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!