4/19/16 and 4/20/16            Tuesday and Wednesday        

Okay. A very long day Tuesday and a very difficult day Wednesday. Time for an adult beverage!!!

4/19/16       Tuesday        anchored in the south end of the North River

What a beautiful, unexpectedly calm day on the water. We traveled about 80 miles...about 10 hours of motoring but worth it to get this far...making up for the days in port due to high winds. All along the waterway spring is springing. Trees are beginning to leaf out. The marsh grass is brilliant green at the bottom with new growth and golden on top with last years old growth.

in the Pongo/Alligator Rivers Canal

This is the canal that on the way down I complained that I'd not seen a Pongo or a bear or an alligator and minutes later a momma bear and 2 cubs swam across the canal in front of us. No bears, deer, alligators or pongos this time. But a lovely welcoming of spring with the yellow/green baby leaves. Then traveling through the Alligator River (where we anchored and saw amazing Milky Way shooting stars) and the Albemarle Sound with little to NO wind was an unexpected and very welcome wonder. Sigh. Of relief. It is a big, mostly shallow sound and can really pitch a good bunch of waves if the wind comes up. The day was VERY long, but very calm and easy. David and I kept switching off helms person throughout the day so that neither of us had the major burden of boat responsibility. We anchored in flat calm weather/seas among the crab pots but not too, too many. Nothing like the lobster pots in Maine.

oily calm

Last night's accommodations at the mouth of the North River. Notice. No waves. No whitecaps. Just beautiful, calm water with a little land in the background.

Sunset in North River, NC

We all settled into a restful evening. Dinner of mostly leftovers with wine and a little more wine.

I stayed up much later than I'd expected based on how I felt at 6:00 PM, finished a book my Morehead City friend had given me. Took place in Greece so it was fun to be reminded of my and David's trip to Greece.

We also finished our reading aloud book that Sharyl had given us - Playing with Fire - which turned out to be difficult and wonderful.


David and I shared a beer on the foredeck and heard a loud Loon call. So wonderful and clear. I've rarely heard them.

A long sleep until..............


Okay, I decided to split the days, even though I'm writing on the same evening....Wednesday.