Day 27 - Thu 23 Apr 2015
Docked - Beaufort, NC

[photo: a recycled photo from last time with Diane in front of the wonderful maritime museum]

The night wound up being comfortable enough, but Diane was convinced the Bimini was going to be noisy again. It wasn't, due to my temporary lashing and we slept very well. The morning air temperature was in the high 50s again with a cool, dry, N breeze.

Several times before we went to bed and once in the morning, the boat movement caused the shore power plug to come loose in the socket and we lost power to the boat. I was able to find a way to secure it better, so we should be fine until we leave tomorrow morning.

Speaking of power, since we were snug in the marina slip and had power, it was a good morning to make home fries and veggie omelets. After that, Diane got out the ingredients and I set about making a crock pot beef stew. One of the things that I did not check before we left was the status of the spare propane cylinder, and when I checked this morning, it was empty. A quick trip with the courtesy car and it was refilled for less than $8. When you consider how long it lasts, that is quite a bargain.

The marina was very quiet this morning, but a lot of boats left early. Many folks seem intent to make tracks N at a fast pace. We keep looking for that place we want to hang out for a bit while we wait for spring to catch up with us. Various weathers sources don't agree, but a few forecast some serious low pressure troughs to pass by and cause winds up to 50 mph and 30 foot waves a few hundred miles offshore. Good thing we are sticking close to land and will have the ability to tuck in securely as we move.

We filled the water tank and attacked the rest of the large windows to try and clean them up as best as possible with what we have onboard. They are much better than they were, at least. Diane discovered that we have cable TV at the dock and was disappointed that we missed out on that the previous day. Other than watching some decent news channels, I don't care much for the rest of it, frankly.
A walk was what we needed, so we strolled around for an hour or so and then parted, with me taking a quick re-visit of the fabulous maritime museum and she checking out the shops. Next, we went to the Dockside Restaurant to trade in our complimentary wooden nickels for some draft beers and ordered a Carolina Dog platter. It was billed as 2 hot dogs with chili, coleslaw, and French fries for $6.95. Wow, did we get a lot of food to share.

We kept looking for the coleslaw as we nibbled the hot fries. Once we tried the dogs, however, we realized the coleslaw was under the hot dog on the bun. I remember that some parts of the country like to put coleslaw on their pulled pork sandwiches, so I am guessing that this is the same place, and concept. The poor waitress probably was not happy to serve a couple with free beers sharing one $7 meal, but I left a good tip. When we left the table, Diane went back to the boat to catch some sun while shielded from the wind. I went over to Knot Done to talk to Andrew and see his big dog, Harry.

Back on our dock, a small, trailerable sailboat had come in with a younger couple and we chatted for a while. Diane then reminded me to check the stew in the crock pot. It was basically ready except to add the frozen peas and thicken the sauce. It really tuned out great and certainly made the boat smell terrific all day.

After a short nap, I fixed a drink and walked over around 1700 to the sailboat where they were having happy hour. I climbed aboard and we had a nice conversation for a while. Diane then joined us and Steve, too the opportunity to tour our boat. Afterwards, we visited some more and then we all got ready to take our pre-dinner showers.

The showers were nice and hot, but even the short walk back to the boat chilled Diane down considerably. Inside the boat, all those large windows with the sun streaming in, it was pretty toasty. I set about getting the rest of supper prepared. We had fresh triggerfish with spicy onion/pepper marmalade, rice pilaf, and some frozen peas. It was good, although after smelling the stew cooking all day, that might have been our first choice.

After supper and Diane's clean-up, she relaxed below while I braved the cool, but very beautiful conditions on the flybridge to watch the sunset and the last of the visitors strolling the waterfront. We plan to travel 40-50 miles tomorrow and find a nice anchorage to be safe from the elements.