Day #296 – Columbia, NC

Wishing everyone a safe and fun Memorial Weekend!

We left Belhaven this morning at 7:00.  There was a light fog and the wind had died completely during the night.  It’s always nice to know that you are going to have a travel day with glass calm waters.

Today we crossed the Pungo River to the Alligator River.  The ICW is very narrow in spots.  Unfortunately for us, a very narrow spot was where we had to pass a barge.

We had been following him for a while.  Before we passed him, we hit a submerged log or something that he had probably dredged up. Hopefully it didn’t do any damage.  Time will tell.

We had ordered folding bicycles and had them shipped to Alligator River Marina.  We picked them up and Andy assembled them.  We will really enjoy having them as it expands the area you can explore from the marina.

Today was also fuel fill up day.  The diesel price has begun to creep up slowly, but at this marina today we paid $1.86  per gallon, the best yet on this trip!  Much better than the $4.60 we paid when we left in August.

Salvage Crew and Headquarters are with us at the marina so it is sure to be a good time.

Day #292 – Oriental, NC

When we woke this morning the rains had stopped but it was still chilly and overcast.  After checking several weather and wind websites we decided to leave Beaufort and threw off our lines at 9:45.

It felt strange leaving without our buddy boat, Salvage Crew, but they decided to wait another day and try and make the trip tomorrow.

We traveled up Adams Creek and out into the Neuse River.

There were sights along the way that changed as we advanced.  Some of the interesting spots we saw are below.  We wondered if you buy the property if the boat comes along with it.

And another housing option.

That part of the trip was fairly calm, actually smoother than we expected. When we entered the Pamlico Sound to cross over to Oriental it got rougher.  Waves were as predicted, 2-3 feet and we were glad we only had five miles to make it to the other side.  This was our view most of the crossing.

Oriental is known as the “Sailing Capital of North Carolina.”  Year round residents are under 1,000, but there are more than 2,500 boats. You have to love a place like this.  Well, at least I thought I was going to like it until we walked off the docks and saw this sign.

Bob and Deb on Headquarters stopped by shortly after we arrived. They are in the marina that we were supposed to be in not far from here.  That one is full since no one has left for the last few days to head north because of the weather.  Hopefully we can move there tomorrow as it is  “rockin and rollin” in this marina.  We are still glad to be here and tied up safely.

We are going to Oriental Steamers with Bob and Deb to celebrate our anniversary.

36 years of wedded bliss.  If we survive this trip, anything will be easy from here.

Day #290 – Beaufort, NC

Last night was a bit of a rough night in Wrightsville.  The marina is actually just a face dock located right on the ICW and almost under a bridge.  Boat traffic was heavy all night which makes for a rough ride.  Also,  a boat directly in front of us, named My Boat, decided to board with about 10 drunk people at 1:30 am.  Then they decided it would be a good idea to crank up the stereo and dance on the docks.  Hope they are sleeping well today.

The trip today to Beaufort, NC (pronounced Bo-furt, as opposed to Bew-furt in SC) was a long one.  We had many bridges to contend with and 80 miles to travel on the ICW.  We passed under the first bridge at 6:10 am.  We arrived at one of the bridges with a 12′ clearance at 8:20 and they informed us that they only opened on the hour, not the hour and half hour like most others. And so we waited.  And waited.  Our luck changed and the current carried us faster than we had anticipated and made it to the next 12′ bridge one half hour ahead of schedule so we made up the lost time.

The area is wide and less traveled than yesterday.  There was very little boat traffic.

Note the crab pots on the shore above.  Boaters are much happier to see them on the shore than in the water.

Camp Lejeune Marine Corp Base is located in the area.  The last swing bridge we went through said it is operated  and maintained by the Marines.  It appears that they take shooting practice in this area as well.  Glad they decided to take a day off today as obviously they close it to boat traffic when they do.

The houses along the way have varied quite a bit.  There are huge mansions on the water and we have passed several waterfront trailer parks.  This house should win for being the most colorful.

A huge storm was predicted and we had hoped to make it to the marina and be safely tied up before it hit.  With that we weren’t so lucky.

The storm hit exactly at noon.  Thankfully, we haven’t had this view from the pilot house many days on this trip.

We arrived at Beaufort Docks 8.75 hours and 80 miles after we left.  Long day and glad to be here.