Thursday, 4/14/11

Early a.m. fog at John's Island

N 32′ 49. 72’/W 79′ 46. 52′ — Graham Creek Anchorage –This a.m. upon waking up, Luke let me know his finger (he slammed in the door on Tuesday as we were leaving Savannah) was throbbing all night long.  Luke never complains about anything; so we knew we had to stop long enough to seek medical attention.  We also woke up to fog and weren’t going anywhere soon.  Luke walked up to the office to settle up our night’s stay and asked the owner of Ross Marine if he knew of a nearby clinic.  The owner let us know of a nearby clinic he sends his workman to and offered his car for us to use.  That was the first of many blessings today!  We locked up the boat, walked up the long dock to the car when the office manager met us with a map quest of directions to Doctor’s Clinic, John’s Island.  We arrived a few minutes after 9 a.m., filled out the paperwork and took a seat in the waiting room.  We were impressed by the well managed clinic.  We started talking to a few of the people in the waiting room and before we knew, we were having a lively conversation, fascinated with each other’s stories.  We received some good information from the locals about the waterway in this area; everyone was eager to share something.  A local crabber shared the nature of his business, what anchorages are not good due to the strong currents in this area as well as the local history and restaurants.  Not long after, names were called and before we knew it, we were the only ones left in the waiting room.  As people left the clinic, they wished us well and we asked God to bless and heal each one.  We were called in first to see the nurse who took Luke’s blood pressure which was perfect!  We suspected that was because all of his blood pressure was squeezing under his right middle finger nail which was black and blue.  The doctor arrived and said, “oh we can relieve some of the pressure you’re feeling, Mr. Adams”.  She used a tool which looked like a pen with a wire at the end, battery operated and the batteries made the wire so hot it turned orange and burned a tiny hole in his finger nail.  Immediately, Luke felt relief and thanked the doctor who ordered an X-ray just to be sure no bones were broken.   As we waited for a few minutes in another room for the results,  we noticed a card on the wall titled, “A message from God”  We read, “I am with you”, “I will protect you”, I will never leave you”, I love you”….We looked at each other and smiled and said,  “Amen!”  The doctor returned with great news that no bones broken!  She gave Luke a tetanus shot, wrapped the finger with a bright lime colored tape and said, “now keep it dry for a day and you will be fine.  Oh, and don’t show this finger to anyone on the waterway today.”  We thanked everyone there and were wished us a safe journey.  Back to the marina, we adjusted our mileage plans; originally 60 miles today down to 40 miles. 

Sailboat race, Charleston Harbor

We tugged through through Elliot’s cut into the Charleston Harbor (very busy with tug boats, cruise ships, sailboat races, large tankers and tug boats pushing barges) enjoying all the sites.  We knew there were no marinas at mile 435 (our new target) so we checked the Skipper Bob’s Anchorages guide and arrived at a beautiful anchorage on Graham Creek just off the ICW at mile 435.7. 

Graham Creek Anchorage

We have good holding, great views of migrating birds, a quiet and peaceful location but houses nearby (just my type of anchorage). 

Graham Creek, w/ICW in view

Lentil soup (a great recipe from a good friend, Tegan Willard) and rosemary chiapatta bread for dinner.  We are so thankful for the many blessings of this day.  Tomorrow, we head further north to Myrtle Beach at mile 373. “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18