Post #22: Houses! Cars! People!

Saturday, October 24, 2020

We awoke to a mystical fog this morning, forcing us to sip our coffee and listen to the owl calling on shore:

Each morning I set the US flag in its proper holder on the davit brace aft of the dinghy.  This morning I thought of the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance we had back in grade school.  And I thought of my Girl Scout leaders and camp counselors who taught us how to respectfully treat the Stars and Stripes.  I know that there is a lot of consternation and conflicting opinions about flags and what they symbolize.  I know I’m being naive but I hope that with the upcoming election we can get back on track as a country, put aside our differences, and realize that the most important flag is this one, imperfect as it may be.  We need to preserve and nurture our country’s best qualities so the flag of the United States of America will stand for an indivisible nation “with liberty and justice” for all our grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren.

Dolphins greeted us as we left the anchorage and we both breathed in deeply the fresh smell of cedar and pine.  But we were getting closer to Beaufort (pronounced Bo-fort, not to be confused with Beaufort (Bew-frt), SC) and houses began to pop up along the banks—and cars, trucks, jet skis, and even a private helicopter!

We    

Beaufort, NC was founded in 1709 and is one of the few places along the coast to provide easy access to the “outside,” i.e., the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the major jumping-off points for trips to the Caribbean  due to its close proximity to the trade winds.  It is a 4-day sail to the Bahamas and a day more if you go north to Bermuda.  I’m impressed by those who undertake sailing 24-hours a day in the open ocean but I like being in one place when I lay my head down at night.

Once we were docked and had lunch, we borrowed the loaner car from the marina, drove to a large grocery store in Morehead City and reprovisioned fresh vegetables and fruit.  As we crossed over the Route 70 bridge, we could see the Lower Outer Banks and the Atlantic in the distance. 

In the evening we walked to the historical area of Beaufort, a charming and well preserved example of early 1800’s architecture.  We’d like to enjoy some of the restaurants but few folks were wearing masks around town so we kept our distance and ate aboard Onward.  We passed this store on the walk back to the boat. I’m glad we drove to Harris Teeter instead.

I heard a weird sound about 11:30 p.m. so went up on the foredeck to investigate.  A 2-foot tall black-crowned Night-heron was hunched over, balancing on our bow line tied to the dock.  He was laser-focused on catching a tasty dinner.  He had more patience than me (and more incentive) so I went back to bed.  I hope he was successful.