Back in the land of leaf trees

We arrived in Beaufort, NC in the late morning hours of Monday, 18 May, finally settling at the dock around noon. Current and wind were significant considerations as they always are a Beaufort Docks. But, with a little jockeying we got neatly into our slip ready to refresh from our 2 days offshore.

Overnight the coolness forced us to put on heavier clothing than we were used to wearing. The cool breeze off the water kept things comfortable but not as warm as we've become accustomed to. When we stepped off onto the docks the heat of the day became apparent but we needed to wash the boat before we could open any ports or hatches. Since we just had a long motor we needed fuel as well. At Beaufort Docks they can fuel you right at the slip.

After doing the obligatory chores we showered for the first time in a few days and enjoyed a happy hour at the Dock House before going for a short walk to dinner at Spouter Inn which was busy for a Monday evening. We sat out on the dock in the freshening breeze. With summer coming the town was full of tourists and there was a large party next to us. Once again as we did on Marsh Harbor we got engaged with them and had a nice conversation before we left. Seems it was a family reunion with folks from all over the Country. Interesting that they chose Beaufort. It is a very nice quaint little waterfront town and once again we became part of the scen ery to the crowds walking the docks looking at the boats.

On Tuesday morning we had our leisurely breakfast of blueberry pancakes since our trip that day was short. Storms were forecasted for later in the day so we did want to get in before then.

So about 1030 we got out being able to use the tide to help us get out and up the ICW.

We got into Cherry Point about 1430 which was just about the time the storms were supposed to hit and we went through a few showers on our way to the marina. Cherry Point MCAS is about 10 miles up the Neuse River from the ICW and we had deep water all the way to the entry channel and once inside the water is deep.

The dockmaster and several folks from the marina were there to hep us tie up and shortly after we did the storms hit and it rained heavily for several hours.

We plan to stay at Cherry Point to visit my son Jeremy and his family until this weekend before we head back to Oxford to pull the boat for work and get ready for our cruise to New England this summer.

It's a lot cooler here and the trees have leaves on them. Quite different from where we've been. We already miss the warm clear water and palm trees blowing in the trade wind. It won't be long before we are heading back that way for a long cruise.