https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4fIPWmElJg

5/13 - We left the Outer Banks and headed to Norfolk early on a 49-degree morning! There was steam coming off the water as the sun tried to warm the day. We went under causeways, through draw bridges, waited on train bridges, and went in our first locks of the trip. John added two hours to our time estimate for all the waiting and it turned out to be pretty accurate. We crossed from North Carolina into Virginia today and ended our day anchored off of Tidewater Marina on the Portsmouth side of the river.

5/14 - We dinghied to the marina in the morning and walked around Portsmouth for a bit. We also made a reservation for the marina for the following day. John had a meeting in the afternoon, so we headed back out to the boat. After his meeting - and after we had been at this anchorage for over 24 hours - we noticed that we had moved. The anchor slipped and we had drifted quite a bit. We reset the anchor and when John pulled it up, he noticed some cloth wrapped up in it. We must had caught something as we turned - which caused the anchor to come loose - but it was unsettling. John couldn't rest much - always concerned that we might slip again. Luckily, we were already planning to head to the marina the next day because he did not get much sleep all night.

5/15 - This was a marina workday. We got gas, got a pump out, filled water, did laundry and a bunch of other cleaning that requires water and a dock. We took long, hot showers and went out for a bit. We had cocktails in the marina bar then went out for pizza to a place recommended by the bartender. It had huge Detroit style pizza so we both came back with leftovers!

5/16 - We went on a 1.6 mile trek with our wagon to the grocery store. This is the first time we did a big provision shopping by foot. It was a successful outing! After a bit of a later start than we wanted and not wanting to rush our shopping - we decided to stay another day at the marina. We took our time when we got back finding room for all of the groceries and relaxing for a bit after the long walks. John did some work and I finished up a sewing project.

5/17 - We left the marina around 10:30am after a bit more cleaning and one last refill of water tanks and motored up the river to Chisman Creek. It was only about 20 miles luckily, because it was cold and damp. It felt like moving through thick, wet clouds. Unfortunately for John, I wimped out and sat downstairs for most of it. The weather cleared some in the afternoon and we were able to grill our dinner.

5/18 - Saturday was a wet, grey, rainy day - ALL day!! John worked and I did a craft so I would say we made the most of what we had to work with.

5/19 - We moved a bit further north into the Chesapeake to a small town called Deltaville and anchored off of Jackson Creek Marina. It was a chilly start, but warmed up a bit and didn't feel as wet as it did on Friday. We made our goal of 4:00pm to meet up with my niece and her boyfriend. Julia and Jhavi drove from Richmond to visit with us for the afternoon. The sun came out a bit, we had a great dinner on the boat and got to face time with Sam and Mary and my mom and aunt & uncle. It was a wonderful visit!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4fIPWmElJg

5/6 We went into town and walked around Beaufort in the morning before heading north. ('Bo-fort' according to the locals to distinguish the difference with Beaufort 'Beau (like beautiful)-fort', SC). In the afternoon, we motored up Adams Creek toward Oriental/Cedar Island for a calm anchorage before heading into the Outer Banks. It was shallow but peaceful. We got in around 4:00 and had an enjoyable cocktail hour with cheese, fruit, nuts and crackers.

5/7 Sailed to Ocracoke - shallow channel - rain on the way in. Calm, beautiful anchorage - adorable harbor. Rain stopped, dinghied to shore. Wonderful dinner at Dajio. Several delicious vegetarian options.

5/8 Expected to be a workday for John - but there was a mix up with the leave of absence/part time status, so we went on a hike instead. Ocracoke Lighthouse/Springer's Point Nature Preserve/Howard's Pub. The nature preserve marks the spot where Blackbeard (Edward Teach) was killed. We got a few provisions at the Ocracoke Variety Store + Hardware and ABC and made our way back to the dinghy dock. Step count went over 12,000 for the day.

5/9 Workday and project day.

5/10 We were surprised by the pretty weather in the morning, so we decided to pull up anchor and get going. Unfortunately, the ignition switch had other ideas. John got it fixed fairly quickly and we were on the way. Beautiful sailing - topping out at 10 knots! Unfortunately, the wind and waves kept up when the rain started, and it made for a LONG afternoon. It was cold, hard to navigate in the shallow channel and seemed to never end. We tried to book two different slips on Dockwa - with no luck. The first had no available spots (in Roanoke) and the second never responded (Manteo). We requested it before they closed at 4:00 - but I guess they never checked it before leaving for the day. We finally arrived at a safe anchorage at Bens Point, south of Kitty Hawk around 8:15. The HOT shower after running the motor all afternoon felt amazing! I think my fingers and toes stopped tingling a few hours later.

5/11 Workday for John. I watched FSU softball unfortunately lose the final game of the ACC tournament to Duke. Looking forward to the Regionals!

5/12 The wonderful thing about our safe anchorage was how close it was to The Wright Brothers Monument. Thanks to Google Earth - John found a place to go ashore in the dinghy, so we motored around the island a bit to get closer to our destination. It was a journey - but we made it. We rode the waves in on the dinghy, in some wind, to the shore of Nags Head Preserve. We tied up the dinghy, hiked the trail to the parking lot, called an Uber AND made it to the monument. It was a wonderful way to spend Mother's Day (if I couldn't be with my mama or my girls).
We got back to the boat (in a calmer dinghy ride - to our surprise!) and pulled up anchor to motor north for about 20 miles to Buck Island so we would be ready for our long day to Norfolk tomorrow.

We sailed into North Carolina when we left N. Mrytle Beach on Monday morning.

We sailed/motored to Cape Fear. On the way, we saw something shiny in the water and since we were motoring at the time, we could steer toward it. We realized it was a mylar balloon and I had a need to pull it from the ocean. Our man overboard drills came in handy again and we hooked it with very little effort.

Tuesday and Wednesday - we explored Bald Head Island. We stood down at the point on the ocean, saw the lighthouse, and walked through the marina and harbor town and fit in a bit of work for John as well.

Wednesday afternoon we motored up the river to Carolina Beach and hooked our first mooring ball - with great success!

Thursday, we took dingy into the city marina and took a trek to Publix. I was pleasantly surprised there was still Publix this far north. We got a bit carried away with purchases and it was a bit of a walk back to the dingy - but we made it. I was glad for the frozen pizza directly on my back. It was very refreshing. We were off the mooring ball by 11:30 and headed north to Wrightsville. The harbor was happening. We saw paddleboard lessons, sailors out practicing maneuvers and a small regatta. The weather seems to be officially turning and people are enjoying it.

We headed out at 6:00am on Friday morning - for a long sail to the Morehead City/Beaufort area. It was a beautiful sunrise leaving Masonboro Inlet on our way up the coast. The wind was lighter than expected and we motored most of the day.

We went into Morehead City for some lunch and to stretch our legs to break up John's workday. While we had lunch, we watched a weigh in for a fishing tournament. Back out to the boat for work and to watch the Kentucky Derby.

Sunday - Cinco de Mayo - John worked, I watched the Magic lose :(, we created a taco feast and then moved the boat over to Beaufort in the evening so that we could explore in the morning before continuing north.

https://youtu.be/Ls2o0EwXyms?si=VS3OjqejgyyROek4