Cruise time! (Rain predicted)

Ms. Bettencourt is cruise ready. My friend Major and I will give the trailer a once-over this  morning, then we'll haul the boat this afternoon or tomorrow. It is raining now.

We plan to be on the road to Georgetown, SC., Monday morning. The forecast says it will be raining. We are not distressed. We have come to understand that one of us is a Rain Jonah and this cannot be helped. Eventually, we will be on the water bound for Bald Head Island near Southport, NC. (in the rain).

On the chart and GPS, the route looks like a long and boring slog up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Major, who is an optimist, says we will probably see some interesting wildlife. I understand it is mating season for Painted Buntings and that the whole Painted Bunting Nation has flown in from Cuba to make merry in the marshes and brushy woodlands along the South Carolina coastline.


I hope we see some of these guys, plus the usual ospreys and, perhaps, some bald eagles.

Meanwhile, Bettelou, my yoga  instructor and fitness advisor at the Family Y, has learned that we will be away on a cruise all week. She most graciously devised a daily boat exercise routine to help keep us fit during the arduous voyage. (Perhaps someone told her that each leg of this trip begins and ends at a seafood restaurant).

Anyway, here's the routine, illustrated by Bettelou herself:

This workout utilizes a medicine ball or weights, and includes various rotations, chops, figure-8s, lunges, squats, jacknifes and twists.

I have some ankle weights I once used for leg extensions while watching television. They will be aboard for this cruise.

I am serious about this.






Major, however,  may find this to be un-nautical, unworthy, or worse.

On the other hand, we could agree that a workout will help pass the time while we slowly motor north-- in the rain.