Our second day in Beaufort began in rain and strong north winds until late morning when the wind continued but the skies cleared. After an excursion to buy groceries with the marina's pickup truck we spent the remainder of the afternoon touring Beaufort's very well done Maritime Museum and then finished the day with drinks and food on the deck of the Front Street Grille. We timed our departure at ten this morning to take advantage of higher tides on the ICW which made it less tortuous transiting the many shallow spots. A large amount of the 55 miles of Waterway we cruised by today was filled with what appeared to be fairly new and fairly big waterfront homes, both on the ICW and on the outer barrier islands. We anchored just before sunset (pictured) in a very secluded anchorage just off the ICW south of Surf City, NC on the edge of Topsail Bay.