Chug-A-Lug
16 April 2009 | Beaufort, NC
The days are slipping by, and with them, the miles. With the end of each day, the progress up the ICW seems slow, but we keep reaching these places we saw on the way down, and we realize we really are making good time.
It's amazing how the hours just slip by too, just watching the houses and trees and birds go by. We've seen a couple eagles and lots of ospreys, pairs building nests together on the channel marker and screaming when we get too close. The nature highlight came one morning when we were trudging along through some marshes of South Carolina and I spotted a strange shape in the water. I grabbed the binoculars and, sure enough, it was an ALLIGATOR! We decided that no matter what fell overboard, we were not going to get it. Luckily nothing did and we passed on by, gawking.
Willy's mom, Nancy, met us in Wrightsville Beach, NC and has been with us for a couple of days.
Yesterday evening we stopped in the little town of Swansboro and rowed ashore to wander. It is a really beautiful little spot, gorgeous old houses and meandering streets with lots of cheery flowers in bloom.
We've made it to Beaufort and spent the afternoon seeing the town. Beaufort has a great Maritime Museum that tells the whole nautical history of this area. Very cool to see. Right across the street is a wooden boatbuildig shop, connected with the museum, which is also lots of fun to see.
Tomorrow will take a rental car to the Outer Banks. The weather is supposed to be not great - strong winds out of the North - so there's no reason to battle that up the Neuse River when we could have fun elsewhere!!