Brunswick, Georgia

From Washington D.C. our next destination was Brunswick, Georgia, some 600 miles south.  We made three stops along the way, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina and took 6 days, staying a couple of days at the better RV Parks.

Why Brunswick, Georgia – there was a boat we were really interested in.  Rich spent quite a few days with the owner, looking over the boat.  He even inspected the underneath - while it was still in the water, donning a mask and snorkel.  The propeller was covered in barnacles, so Rich went ahead and gave it a good clean to ensure it was in good condition under all that growth. 

There were two more things to do before Rich was happy to go ahead with the purchase, sea trials and an inspection out of the water. 

Then we had a very unexpected turn of events, Rich was rushed off to hospital at 9pm in an ambulance (I wasn’t keen on turning up to emergency in the RV) with abdominal pains.  I rang the hospital a couple of hours later but of course due to ‘privacy laws’ there was nothing they could tell me, except he was there.  That was reassuring!  Finally at 2.30am Rich rang me to say it was his gall bladder and he would be having surgery the following day, once they dealt with the infection.  The medical care he received was first class.  So both our experiences (Luke’s broken arm) with the American health system have been fantastic and thank god for travel insurance.  We hand over our insurance details, the hospital bills them directly and we don’t even hear boo from the insurer.

The doctor told Rich had he been out at sea and not been able to receive medical treatment he would have died a slow and very painful death.  It certainly got me thinking.  We already had reservations sailing with the kids, well I did anyway, particularly the long passages that can last days, even weeks.  They are hard enough when you just have yourself to look after, let alone two small kids.  So I suggested to Richard that perhaps this wasn’t the right time for us to be undertaking this type of adventure.  Although I don’t think I convinced him, he said we both had to want it and he knew I didn’t.  Later he tells me I got him at a weak moment, post-op, drugged-up and in pain.

Richard’s sister Louise summed it up beautifully ‘all you can do is assume life has different plans for you that are even better than what would have been'.

So we are heading back to Australia in December and with our house rented until March, who knows what we will do.