North Carolina - 10/31-16 - Happy Halloween!

Deb's stuffed peppers.

After a wonderful visit with friends in Portsmouth, VA we headed south to North Carolina.

Here we are tied up in Portsmouth, VA

Dinner aboard with our sailing buddy Ryan (top left) and Jerry's high school friend Steve (top right) with his wife Heidi and their 16 month old Addilyn.  Our first meeting with Addi!  She was so content and happy through a couple hours of adults visiting and talking all night.

The journey from Portsmouth to Great Bridge, VA was a short one.   About 10 miles.  We tied to a wall between the lock at Great Bridge and the bridge.  The library is a half mile away as is the grocery store.  Some friends from the trawler Adirondack found us there as they cruised by in their dinghy and we joined them later for a pot luck at the marina they were staying at.
The next leg of our travels was long - from Great Bridge, down the Currituck Sound, across the Albemarle Sound, down to anchor at the bottom of the Alligator River.  The first part of the trip is just a motor through protected rivers though we had the sails up.  The Currituck Sound opens up some.  The Albemarle Sound is a large, shallow body of water.  15 knots of wind and current create a bumpy sail.  Water splashed over the bow dousing the dodger and cabin top as we made our way across the 12 mile stretch to the Alligator River.  Take a look:

 Anchor down just as the last bit of light vanished from the western sky.  The next morning before Jerry is up he hears the anchor windlass hauling the chain up as I make preparations to leave.  How's that for an alarm clock.  Another long day of travel down the Alligator-Pungo Canal to the Pungo River, across the Pamlico, through Goose Creek, down the Neuse River to Broad Creek.  There was almost enough water at Donna and Jerry's dock as we made our way in and tied up.  We enjoyed a visit and then Donna served pulled pork sandwiches for dinner.  My favorite!
We spent the week at the dock in front of Donna and Jerry's visiting and sharing meals.  The 2 Jerrys worked on Bluejacket, the Luh's catamaran, preparing it for a winter in the Bahamas.  Boating friends Ron and Deb from Scheherezade and Karen, Tim and Poppy the lab stopped by for a fun evening too.  Friday, we literally plowed our way off the dock.  Not quite enough water for us.  We made our way to Oriental, NC where we'll be for one night, then on to Beaufort, NC, and then on to the ocean if the weather window holds.  Keep checking our SPOT to see where we are!

Halloween Eve in Oriental, NC aboard Persephone at the town dock.

Deb's Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Peppers.  Excellent!