It has been a few days since an update so things will be a bit more terse, both to keep the length reasonable and because the memories do fade after a while.
10/30
Took Louise to doggy day care, did laundry at a laundromat. We ate lunch at Dick’s Wings. Back at the campground Aaron had a fleeting gambling addiction with a quarter waterfall machine in the recreation hall.
10/31
Took Louise to doggy day care again (only $10 for the whole day), walked around St. Marys, ate lunch at Bessie’s and went to the submarine museum. Then had a campfire and some brats back at the camper. We decided that we want to start getting serious about the Hunter 376 in Charleston, SC. We also decided that we want John who showed us a couple boats in Little River, SC to be our "buyer's broker" and represent/guide us in the transaction. The seller's broker didn’t like that and said that we can't have a buyer's broker because of how he and the seller are set up (probably doesn't want to split the commission). There is maybe some gray area since we contacted their broker to arrange the first showing instead of our broker, but we don't like the idea of not having our own representation and John thinks he can get it figured out.
11/1
Louise to doggy day care again, then we got on the ferry to Cumberland Island (a barrier island that is mostly National Seashore land, but has a few private properties on it and also a few old Carnegie mansions) at 9:00. It travelled at 12 knots and dropped us off at the Sea Dock on Cumberland Island at 9:45. We met Ann and Ralph, who had camped there overnight, and they took us on a nice hike. First we went to the Dungeness ruins which has the concrete and brick remains of a Carnegie mansion that burned down many years ago. There were many outbuildings too and some interesting historical interpretation signs. At the Dungeness site we also heard from John and he let us know the good news that he had gotten ahold of the other broker and convinced him that he should be allowed to serve as our broker.
Then we took a boardwalk towards the beach, stopping in the middle to have some sandwiches for lunch. At the beach we walked along the ocean for about a mile to the north. Dry sand was blowing onto the wet sand flats near the water and that reminded us of snow blowing across the road back home. We found several horseshoe crab carcasses and learned a little bit about them. Next up was the campsite that Ann and Ralph were staying at to have a couple beers and wine for Anna. The campsite was incredibly beautiful with a full canopy of live oak and Spanish moss, and palmetto shrubberies everywhere. There were also a couple tangerine trees there which someone had planted. Aaron was able to reach the ripe ones higher up, otherwise they are really sour. Then back to Sea Dock where we sat around for about two hours until the ferry took us back. Thank you for showing us around Ann and Ralph, we had a wonderful day!
11/2
We packed up in the morning to move to the Charleston, SC area again. We had some trouble finding a campground with availability but finally did. First we stopped at the marina where the boat of interest was located. We spent an hour examining nooks and crannies of the boat until the salesperson said he needed to go pick up his kids. He seemed mildly annoyed by the thorough examination, "you guys are going to have a surveyor go over everything, right?" We are, but also wanted to examine to the best of our ability because a surveyor costs about $1,000 and it would be better to find a deal-breaking issue ourselves than pay someone to find it. Pizza for supper and Ocean's 11 for entertainment.
11/3
We took Louise to orientation for a doggy day care here so that we have a place to take her if necessary. Then we got her some dog food and a cone of shame because she has been ceaselessly licking at some sores on one of her paws. We also stopped by a Krispy Kreme for some fresh donuts and got the car oil changed. Leftover pizza for supper, and we watched Frozen for entertainment (Aaron had never seen). Anna seemed to know the words to every song in the movie.
11/4
We started the day with breakfast bowls (cubed potatoes, sausage, egg, onion, cheese, avocado). Then we went to a bar/grill with a dog-friendly outdoor patio to watch the Vikings (SKOL!!!!). Louise was too energetic on the patio so went back into the car after about 45 minutes. We got back to the camper just in time to zip up the windows before some rain started, and Aaron went to the nearby library at Charleston Southern University to get some quality Internet time. The campground Wi-Fi here is terrible (most others are mediocre) and there is a huge fair going on just a mile or two away so cell data is somewhere between terrible and mediocre. It is probably good conditioning for what we will experience on a boat!