Our social calendar continued to be full throughout the weekend. It is so nice to have friends making their way to New Bern for final visits with us. Friday night we had Bonnie & Jeff over for dinner and had the opportunity to introduce them to one of our staple meals here on the boat: Japanese curry on rice with sweet potatoes. A cool evening had us buttoned up inside the boat under the warm glow of oil lamps and Sensibulb LED lighting.

Saturday morning started slowly, but we finally roused ourselves and put the Evinrude on Patience for a trip across the water. While walking around the Farmer's Market we ran across Lane & Judy and Bill & Susan. With New Bern's Mum Fest in full bloom and thousands of people milling about the town, it was truly amazing to have run into both pairs of our old marina mates.

The afternoon weather was perfect for a few boat chores. Not too hot, not too cold. Sheryl cleaned the deck while I washed and waxed the hull, perched on the edge of the dinghy. Saturday night brought an American Airlines couple out for a visit. Lori & Paul joined us aboard for dinner, another boat staple: squash and zucchini with pasta and tomato sauce. They retired to the hotel for the evening and returned to the cockpit the following morning after a late breakfast in the hotel lobby.

On the heels of their early afternoon departure, two more former marina mates stopped by for a visit with Prudence and crew. Brent and John were in the midst of a marathon daytrip out to the coast from points westward. They had made a brief stop in Whortonsville to make certain that both of their boats are still floating, then spent the bulk of the afternoon hanging out with us. Immediately upon their arrival, conversation turned to our countdown to cruising. Brent asked the quintessential question, "Are you getting scared yet?" With a smile on my face and a serious tone, I replied, "Yes, absolutely." We discussed all of our preparation efforts, hopes, fears, dreams and nightmares. It was only the clock on the wall and the thoughts of a long drive home which prompted them to take their leave of us.

Just when we thought the stream of visitors was ended, we ran into Morris & Christi. They are weekenders who keep their boat, Coda, several slips down from ours. They had been absent from the dock for the past month while their boat was being worked on in Oriental and they attended to family affairs and the boat show in Annapolis. They stepped aboard and shared their experiences in Annapolis while we filled them in on our final preparations. They, too, are preparing for some extended cruising with a departure one or two years behind us. As they departed to drive home, we received more well wishes for our pending journey.

Darkness settled in on our Sunday night, and Sheryl and I sat together in silence. It had been a long week of conversation, and we were tired. A good kind of tired. The kind of tired that comes from sharing part of yourself with others. We are lucky to have such good people in our lives.


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