Thursday, October 8, 2020
Docked - Anchorage Inn Marina Ocracoke
0 miles

I’m in my Lazy boy and a flounder just swam under it. That is what one shop owner told me her father said when Hurricane Dorian’s storm surge came ashore at Ocracoke last September. She lost her shop but has rebuilt and I bought a new coffee cup from her. Ocracoke went under water 7’ in places. The people of Ocracoke are resilient.

I was too tired to write last night. But Thursday was very nice. Beautiful day with low 70s temperature. Susan and I took a nice walk about the Silver Lake area and down to the old Coast Guard Station that was converted to the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) . This facility seems closed for Covid but has a nice walkway and overlook of the sound. We walk around the building to the boardwalk only to find the boardwalk was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian and has not been rebuilt. It’s such a shame. 40 homes were damaged so badly that they were just torn down. The golf cart guy told me the islanders all pitched in and helped each other clear up the messes. Ocracoke is just one of our favorite places on earth and the people are very resilient. They said even with Covid they have been surprised at all the visitors they have had.

We invited some friends that are on vacation for a month here on Ocracoke to come over for conversation and something to drink to watch the sunset from our fly bridge. It was spectacular again tonight as the two ferries arrived at sunset tonight. It looked like a movie scene. Also joining us were a British couple that were walking by for the sunset. We had them aboard and up to the fly Bridge to view the sunset too.

We rented a golf cart and drove to the grocery for a few things. But the most spectacular purchase were the fresh shrimp just caught out in the Pamlico Sound. Kind of like a farmers market, Ocracoke has a seafood waterman’s market where you get “just off the boat” seafood. It is owned and run by the watermen. It cut’s out the middle man. The prices are fair and the waterman get a much larger cut than the conventional selling wholesale. And, we get fresh “whatever just came in” off the boat seafood. We will be back for some fresh fish too a different day. Many of the restaurants have mentioned not knowing what the fresh catch is for today because the boats haven’t come in with it yet. How is that for fresh?

Today’s picture is the Ferry Carteret coming into the channel. I love this place.