I had to work in Boston on Friday, so Sheryl had to drive to the coast on her own and pick me up in New Bern late Friday night. Sheryl took the opportunity, and her collection of birthday gift money, and went shopping at the Smithfield outlet mall. In fact, she departed work early and was able to give the place a thorough overview without the likes of me tagging along.

Sheryl came to pick me up in New Bern and while waiting in the terminal, she was alerted to the arrival of my plane by the roar of the propellers overhead. It was great to see her smiling face at the end of a long day of work and travel. In addition, just a short drive away was a warm and comfy boat.

Saturday turned out to be a fantastic weather day. People around Ensign Harbor included: Bruce and Joan, Richard, and Stefan. Garrett stopped by for the day on Saturday. In addition to some boat chores, painting inside Ashiya and testing out our new-old dingy (with new oars), we also assisted in the rescue of a boat which had drifted under its finger pier and had the water rise to catch the toe rail under the dock. It required Stefan, Bruce and I hanging on the boom to heel the boat enough to allow Nick and Sheryl to free it from under the dock.

Sheryl and I spent some time rowing around in the dingy, exploring Ashiya from a different perspective, visiting the guys at happy hour, and scaring the local wildlife.

Later that evening, after sundowners, we joined Richard and Stefan for dinner and drinks at the 'Twin Towers' (aka. Southern Palace). We stayed until it was karaoke time and while browsing through the song list, we convinced Sheryl that she should sing. It didn't really take much convincing, but I did have to prod for her to sing "Love Shack" by the B52's. Don't ask me why, but all the cheap budwiser beer made me believe that this song would be a real crowd pleaser. Sheryl did great, and several in the audience were moved to dance. Later that evening we learned that the real crowd pleaser at the Southern Palace is "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." Who knew?

Sunday brought warmer temperatures, but very low water and exceptionally high wind gusts. We had hoped to sail, but decided against it in these conditions. Instead, Sheryl finished up some of the interior work while I practiced being lazy. We departed early for home and stopped along the way to pick up some hardware which I could use to strengthen the oar locks on the dingy. Upon arrival home, I spent the evening in the garage cutting, sanding and pre-drilling the pieces. Hopefully, this served as atonement for my prior laziness.