The weather had broken by the time we left Belhaven and we had a very pleasant day making our way down to the sleepy little town of Oriental. We docked in the very same place. This being our second time we did a much better job with those aft spring lines. After settling in I headed back over to the Provision Company where I had found the used shower hoses earlier in the year. They had really scrubbed and organized their used parts inventory. I found a $5 used pulley to help with the dinghy handling and a nice swiveling attachment for the galley faucet that allowed us to to squirt the entire base of both sinks. What luxury!
They also had a t-shirt which Heather seemed to think was for me. A few days later she admitted she might need one, too. If they have t-shirts for it , then it can't just be us.
On our walk to the M&M Cafe for dinner we saw that some of the precautions for Dorian had not yet been been unwound. Oriental around the waterfront is at most inches higher than Elizabeth City.
In the morning I went across the street to the cute little coffee shop for some hi-test caffeine and fresh pastries. That and a bag of ice and we were ready to depart for Beaufort. When approaching Beaufort the waterways got very crowded. One boat was anchored directly under one of the bridges. Since Heather couldn't believe that anyone would be stupid enough to block the main channel so they could fish, she assumed that the adjacent span was correct. Fortunately there was enough water over there to avoid drama, but the buzzing of many boats continued all the way to the dock. On the other hand, I am always willing to believe that people could be that stupid.
After we had settled in at the Beaufort city marina I availed myself of the land based high flow toilets. After a few moments I felt I was being watched. Some movement caught my eye. Along the base of the shower was this little guy, maybe a couple inches across. Not the sort of thing you see in Arizona, although I guess the scorpions come close. Later we had a late lunch, early dinner (properly referred to as linner) at what is apparently the oldest continuous business in Beaufort. The Royal James Cafe is some sort of bar, pool hall, music venue with a tiny little grill and deep frier tucked away in the corner. It was a cheap, good meal, and it was fun watching the locals hang out. To all my friends!
Our first choice for dinner was very crowded with a long wait, so we took a flier a walked into the place next door, which had good food and drinks, and really great views. Below are some of the bigger boats docked down the way from us. Boats this big are typically coming in for the night for fuel then making their way outside on the ocean. We'll try and do more of that next time, especially on our way up when we're headed the same direction as the gulfstream.
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