Conditions: 63, sunny
Location: Wrightsville Beach, NC
Dad and I woke up in the dark this morning around five o'clock. We slowly got organized and dressed for the day, not pulling the anchor up until almost sunrise so we could leave in some light. Wrightsville Beach is around fifty miles away, so we needed almost the whole day to make it. We hope to stay there a few days to restock, explore, and wait out the harsher winds expected in the next few days. When we left the early morning was quiet and clear, but within two hours we were surrounded by pea soup fog. After suffering through the gloom for a bit we decided to pull over to a piling and wait for the sun to burn it off in time. A few boats crawled passed us but at such a slow pace that we didn't join them. Instead we made egg sandwiches with avocado, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. It was worth it. Thirty minutes later we were back on track.
Eventually we came across a stretch of beach that Dad got very excited about. Taking up a prime piece of beach house real estate was Camp Lejune, a marine base where Dad had lived as a child. He immediately texted his siblings a picture with the caption "get in the Buick kids were going to the beach."
While not much of the base could be seen from the channel there were some unmistakable signs that we had arrived.
At this part of the channel the marines sometimes hold artillery practice firing shells over the ICW and into the ocean. There's a red and white sign next to the channel imploring travelers to "stop when the red light are flashing" and there are no houses. It was pretty cool. There was also a sand road near the base that disappeared into the east side of the channel reappearing on the west side for amphibious vehicles, though we didn't see any. Dad got a little annoyed at the base's bridge operator when we passed the marine camp. The bridge refused to open early, even though two boats (including us) had been waiting since eight forty five and there were no cars crossing. He wouldn't open for us until nine o'clock on the dot. Dad said "I wonder if they make him wear a uniform too."
It wasn't long after Camp Lejune that Dad and I noticed the smell of the salt marsh lifting, being overpowered by the ocean. The salt marsh smells strongly of mud and low tide, the strong salty ocean air was a welcome change, along with the breeze. The water was now an aqua blue, very different from the stealy blue of the ocean in New England and the muddy salt marshes from before.
Unfortunately the day was not all positive. About an hour before sunset, an hour until we reached our destination the engine died. It died the same way as it did last time, like some invisible hand throttled her back and starved the engine of gas. This time it wasn't a fish. To say that Dad was unhappy is an understatement. We called Tow Boat US and arrived at Wrightsville Beach very disheartened. Dad obsessively took the engine apart when we arrived on the dock. Knowing nothing about engines I went up to shower. This would be my second on shore shower since, wait for it, ANNAPOLIS. The last shore shower being three days ago in Belhaven. Maybe for guys showering on a boat is no big deal, less room, less privacy, less warmth who cares? I don't pretend to be much of a girl but us warm blooded, land loving, spa treating women know how to shower so I milked it for all it was worth. By the time I got back Dad was in good spirits, he had figured out what was wrong with the engine and it would only take a day to fix. We went out for pizza at the Mellow Mushroom to celebrate. On tap at the restaurant were all microbrew beers, types we had never heard of. I got the Rogue Hazelnut and we won't be leaving Wrightsville without a six pack. It was amazing. Today felt like it began last week, the longest day yet. Needless to say sleep came upon us quickly.
What we ate: pizza! Egg avocado tomato sandwiches.
Oh yes I also have a herd of giraffe guarding my yard. Ahhh that southern crazy is just so charming :)
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