Cruising

Although Belhaven does not have a lot to offer (three eating places, one Food Lion and two marinas), I really enjoyed spending a day and a half there. On Friday, Karen and I had a great country lunch at the one place that only opens for breakfast and lunch. We strolled a little bit around the few blocks of the downtown Belhaven and retired to the boat for dinner (juicy steak and green beans) and a quiet night. Saturday morning, Tom and Barbara arrived loaded with stuff (snacks, cookies, french litterature about Granville) , driving all the way from Wilmington to spend the day with us. We had lunch aboard Papy Jovial, then Tom drove us to Bath and Washington as I was curious to see those two places that I had never visited but that I intend to be part of my itinerary when sailing back up north. I liked both places very much, for different reasons. In Bath, there is not much in terms of shops or restaurant, but wonderful houses, some dating back three hundred years. Washington is a bigger places, with restaurants and shops and a city dock where you can stay one week for free.
We then drove back to Belhaven and had dinner at the other eating place, this time a full size restaurant with good seafood, after a short visit at Food Lion for wine and other stuff.
Tom and Barbara left us on Sunday morning and we cast off at 7:00 a.m., headed for Morehead City. Again, clear skies and nice weather although again with the wind in our face. We arrived in Morehead City to find the anchorage full and made the wrong decision to tie up at Port Side marina. Never do that with a SouthWesterly wind. We tossed around all night and very happy to leave early. However, we had on Sunday night an excellent dinner at the Ruddy Duck, next to the infamous Sanitary.
Monday was very much of the same, clear skies, stiff winds at times from the SW, and two bridges to deal with before coming into Harbour Village marina, my preferred stop when I can't sail from Morehead City to Wrightsville Beach on the outside.
The forecast for the weather ahead of us does not feel very good. We may have to spend a couple of days in Southport, and then go out and head directly for Saint Augustine.