Wilmington, NC; April 5 - 6 + 7, 2011

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Change of Plans 

While we were in Wilmington, taking shelter from the storm, 

we found out that one of our kids was going to be close by this weekend.

We changed our plans to include a road trip -
going to Charlotte.... by car!

First time I've driven a car in almost a year.
It took a little getting used to and I only got one ticket! (so far....) Argh!

Meanwhile, It's been fun doing some shopping, touristy stuff and working on boat maintenance.

It is the Azalea festival and they are in full bloom.

We drove around and looked at the big boats on the waterfront

our new anchor

Front entrance to the marina

Sign outside the office - you can see Lollygag in the background

The sign wasn't kidding - this gator was right behind the boat

Lollygag will be safe in this gated marina while we are on our road trip

Wilmington NC; April 4, 2011

Link to Wilmington Marine Center via Google Maps

We are at a marina in Wilmington, NC.

Coast Guard warning of strong winds with 60kt gusts will last through tomorrow.

The last hour of travel was windy and gusty - we were glad to see the marina channel.

This bumble bee hovered around us and seemed interested

Think they serve fish?

First tug we have seen pulling rather than pushing

The wind is howling, but our spider Georgie is still hanging on!

Hello North Carolina; April 3, 2011

Link to anchorage near Southport, NC via Google Maps

Yeah! We are in North Carolina.

Today we traveled the 31 river miles that run east along the coast.

The AICW was mostly long and straight with houses on both sides

Several parts were really narrow which made this barge of gravel seem huge.

These houses were on the ocean side of the channel.

Water temp was 56 degrees . . . .burrrr

Houses on the AICW

Build 'em high to see the ocean

You see big boats when you get close to the ocean inlet

First time we have seen boat storage like this outside

Inlet to the Atlantic Ocean

Pelican waiting for a fish