Home Port

Today as we neared home I thought about the first time we were at Northwest Creek Marina. We had come there in search of a boat.....one was for sale.  After our tour we stepped back out on the dock.  A boat was coming into the slip next to where we stood.   An old lady (probably younger than me!) was standing on the bow with a rope in her hand.....yea!  I still called them “ropes” then....  This gal threw the line to the dock hand seemingly so expertly that I applauded!!!  Would I ever learn to do this and to understand if the line goes over or under the rail??!  So much was still a mystery to me!

It was so good pulling into our home port and being called by our first names by the dock Master....nothing like home!  

(By the Captain:  the First Mate adroitly lassoed not one but two pilings when we came into the slip!!! )

We had made two trips with a large cart to unload what we thought were the “Necessities” for our first night at the dirt house.  Still we forgot some important stuff so Walter is on his way to Walmart which is a lot closer to our house than our boat.

As we pulled into the driveway at 5:30p today we saw a neat sign someone (Neighbors?) made for us...it was so pretty... and a big surprise!   We loved it!

Well, dear blog readers this is my last blog for now until our next great Adventure...instead of shortening our bucket list it got longer!....so many places on the water we would like to go back to and spend more time exploring.

I thought I would find the house huge but it is not a big house...but one thing that did look enormous to me was the washer when I looked inside...Whoopee!  And the Dryer also!  I will now be able to wash more than one towel at a time.  

I awoke this morning with a terrible stomach ache and I still have it....amazing, being well all this time and now this uncomfortable feeling.....am I allergic to going home to the dirt house?...doubt it...was probably the spicy fried food I ate last night.  I am not sure if the tummy problem is causing me to feel exhausted but I do....AGAIN, we praise God for keeping us well almost the entire year on the water!  And for those of you who prayed for us.

Will we have a water adventure again?  We sure hope so!

Blessings to all!

FLYING THE GOLD!

The wind storm last night was so fierce.  I wondered how we would sleep with the noise of the wind and the water hitting the stern where we were tucked into our cabin.  But when the down pour of rain came the wind quit.  We slept well being rocked gently.

This morning it was calm & beautiful as the sun began to color our world.

We were moving out of our slip by 8a this morning....we were surprised to have a current pushing us instead of slowing us.  And it didn't seem long before we came to familiar places.

This bridge goes from Morehead city to Atlantic Beach where we often took the grand kids.

The water is always so pretty because of the Ocean Inlet here. This is the State Port Terminal.

At the Terminal was this HUGE heavy lift crane.

Tug boats...my favorite!

This is the bridge to Beaufort, NC.... the train bridge stays open (long extension in the air) unless there is a train coming.

The sky and the waterway were so pretty today.

Some houses north of Beaufort.

Pretty yard....we have at last left the palm trees behind.

At 1:44p in the Neuse River we crossed our wake (completed the Loop). Walter blew our loud horn and made a note in his Captain's Log. This river, where it flows into Pamlico Sound, is wider than the Mississippi River!

After a pleasant cruise we have stopped at the new free 50 ft City dock in Oriental. This is the view from the dock....nothing so blue as the deep blue of a Carolina sky!

I have now taken about 100 photos of the GOLD burgee...you know, from every angle.  It looks so good and the accomplishment is just now hitting me....I'm kinda at the “did we do that?” stage. The Miss gg and her crew have traveled about 6,255 miles! The Captain attaching the gold burgee.

After we were secured at the dock we put on our walking shoes and went for a stroll along the dock.

We found an ice cream shop and decided to celebrate flying the gold with a middle of the day snack!

We have lost a little but gained much on this Grand Adventure.  We missed a year in the life of two Grand Wonders.  We can't wait to see them in Raleigh.... we were blessed to be able to see the other 7 Grand children on our trip.

The Captain has certainly gained the knowledge of how to maneuver a 34,000 lb vessel AND without those niffy bow thrusters. I lost my fear of big harbors with huge ships and lots of boat traffic....Norfolk, New York City, Chicago and Mobile Bay. We both feel better now about anchoring in swift rivers....the Mississippi TWICE!

We have many new friends represented by the 77 boat cards we have collected from other boats doing the Loop and also many other boaters we have met along the way. I have new friends in Canada, Texas, California, Georgia...well, just so many states I can't name them all...... In general we have fallen in love with the amazing boating community....always so helpful and friendly.

And after 24/7 in this water house I believe our marriage is better than ever. THAT alone is worth a great Celebration, don't you think?

Oh! And one more thing, I lost 10 pounds and gained 10 wrinkles.... gained back 5 pounds but kept ALL the wrinkles...NOT fair!

Home port in New Bern Tomorrow!

Windy Swansboro

The boat has rocked enough at the dock today to make it hard to be up and around.... it was fine sitting down but trying to get the laundry done was not so easy. We planned to stay another night due to the forecast of rain.... so far no rain just the wind that comes with storms!

Before it got too windy we walked the mile to the grocery store this morning and then our friend, a Looper, who has just completed the Loop, came and took us to lunch.  It was fun listening to him tell about his last days on the Loop...they did the St. Johns River in Florida which we wish we had done.  Seems our bucket list only gets longer!

This afternoon in the wind I decided to go exploring...only a few blocks to the shops and eateries here.  A willow tree was caught in the wind.

Lots of pretty flowers.

This was the tallest holly I have ever seen …. over 12 ft. and full of berries.

I liked the wild look of this yard.

Flowers lined the edges of this place.

Here is one of the historic houses here.

Most homes were built late 1800s to early 1900s.

This was very unusual in a front yard..... a tree that perhaps lost its top to a hurricane had been shaped into a madonna and child.

The Ice House is suppose to have the best sea food in town.

Another restaurant on the waterfront.

I found this bricked walk way that said it lead to the Bicentennial Park.

It took me under a highway bridge near the water.  I could touch the overhead concrete beams and hear the pounding of every car so I walked fast to get out of this “tunnel”.

I had looked for swans thinking that was why the town was so named Swansboro. This is the only kind I found.

But I did find some unusual looking ducks!

Then I read the history posted on signs on this pathway. The town was originally called Port Swannsborough after Captain Samuel Swann and establish in 1783.

Coming to the little circle that is this "park" there was a statue of Captain Otuay Burns who was born here in 1776 and was a hero in the war of 1812 commanding the ship “Snapdragon”.  He is well known here also for building the first steam boat built in North Carolina, “Prometheus” in 1818.  AND he cast the deciding vote at the Constitutional Convention in 1835!

I enjoyed looking around in this cute gift shop.

A little park at this shopping area.

Notice the flags blowing in the wind on Miss gg today.

If the weather is okay we will leave early in the morning because it looks like the current might be against us all day. Tomorrow we finish the Loop... a exciting prospect and also a sad one. This has been a way of life for us for nearly one year!  What will the days ahead bring us? What does one do After the Loop?  We are about to find out!

On a Rising Tide to Swansboro

Been on this boat with the Captain nearly a year and I still get yelled at when docking in the strong cross wind! My mate did a great job backing into this slip...I guided him around the edge of the dock and pile.   I threw the stern line first which is what is needed going stern first into the slip......then when I was hurrying to the bow he yelled something.... I thought he was saying he couldn't see where he was backing so I came back in time to hear him holler, “GET THE BOW LINE!!”...which is usually the next line thrown to deck crew....but being a little late due to thinking I had done something wrong the Miss gg swung way out into the middle of the slip...praise God for a nice wide slip!.....no damage done!

We had a push from the current nearly the whole way.....we would pass an inlet and think it might change and for the last little bit of our cruise it did slow us slightly.

About 50 minutes into our trip today we came to the Surf City swing bridge.

We timed it about right and only had to wait for about 8 minutes.

This catamaran was ahead of us at this bridge.

Pelicans waiting also at Marker 71 just before the bridge.

I loved this house...probably because of the blue roof.

We have some friends that live in this area and were hoping to wave at them today but they were gone.

The beautiful ocean could be seen in this “almost inlet”.

We crossed the New River and continued in the Intracoastal Waterway.

The ICW goes right through the Lejeune Marine Corp Base.   This was all we could see of it from the boat. 

Here we are lined up with two other boats to go through the Onslow Beach swing bridge.

We were wondering what these folks were doing...they picked up a green marker buoy and put it down in another spot.

Turned out to be the Coast Guard keeping the markers in the right place so we don't run aground! Thank you USCG!

I was sure this must be a country club but the Captain thinks it was one big house!

Our friend, Stephanie, came to visit us this evening from New Bern and brought her two wonderful kiddos....so I got some good sugar/hugs...loved it.  Here is the new Captain, Nick, and his first mate, little sister, Erin.