A beautiful morning to get underway again.
We were off the dock before 7:00 a.m. Clear and calm and lots of water leaving Morehead City. I could easily have this city as home base. There's the water and waterfront. There is my favorite beach, Atlantic Beach, just across the causeway, about 4 miles away. Lots of white sand and a surf that provides enough wave for body surfing. A campus of NC State University to keep one's brain working. A local, large-ish hospital. A marine research center. I think a community theater. Beaufort not far away. Usually warmer than it is now and for me, not too hot in the summer. Hmmmmm. Sigh. I'd miss my Maine friends and family and theater group.
Portside is a sweet marina though just next to a big industrial building that is noisy. The marina is pretty empty just now but is pretty packed later in the season and summer. The manager (owner?) is fun, as is his wife. Taught me how to shell and de-vein shrimp in one quick stroke with a fork!
On the way out of the marina we kept hearing two toots. A few seconds and another two toots. What? Where? Then we saw this rather large lady!
On our way and under the causeway bridge that leads to my favorite beach. Easy traveling. We were joined briefly by a couple of dolphin who surfed in our bow wake, about amid ship and about 2' away from the boat. Joyous!!!
We were almost eaten by a whale - use your imagination now - but managed to escape.
See the Whale about to chomp the little speck of a boat?
There was some pretty skinny water in Bogue Sound. I think this is where David and I tried wind surfing many years ago. We stood about hip deep in water no matter how successful we were at staying on the board which, now that I remember, we probably didn't travel very far before falling off the boards. Still, pretty shallow water in Bogue Sound.
We found that our Maine friend, Ken, was in Swansboro where we were planning to refuel. Then learned that new friends from common distress (ice and storms) were there, too. Ah, what to do? Stay and visit? Or continue our journey as we'd planned? Get on toward Wrightsville Beach. Such conflict. Press on toward daydream or nurture friends, old and new. We opted for friends and are on the dock with Amelia Grace and Surrender before noon. Then Silence rising arrived, our new friends from the Alligator River snow and bridge common distress. WhooHooo! A party!
Ken had a borrowed car and took us on a P.O. errand and dropped me off for a haircut (at last!). I walked back to the waterfront, called cousin Suzanne about possibly having tea since I'd be passing her house. She wasn't available so I checked out all (but one) the shops in the old part of town. Managed to not spend $50 on a beautiful pair of earrings. Such will power.
This photo, though, of a customer's son and the store owner's dog. The child was in a child's pose beside the dog when I first noticed him but got up to squat before I got the photo. I sent it to his parents who were shopping for jewels, too. On my phone this shows up as a silhouette which is maybe more iconic.
A visit from Lee, Suzanne's man friend, who led me back to the one store I missed, a yarn shop. Diane from Amelia Grace stopped by our boat with yarn for a 'vanquish boredom' project she was starting. I thought, "I'm sometimes bored. I can crochet. I'll go get some yarn, too." And I did, enough for a beanie in red. I'd not brought any of my knitting/crocheting stuff, never expecting to be bored. For dumb.
There was a "skippers" meeting onboard Silence Rising to plot tomorrows passage. We kept toasting all ideas and accomplishments including a "real meeting." Truly a fun group of people. Of the group of 5 boats, only one solo sailor, David and I are the only ones who have traveled the ICW. Oh dear!
dinner back onboard our simple Grace and we're done for the day.
Joy
No comments:
Post a Comment