"NORTH CAROLINA''

Tuesday October 27th, our day began early with fog, cold, and again mass exodus. Early morning was the 'window' of opportunity to go down the Albermarle Sound. We had thought we could possibly go to Manteo, NC, unfortunately by the time we reached the mouth of the sound , yep, the wind had kicked up 10-15 knots and there were gusts above and the sound wasn't very friendly. We had 2-4 foot seas on our forward starboard quarter, if we took the turn east to get to Manteo they would have been beam seas and that would have definitely been a very rough ride. As it was the captain was always reassuring, saying 'only one more hour'. The sound would be narrowing down and we'd be in the Lee of the land. Later we headed down the Alligator/Pungo canal and slowly made our way to Dowry Creek Marina. It was a very long day travelling, but we wanted to be in a marina for the night because the forecast was thunderstorms and high winds. We spent two days in Dowry Creek with many other cruisers. Dowry Creek is a great marina that has a loaner car which enabled us to do a basic reprovisioning and fill our empty propane tanks. The marina also has a wonderful captain's lounge for cruisers to hang out together, a good way to wait out the weather.

Thursday October 29th as the beautiful sun was rising we untied our lines from the dock and headed out. Our journey today took us across the Pamlico River which was very calm and up the Neuse river. The Neuse was a little choppy, but nothing that gave us great concern. Our destination was Adam's creek which is a great anchorage. That evening we shared the anchorage with many sailboats. Our night there was worrisome. Michelle had told us about Barry's race event and it wasn't until early morning that we were reassured everyone was alright.

Friday October 30th, we weighed anchor and started our trek down Adam's Creek. As the morning wore on we were able to take off our jackets and then change from sweats to shorts and tees!!! Our destination today was Spooner's Creek an anchorage that we enjoy because we're surrounded by beautiful homes and we're only 3 blocks away to the local Super Walmart! Our coffee pot had broken so we were on the hunt for one that fits on the boat, it had to be less then 12 inches tall. No luck, oh well, guess the percolator will still have to do!

Saturday October 31st, Happy Halloween! Our destination that day was Mile Hammock Bay. Its a wonderful anchorage at the Camp Lejeune marine base. The marines allow cruisers to anchor there if they are not doing any training. Well, lo and behold we shared our anchorage with Ginny C among many (20) other boats.

Early the next morning we rose shortly after 6 because of time change, and noticed that we were close to the last to leave. Weren't we supposed to get an extra hour sleep? Our stop today was a jam packed anchorage in Wrightsville Beach. After dropping the dinghy down to go ashore, where we found most of the shops closed for the season, especially our favorite ice cream store. We took a leisurely stroll along the shore and enjoyed watching the surfers trying to catch a wave. They were all dressed in wet suits which told us the water was definitely cold. The temperature was dropping so we swiftly headed back aboard the Summer Wind and watched more sailboats jockeying for a spot to drop an anchor.

Our next trip down the Cape Fear river.

to be cont'd.