After consulting our weather peeps, we decided to stay in Manteo, NC for the weekend. It was breezy, overcast and cold all weekend, so we mostly stayed on the boat. This is a vibrant town with several up-scale shops, art galleries, restaurants, etc.  So, Saturday afternoon we ventured out for lunch at the Lost Colony Brewery and Café then I wandered in and out of most of the stores. No buying just looking.

Up early on Monday (11/4) morning, we released our lines about 6:30 and headed to Belhaven Marina in Belhaven, NC. Our journey was a long one – over eight hours. As we left Manteo, we skirted the Albemarle Sound then traveled the Alligator River to the Alligator-Pungo River Canal. The Alligator-Pungo River Canal is a narrow passage running through an isolated swamp. The water is very dark with submerged trees lurking just off the channel.  We also had to keep an eye out for “dead heads” and, I don’t mean the “Grateful Dead” type but the sunken log type. Our guide books told us we should be on the lookout for all kinds of wildlife. We were on the lookout but didn’t see any wildlife. In fact, we usually see lots of birds and we hardly saw any on this stretch. It was peaceful and beautiful but pretty devoid of critters.

We arrived at Belhaven Marina in Belhaven, NC around 3:00. It was an easy cruise today just loooong. This is a very quiet town, and, on a Monday afternoon after 3:00 it was even quieter. So, we walked the two-block square and went back to marina which was pretty full. We chatted with some of the cruisers then back to the boat for dinner and an early night.

Tuesday (11/5) morning we headed out again. This time for Oriental, NC. which seems to be our “Velcro” place. We’ve been here a half-dozen times and really like it. There’s not much to the town but the folks here are delightful. This is the place that claims to have about 900 residents and 3,000 boats. It never fails that when we’re tied up at the docks people stop by the boat and engage us in wonderful conversation. Other boaters/visitors might not think it that’s special since there’s nothing much to do, but for some reason it definitely speaks to us. We always find it inviting and comfortable. Funny how some places appeal to you while others don’t – “to each his own”.

We arrived in Oriental around 1:30 and found our favorite little marina was full as were the free docks – no room at the inn. So, we cruised around the bend and under the bridge to a delightful anchorage where we dropped anchor in about seven feet of water. We were with one other boat in a peaceful and calm cove looking at a tree lined residential area.

After a lovely night at anchor, we left Oriental, NC about 6:45 Wednesday (11/6) morning for Beaufort, NC. We stopped in Beaufort on our way north but only stayed one night. We were looking forward to returning to the adorable town.

We arrived around 9:30 and it was blowing like stink as we pulled into the Beaufort Yacht Basin. Getting into the slip was a bit like wrestling a greased hog – and it took more than two to wrestle it. Thankfully Terry and Lee were on the dock grabbing lines and pulling us in as I lasso’d a piling. There were literally white caps in the slip.

Once we got Scout tied to the dock, so she wasn’t bouncing from side to side, we checked in and walked into town. It was as charming as we remember. We stopped at Black Sheep Restaurant and had a delicious lunch then walked the town and headed back to the boat.  It was still blowing like stink. The locals say this wind is not normal, but when we were here in July, I remember having a difficult time getting into the slip for the same reason, it was blowing like stink! Me thinks the locals jest…..

We noticed a couple of things today that caught our eye and we thought a little odd.

Again, we decided to keep moving south toward our next stop in Swansboro, NC.  About 7:00 on Thursday (11/7) morning we snuck out of our slip before the wind started howling again. It was a beautiful sunny morning with flat seas and the view was mostly lovely homes lining the shore. We arrived at Casper’s Marina in Swansboro, NC about 10:55. We had a nice soft landing here, checked in and walked into town. Oh my gosh, this community is adorable. Much more charming than expected. We had a very nice lunch at the Irish Pub and continued to walk the area. Beautiful homes, numerous up-scale shops, restaurants, etc. We were told there will be some sort of cook-off right in our marina tomorrow and Christmas tree lighting on Saturday with music and lots of activities. Sounds fun!

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It started raining around midnight and subsided around 7:00 am. After much discussion, we decided to depart Swansboro on Friday (11/8) morning. The reason – it’s supposed to be a cold, rainy and windy day (wind in the right direction to travel) and it would be better to be inside the boat moving to warmer weather rather than out in the elements exploring a new town. So, off we went at about 8:00 for Seapath Yacht Club in Wrightsville, NC where we arrived at about 2:00. Will tell  you about Wrightsville, NC in the next post…..