South to Little River

We've been moving south slowly.  We anchored in Adams Creek off of the Neuse River for the first time after leaving Ocracoke.  It was a very peaceful night until a squall came through at 4 am.  Gary got up to check our position, something you always do or at least always should do and found the sailboat anchored in front of us  broke loose and drifting behind us.  We gave 2 short blasts on our horn and in a few minutes their lights came on.  They anchor caught again and soon we were all back in our beds drifting (never really sleeping after those little incidents) and thinking how luck was with us and we didn't wake up to a boat in our side!!
The next stop was Mile Hammock Bay and Camp LeJeune.  If you are a slow boat this is pretty much a "must" stop as there is not another anchorage until Wrightsville Beach  about 40 miles south.  This time we realized how high the water was.  It is unusual for us to see the little bay from the ICW .

You can see the seawall and cement ramp at the upper left.  This was where the amphibious training was when we first came here.   Everything is gone now and it seems to be just used as a boat ramp for the Marines at the base.

The craziness coming up to the Wrightsville Beach bridge on the ICW.  You can see the small "Hobie Cat" waiting for the bridge open, with his sail up yet!#@



The anchorage itself was also very 'busy'.  We had only anchored once before with one other boat.  This time there were 14 but it was calm and not a lot of small boats zipping around us as before.

This beautiful vintage Trumpy yacht passed us on the way to Carolina Beach.  A beauty...

Carolina Beach looked bare without the ferris wheel.  The carnival has left town for the year.

The fall season brings a whole different vibe to these beach towns.  Less tourist traffic and lots of "closed for the season" signs, along with absolutely gorgeous weather. We've been through here in May and August but October is definitely my favorite.

Our next stop was Light Keepers Marina in Little River, South Carolina, just over the North Carolina Border and bordering on North Myrtle Beach, where our friends Wayne and Colleen from Charlotte, N.C. came to see us.  They provided taxi service to the grocery store and helped us shop after driving 4 1/2 hours to see us!  They'll be back on their boat soon for another season in Florida.

                                                                Breaking in our new   "Coffee Table"

  

                                                   
                                                                         

                                                       Loved this sign where we had breakfast

But all good things must come to an end.

                                                                     and NO you can't have Bob!!

              We are currently in transit from Little River to an anchorage in Bull Creek off of the                             Waccamaw River.  

Ocracoke Island

Stopping here has long been on my wish list.  The stars were aligned this past week and we headed across Pamlico Sound from Oriental. It was a 37 mile 5 1/2 hour trip!  That's life at seven miles per hour!

Pamlico Sound was named after the Pamlico Indians and is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the chain of outer banks.It is the largest Sound (Salt Water Lagoon) on the East Coast. And as an Estuary second only to the Chesapeake Bay.  It is shallow and can get nasty pretty fast.  We timed it right and crossed on a good day!  The four days we were on Ocracoke Island were outstanding weather wise. In the 70's with a light warm breeze, lots of sun and nights in the 60's.t

The island is small, 9.6 square miles and is part of the National Seashore. It has 16 miles of undeveloped beaches and the National Park Service plays an important role on the island.  We stayed at the Park Service Recreational boat docks which were right next to the Park Service Ferry Docks but rather than bothering us we found them quite interesting.  There were 3 ferry's coming from different ports on the mainland several times a day. Bringing vacationers galore even in late September. The last trip at night was around 7 when 2 empty ferries would come in to be ready for the first trip off the island at 7 am.  

Tie A Knot closest to the Red Roofed Building

A group of classic cars on their 2014 Tour coming off the ferry yesterday.

The village of Ocracoke is still much as it was years ago, with only a few new hotels here and there to accommodate the ever increasing influx of people. A lot of the locals have golf carts and that seems to be the preferred mode of "rental" transportation. as well.  The cars going through town were mostly coming off of or going to the ferries as far as I could tell. We had our bikes so those were our wheels.  

The "locals" as I had read in a review somewhere were not all happy to have us there.  There were no friendly waves and hellos and quite a few ignoring looks, although the locals working in the many small shops and restaurants.were all friendly and welcoming.  I guess they know where dinner is coming from....not always the sea! 

BUT in defense of the "islanders" attitudes, they don't want their island to change and become Hatteras and Kitty Hawk. The population of just under a thousand people live in a special place accessible only by Ferry, private boat or very small (judging from the field that was the airport) private planes.  I wouldn't want it spoiled by the masses either. There is one grocery store, one gas station, and two churches on the island.  Most of the shops were higher end art from the many artists that live in North Carolina and they were in older houses with a few "tourist traps" thrown in for good measure.  

                                                                           The main street along Silver Lake

It took us 15 minutes to ride from the Loop at the top which is the boat docks on Silver Lake to the bottom straight line where the beach is on the Atlantic.

                                   The Ocracoke Light built in 1823 is the second oldest
                                               operating lighthouse in the United States.

During WWII the British Royal Navy sent 24 of their ships in 1942 as anti submarine ships to patrol the East Coast of the United States.  One of the ships was the HMS Bedforshire. While patrolling the Outer Banks the Bedforshire was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine on May 12, 1942.All of the 34 crew members were lost. In the following days four bodies washed ashore on Ocracoke  and they were buried by the Islanders next to the existing cemetery. They remain there today in an agreement between Britain and the U.S. The original cross headstones were replaced by Great Britain with their military headstones and they are now maintained and cared for by the U.S. Coast Guard.

One of the two crew members who were identified had the last name of Cunningham which is my mother's maiden name.

 Ocracoke also has an impressive Pirate History.  This is where the famous pirate Blackbeard was finally "taken out of the business"  as in beheaded in a battle off the southern shore of Ocracoke on November 22, 1718.

 This is a view of "Teaches Hole" from Springer Preserve.  We walked through the preserve not knowing until after that Blackbeard had partied on the land we were walking on.  The hole is the water on which he met his end.  Oracoke pass at the south end of the island.

This is an interesting write up of Blackbeard and Ocracoke for anyone who is interested........  http://www.nps.gov/caha/historyculture/blackbeard.htm


Lets see what's left????


This looks pretty ordinary right?  Not so much.  It was a gourmet snack/libations shop that sold domestic and craft beer and wine by the bottle and glass.  You walk in, pick something out pay for it and walk out to the porch grab a table and enjoy.  Very unique from anywhere we've seen.  Great ambiance and a place where the locals relax after work. It was on a back street so it was on a "got good info" basis. Very  nice "porchtails"

Had some great food.....fresh Red Drum sauteed kale and sweet potatoes at the 'Flying Melon'

Fresh fish taco's...(tried to hide it but as you can see from above and below, I have a problem...."bite before photo"  kind of like "foot in mouth"

From EDUARDO'S.....a FABULOUS Mexican food bus that is a favorite of the locals.

And of course went to the beach which was a National Seashore Beach should be BEAUTIFUL

 

Our wild life for the day were........

A Horseshoe Crab burying itself



And my can anyone tell me what this crab is???  His little eyes were looking at me....freaky!! 

The sunset on Pamlico Sound was outstanding

The Ocracoke Lighthouse keeping Mariners safe for the night

I hope all of you who haven't been to Ocracoke may experience it someday.  It is a special place.

You never know where you'll end up!

 Well, I see I left everyone hanging again!  I am sure you all lost a lot of sleep over our whereabouts, but you should expect this from me by now :-)......

We had planned to leave our boat in New Bern, N.C. where we knew it was a quick 10 minute ride to the airport.  What we didn't know and found out from Nelson Gainey, while we were anchored waiting for the winds to die down, was that the marina we had reservations at required that the boat be moved out into the river if a hurricane was coming.  Well that would be pretty darned inconvenient not to mention impossible since we would be in Michigan!!  The search began for a marina where we would not have to move the boat.  We found River Dunes. in Oriental, N.C.  They had a slip for us, and we felt comfortable enough to leave our "home" unattended here. Unfortunately it is 45 minutes from the airport!!
Thanks to some wonderful friends the stress of completely changing plans for our trip to Michigan and the logistics which became a nightmare between Plan A and Plan C were alleviated.

Sincere thanks don't seem to be enough ....to Nelson Gainey from S/V Last Boat who drove us to the airport and into Oriental for some shopping and dinner, and GeorgeAnn and Walter from M/V Miss GG, picked us up on our return. Boaters are surely the most giving and helpful people you will find anywhere!
When we arrived in Michigan our friend Denny Craig not only picked us up and returned us to the airport but let us use his car for the three weeks we were there!
We are so BLESSED to have these people to call friends....
Gary stayed in Petoskey to help his sisters take care of dad's house and all that goes with it and after a week I flew to Denver for a planned visit with daughter Dorian.  Wow what a time!  ....doing Yoga, hiking, visiting Denver's beautiful parks and a visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens which was showcasing a Chihuly exhibit. If you want to learn more about Dale Chihuly and his Blown glass sculptures  visit :    Dhttp://www.chihuly.com/learn
It was in a word extraordinary!!  I get chills just looking at the pictures again. Where did I go wrong??  Oh, to have even a glimmer of that kind on talent!

Chihuly Reflection amid the water lilies.

Glass Ferns in lily pond

Then to top this, Dorian, Todd and I took a 3 day trip to South Dakota.  She was talking to her friend Keri who said it wasn't very far to Mt. Rushmore and they decided "let's go"!   So off we went on a seven hour scenic drive through southern Wyoming and western South Dakota, was it worth it?  Oh yeah.  Three long days in the car but SO worth it!

A South Dakota "saw mill"

Abandoned Farm

On the  Black Hills National Forest Scenic Drive

Part of  'Needles' Road scenic Drive' 

                                      Lake Sylvan in Custer State Park which seemed to be in the            
                         middle of the Black Hills National Forest w.e hiked all around the lake it was                                                               beautiful a lake surrounded by rock and forest

                                                       Dorian and Todd at Lake Sylvan

This is a tunnel for cars!!!  A tour bus even goes through with an inch to spare on each side
according to lady at the welcome center!





We also went to Badlands National Park about an hour north of Rapid City, S.D.  It was like a 'mini' grand canyon at least to me who has never even seen the Grand Canyon!!  I loved it but I ooh and aah over the mountains every time I hit Denver so it is no surprise that the mountains and topography of this barren area would be of interest to me althouth it was a cloudy morning and it wasn't as beautiful as it would have been in the sun.





My Yogi daughter in nature

And her lazy mom enjoying the peace and beauty

Guess, you know who wasn't taking the warning!!!

                            

                          and there WERE rattlesnakes....although we were on a raised walkway when we                                          heard this one, you can see him if you look at the brown grass

We also saw these Mountain Goats in the middle of a camping area right off the road!  Go figure, we looked everywhere in the mountains and ended up seeing them next to a bunch of RV's!

                               A couple of Buffalo we spotted on our drive through the National Forest

Our last stop was Mt. Rushmore....now I can say "been there"......would like to go again when I get my RV  :-)   

                                            WHAT AN AWESOME TRIP IT WAS!!!

with one of our very best friends....Denny

When I flew back into Michigan Gary picked me up and we headed back to Denny's in Algonac for our last day.  I saw my brother, sister, sister in law and nieces and lots of friends that we only see every couple of years.  It was one of those fill you up trips.