On the road again ...

We left Wrightsville Beach this morning at about 9:30am after getting gas and pumping out. We are finally moving again. The forecast is for isolated thunderstorms, warm and sunny. By noon we spotted some ominous clouds to the west and we slowed to put up canvas in case it rained. Shortly after that we were baking under the canvas - so we took it down and hoped for the best. We got north of the storm - but not by much. Today was a day of easy cruising. The waters were shallow outside of the channel, but in the channel they were fine. We traveled on an incoming tide - so the depths kept getting better. We put 80 miles behind us and are now safely tied up to the Morehead City Marina. After landing, Linda went exploring with Cory and I washed the boat down. We plan on walking to town this evening for dinner. They have a car here for transients but they want $10.00 for 2 hours - we're too cheap, we'll walk. We got gas again - only 50 gallons between the 2 fillups today! We're ready to go tomorrow. We have decided to keep moving whenever the weather allows us to do so. We have about 11 days of traveling to get home. Today we passed a milestone - 900 miles. Lots of pictures are below - Ken

Linda here- What Ken didn't tell you- that the photos might- is how close we were to being taken over by a HUGE thunder/rain storm. Someone was watching over us as we just skirted the bad weather.- Happy to be moving again & making progress! Love to all- Linda

Cory tried to escape once again in the courtesy van-but we kept the keys from him!!!


The view from the Wrightsville Beach marina where we were stuck thru storm "Andrea". Not a bad place to be stuck!


We are still seeing palm trees (and pelicans) but no dolphins this far North today!

Another view os Wrightsville Beach (Sea Path Yacht Club is where we stayed)

Funky statue (Neptune? Mermaid? Buddha?) along the NC ICW

Oslow Beach swing bridge- we went under 2 bridges today that have 12' clearance. (One had FOUR feet of clearance, but it was open!!)Ken has me look over the windshield to see if we'll make it as we approach these "close calls" Of course, we have to put our VHF antenna down. It's one of the benefits of being small - there are always several boats milling around in front of the bridges waiting for the bridge to open (some only open on the hour) - we slalom through them all and go under!

Thankfully, today was not a day of shooting training for Camp Lejeunne! The ICW goes right through the middle of Camp LeJeune - we saw lots of marines fishing and boating. The live fire range happens to be across the ICW - for that they stop the boat traffic.

We assume the marines use this as one of their targets. I felt a little uncomfortable taking photos- I thought they may arrest me! There were several pieces of destroyed equipment in various parts of the marshes bordering the river we were in.

Here is the storm that we narrowly escaped. Notice the downward action of the clouds on the right side of the photo.

This huge vessel is very near our marina for the night. Notice on the stern, the slanted stairways. This is the tallest ship I've ever seen outside of a cruise ship.

Guess whice boat is ours? This is tonight's slip. Goodnight!

"The answer, my friend........"

It's 2:00pm on Wednesday and we are still at Wrightsville Beach. We considered starting out this morning but the weather was still iffy. The wind has died down somewhat to 10-15 mph with occasional gusts. But it is still out of the north, although it is predicted to change to the east. We are waiting for that change, and also for the seas to calm down. Thursday looks like moving day. As I write this, it has just started raining out. This is the last gasp of the storm that swirlled offshore here and then headed to Georgia - where it has just been named the first sub-tropical storm of the year. ("Andrea").Glad it has finally left this area. Today is a day of restocking supplies, doing the laundry, checking the charts, making the boat presentable, and generally relaxing. The temp is a cozy 70 degrees. We have the fan on and are quite comfortable. Ken
Linda says-"I'm just enjoying the free time!"

Yes, we are still in the south. These guys are everywhere - and quite brazen.
Their "throats" are bright orange when they puff them out.

Lou and Leslie aboard their boat 'Serendipity' - they are a wonderful couple also stuck at the marina by the high winds. They are traveling south on the ICW headed for Charleston. We had lunch with them yesterday and swapped boating tales. We thought our adventure was pretty daring until Lou mentioned that just recently he, and two sons, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro!! The story makes our adventure look a little tame!

Lou and Leslie heading out Wednesday noon for Charleston via Southport and Myrtle Beach aboard their new Bayliner 24'. One of the few boats smaller than ours cruising the ICW. As they headed south there were ominous clouds in that direction. We suspect that the rain on the marina at 2:00pm was coming down on them at about 1230p. Hopefully it didn't last long. I do have to mention that their boat seemed extremely comfortable for two and was the neatest boat in the marina.

A rare photo of all three of us together on our boat. The weather is chilly with the wind still at gusts to 30mph - hence, the long pants!

Cory has no thumbs - therefore, the bike is useless to him.
Besides, he can't reach the pedals!

We caught Cory with these wings strapped to his body ready to jump off the draw bridge. We think he was trying to invoke the spirit of the movie 'Papillon."

High pressure in north bothers us in the south - knock it off!!!

Well, it’s Monday at 3:00pm and we are on the boat, sitting. The wind is a constant 25-30mph with gusts over 40mph, all out of the north. Today is Sunny but that is expected to change. The wind is supposed to stay high until Tuesday or Wednesday night. All bets are that we will be able to travel again on Thursday. Today we walked to West Marine to get the chart books for the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware River, and the route to New York and Long Island. I didn’t get these earlier just in case we didn’t get this far. We should need them in the next 2 weeks - maybe sooner. There are several other boats stuck in the marina with us. At least our slip is still available to us because almost no one is traveling either way on the ICW. The canvas is taking a beating but I can’t take it down because of all the equipment that we have above deck. The boat was 60 degrees this morning - the coldest that it has been. But we still haven’t broken out the cold weather gear in its entirety. We are safe, relatively comfortable, and have amenities that ease the boredom. We just want to get moving. It is a change in my viewpoint since the beginning of the trip. At first, I wanted to stay in port because it was safe and familiar, now I want to get going so that we can see new places and, also, get closer to home. The anxiety of always traveling in unfamiliar waters is greatly diminished. Whatever comes, we’ll deal with it. Having said that, I do have some worries about traversing Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. Both sounds are large and shallow stir up easily in a wind. The guidebooks all state that they are dangerous in a wind over 20 knots. We haven’t seen anything less than that it many days. On both of the sounds we have to traverse at least 25 miles of open water. The Albemarle is supposed to be the worst stretch, potentially, of the entire ICW. Once we get moving, Pamlico Sound is 2 days away and Albemarle Sound, 3 days. We’re not going to take any chances with the weather - that is the one thing that we are acutely studying and learning more about each day. This boat hates any kind of rough, or even choppy, seas. It seems very light and, hit a wave wrong, it bangs down hard. Besides, I don’t want to upset Cory, lying at my feet, while we move. Ken

Linda here- We took a long walk in the sun & wind to shops. I finally found a pair of rubber boat boots to replace Dave’s Boy Scout camp boots that lace up the front. I’ve been wearing those (for really wet conditions) since at least 1992!!! I used to really like the wind. Now I know that what I like is a BREEZE. The strong wind is tiring because of windburn, and the noise becomes wearing. The few seconds that it dies down makes you appreciate the silence. As complaining as that sounds, I know it could get much worse. The next 2 days will be rainy- at least today we have sun. People are very friendly and everyone wants to know what kind of dog Cory is. Right now he’s a TIRED dog after our long walk! Love to all- Linda
PS- it is now 5:00pm and we have the new weather - calls for gale force winds through Wednesday with the worst of the storm tomorrow - oh boy! We won’t be going anywhere for a few days.



Linda is holding her hair down, while in the background is the ICW of Wrightsville Beach facing southerly. All the boats are facing the north wind which is currently blowing at 25-30mph. We know that the wind is below 34 mph constant because the drawbridge, upon which we are standing, is still being opened for the rare boat traffic. Yesterday the drawbridge was closed.

The ICW looking north - where we long to be going.

Howling winds- Sunday in Wrightsville Beach...

The wind is from the North at 30 mph sustained- gusts to 45 or so. They closed the bridges over the ICW that open for boats- that's howwindy it is.



They made me go to a JAZZ concert at the park- everyone knows I'm a rock n roll dog!

They continue to cage me....

Poor Cory- so abused! We enjoyed today with a LONG walk exploring Wrightsville Beach and going to a jazz concert in the park. At least it's not raining! Love to all -Linda

Some photos for you while we're stuck in NC!

The weather has us stuck in NC for at least a few more days, so I thought I'd post some of our many photos! This flower was in Charleston- does anyone know what it is? It was pretty large and definitely beautiful.

Cory's favorite seat in the boat! The fan in the lower left is our friend!!! and it is sitting on top of the range. The yellow thing to the right of the TV is my flannel-lined raincoat - I haven't had to use it yet- cross your fingers!

Sat pm- We checked & rechecked the forecast- it looks like we'll be in Wrightsville Beach, NC for at least 2 more days. Very windy (20-30 mph sustained- gale warnings) and showery. When we were with Dave we were cool & rained upon. Back here at the boat - 3 hours Southeast- it is WARM & rainy.We re-stocked the boat to prepare to sit for the 2 days- there is not much within walking distance. But we have books & TV & walking trails & internet & 1075 photos to sort thru!!! Plenty to do! Today I had my hair cut again, by a young Vietnamese woman with a NC accent!! We have met people from England, France, Ireland, Saskatchawan, and Vietnam. We had a great time visiting everyone this week, but we are looking forward to moving North again because that's where HOME is! Love to all -Linda

Stuck in port for probably the next 2 days. Sunday is supposed to have gale force winds in the afternoon. Less windy (20-30) on Monday,but still too strong to travel - especially since the wind will be out of the north. I really want to get moving north. I think we're all getting a little tired of being on the boat - 4 nights in real beds has made us soft. I just heard today that a friend of mine since childhood has died. I wish I could be at her funeral but that is simply not possible. My thoughts are with her family and friends. As you might have seen, I rented a pretty snazzy Mustang for 4 days. I wanted to compare it to the car I used to drive in 1970 - a 1964 1/2 Mustang. It was fun to drive but I think Linda was a little mortified with the color and style. Plus she had to sit in the back seat when we were visiting Dave. We had a great time seeing him. We got a tour of UNC and got to see his office. Pretty cool. Well, we'll see how Linda does stuck for the next 2 days. We have wi-fi, cell phones, and cable TV - I'm happy. Bye Ken

Family...

A last view of Charleston as we leave the harbor headed for Wrightsville Beach.
This area is called "The Battery".

Linda and Aunt Pearl

Our very gracious hosts in Southport- Judy & Bob Gregson
They are responsible for a lot of CT people moving to Southport-

Linda, cousin Carol, and cousin Judy enjoying the warm & sunny back yard at Judy's

Linda's cousin Gary- he and Ken have opposing political views

I love this photo of cousin Carol- it captures her fun-loving, sweet spirit!

Linda, Dave and Cory in the bamboo forest behind Dave's house in Chapel Hill. The day is overcast, drizzly and cold - it must be 58 degrees! Notice the native in long pants and a long jacket.

The beach near Southport, NC- Linda with Cory & Judy with Miss Cozette- the dogs tolerated each other OK, but they weren't best friends!

While enroute to Wrightsville Beach, I believe I mentioned it before, we came this far from a whirlpool. The currents were just right to cause this rotation. Note the cars on the beach in the background.

Linda, Ken & Cory at the windy beach.

"Anyone know where they hid the keys?? I found this fancy car, but I couldn't escape because I couldn't find the keys!"

Living it up in NC!!!!

It's Friday, and we're at Dave's apartment:) We are staying at a Comfort Inn nearby with a king size bed!!!! Tues and Wed we stayed with my cousin Judy & her husband Bob in Southport, NC. They graciously opened their BEAUTIFUL new home to all 3 of us. It was wonderful to be uncramped and to sleep in a real bed! While we were there, we got to see my aunt (88 years old!) and several more cousins who live nearby! Judy & Bob are wonderful people and wonderful hosts/tour guides. All of Judy's siblings have bought homes in the historic town of Southport. We found that we all like to go around and look at houses/model homes and dream. It was great to get re-acquainted with that side of my family. A big giant thank you to our cousins!!

The weather here in Chapel Hill is COLD (60 degrees) and cloudy with sprinkles and wind- no time to be on the boat! Our boat is about 3 hours away, safely snug at Wrightsville Beach. We plan to go back to the boat Sat pm, and depending on the wind, head out on Sun. to Morehead City. We are re-stocking the boat, I'm getting another haircut, and Dave is giving us a tour of the UNC campus and his office today. Cory slept until 9 am today- I guess he loved the king size bed! We WILL post photos tonight- we're too busy being land-lubbers right now!! Love to all- Linda