Leaving signs of the south behind May 20-23

As we near the top of the Carolinas, although from home we would consider this south, more and more there is evidence that we're in a more northern climate. The mangrove trees that were a constant sight for months have been absent from view for quite some time. Palm trees have become fewer and fewer and should we see one now it will be considered exotic and imported. Long gone are the signs telling boaters to slow down for manatees. More and more we are seeing signs of home. Yesterday we watched two Canada geese herding their goslings along. A couple of days ago we dinghied up a creek lined with Cedar and Maple trees. When we stepped out the roadside was lined with Queen Anne's Lace.

The temperature fluctuations feel more like our summers at home. The storm that greeted our arrival to Surf City had us pulling warm clothes out of storage, but now a few days later we are back to humid summer heat.

We stayed in Surf City a little longer than we intended. The gale force winds made leaving the dock look somewhat daunting and the VHF radio was warning of bridges that would not open with the winds. Finally Wednesday morning things calmed down enough to leave. We waited until low tide in the late morning to get going so we could pass by a couple of the shallow inlets ahead with a rising tide. We were lucky as well as we travelled through Camp Lejeune. Practice firing and other military training sometimes prohibit boats from travelling through, but all was quiet that afternoon. Along the way we saw remnants of army vehicles, presumably used for target practice and had constant companionship of multiple helicopters doing their training maneuvers. We made it to Swansboro, and like in the fall, anchoring in the current there with the opposing wind had us hiding down below when the evening rain came.

Thursday, we headed towards Morehead City/Beaufort area with the plan of heading out to Cape Lookout to anchor there for a last ocean fling. We did head out the Beaufort Inlet but once out there it was clear that the ocean had not had time to settlle down from the previous days winds and the swells were too uncomfortable so we turned around and waved goodbye to the ocean. For now. See you in New Jersey.

After our good bye to the ocean as we motored north of Morehead we were treated to a pair of dolphins joining us to play in our wake. They were right beside the boat almost within touching distance. As they surfed our wave they would turn a bit sideways and show thier tummies and their pemanent smiles! What a treat!!

We headed north up Adam's Creek and anchored not far off in Cedar Creek just south of Oriental. It was there we got off the boat to dinghy up the creek. We found a convenience store to stock up on a few items. We must have had that somewhat homeless and hungry look as the friendly store owner insisted we take bags of nacho chips for free as they were near their expiry date. That night at the anchorage we were once again serenaded by the bagpipes from Rich on the small sailboat Nessie.

On Friday we left shortly after sunrise as the winds were still relatively gentle and the Neuse River was next and it has a reputation for being nasty in certain winds. We had a pleasant sail up the river and by the time the winds were stirring things up we were anchoring in Belhaven. We did dinghy to shore which turned into a wet wavy adventure, but was also a welcome chance to stretch our legs. Now that we are north of Oriental, we are out of what our insurance company considers the hurricane zone. We had to be by there by June 1st. We're ahead of their schedule.

After the Neuse River the next challenging body of water to come is the Albemarle Sound. In the fall we had been delayed for the better part of a week on the other side as we, along with about twenty other boats, had waited for calm enough weatehr to cross. Our destination on this Saturday was to make it to the mouth of the Alligator River and anchor, ready to take advantage of the calm weather forecast for early Sunday morning. Once again a sunrise departure, and a pretty trip through the Pungo and Alligator river canal, up the Alligator River, through the swing bridge then we inched our way into the Little Alligator River to put the anchor down. Nowhere to dinghy to tonight, so early to bed to be ready for tomorrow's crossing.