We left Manteo on Sunday and had an uneventful crossing of Albemarle Sound. Only a few fuzzy bills showed up this time. By the way, it turns out we weren't the only ones plagued by them. I found this story in The Outer Banks Voice:
What's bugging some soundside residents
We spent Sunday night anchored in the Alligator River. On Monday we motored through the canal between the Alligator and the Pungo rivers where we spotted a young black bear swimming across the canal. We also saw bald eagles, a red headed woodpecker, osprey and turtles in the canal.
We stopped to spend Monday night at Bellhaven Waterway Marina, determined to have dinner at the Spoon River restaurant, which we'd heard about not only from Philip and Licia, but from boaters who remembered it as everything from Spooners to the Silver Spoon. Whatever they called it, they remembered that the food was exceptional. And so it was. The service was the best we've had - maybe ever! If you are anywhere near Bellhaven, don't miss the opportunity to eat there.
Before we left Tuesday morning, we walked up the street from the marina to Gingerbread Bakery and Snack Bar for breakfast. It must be the favorite breakfast haunt for locals because from our table near the center we could hear folks all around us greeting one another. Next to us was a table full of men. They came and went, but the table was always full. We couldn't help hearing their conversation and when I heard one of them mention red wolves I became an active eavesdropper. He was talking about a bunch of state and federal employees searching under a bridge for a radio collar. Many of the Alligator River red wolves are collared so biologists can keep track of them. The conversation went something like this:
"Somebody shot one of 'em and threw the collar under the bridge," the guy said, laughing, not seeming to disapprove of the action.
Another shook his head.
"Do you know how much those collars cost?" someone asked. "About $2,000 apiece."
"That's nothing to the cost of all them people standing around searching for it," another said.
Only a short time before they'd been talking about seeing wild turkeys, something they seemed pleased about. They were almost extinct here once too. I wonder if they begrudged the funding to bring them back.
We spent Tuesday night at River Dunes and on Wednesday we returned to New Bern where we'll leave Arwen for the next few months as we return home to the hills. The sunset photo above was taken from our new slip at New Bern Grand Marina. It was an especially beautiful display of light and cloud.