands and made the boat themselves. We did not expect to see them again after they departed Marsh Harbour, Abacos, Bahamas - so it was another pleasant surprise.
We were half expecting to see Brad and Sabrina on Joint Venture today, and half expecting them to head offshore again and sail north. The wind forecast must have been favorable because they are nowhere in sight. If so, we wish them well on their adventures and hope to see them again in the fall.
Love to all,
Dena

Posted via Ham Radio.
{GMST}30|46.138|N|081|28.268|W|Anchored|Cumberland Island{GEND}