The best laid plans of all those who like to play outdoors are subject to the weather and the weather did not favor crossing Pamlico Sound from River Dunes to Ocracoke in our boat on July 12. So, we turned around and headed up the Pungo River. Instead of going to Manteo by way of Ocracoke, we decided to go by way of the ICW. We had thought to stop in Bellhaven where we'd heard from our friends Licia and Philip that there's a terrific restaurant, but we still had plenty of daylight left when we reached the town, so we pointed Arwen's bow toward the Pungo-Alligator River Canal and spent the next four hours traversing that serene and lovely water course. We anchored at the end of the canal in the Alligator River, but we hadn't the courage to go to our old anchorage a couple of miles up the river where we could get Madison off the boat and take her for a walk. We would have missed her too much.

On Monday, the 13th, we followed the ICW into Albemarle Sound where we encountered thunderstorms and lots of crab pots and fish traps - same as last time we crossed this section of Albemarle Sound. We arrived in Manteo on the afternoon of the 13th ready to tuck into a nice slip at the Waterfront Marina and have an early dinner at the Full Moon Brewery and Cafe. The slip couldn't have been better, next to the boardwalk and right beside a 37' Catalina with a basset hound on the bow. I had never seen a basset hound on a boat before.

I admired him from a distance until the next evening when his person and a couple from another boat were having a conversation on the bench just across the boardwalk from our boat. The beautiful basset was the center of attention as people walked along the boardwalk and stopped to admire him. I abandoned Robert in the cockpit and headed across the boardwalk to attach myself to the admiring crowd. Boy, was I glad I did. Not only did I get to meet some great people, I learned that Huckleberry - the basset - is something of a celebrity. He was featured in a Ford Mustang commercial that ran in several Southern states a couple of years ago. But that's not what makes him a hit on the dock. He can often be spotted on the bow of his boat, Coy Mistress, where he can easily be seen from the waterfront boardwalk. We could sit in the cockpit and watch as family after family stopped to admire him, some of them even going out on the dock to get a better look. Huckleberry took it all in stride, barking occasionally as though to acknowledge the adulation, but mostly adopting a somewhat regal pose - unless he was snoozing.

Huckleberry has been turning heads for a while. Check out this link from the Deltaville Yachting Center:
Deltaville Yachting Center

His person got a Mustang with plates that say "Bassetmobile" as a result of Huckleberry's film career. Coy Mistress also has a basset named Roxanne, a cat and two very nice humans onboard.