Anchorage near Camp Lejeune, and then on to Beaufort and Oriental, North Carolina

On Tuesday, May 5, as we left Southport I snapped some photos. It's always interesting to see those places from the water that we visited.  We went to a popular anchoring spot called Mile Hammock Bay, which oddly enough is in Camp Lejeune, a Marine base.  We had a front row seat to training exercises on amphibious LAV (Light Armored Vehicles) that they were conducting. Tim being a Marine thoroughly enjoyed this and we even got out our Marine Corps flag. 

On Wednesday, May 6 we headed for Beaufort, North Carolina to Homer Smith Marina.  We were treated to dolphins swimming next to our boat a couple different times.  We arrived at Homer Smith in Beaufort by noon and we ended up staying several days here to avoid rain and wind. Beaufort was a great little town to spend some time.( By the way, Beaufort in North Carolina is pronounced with a long "o" sound, whereas Beaufort in South Carolina that we visited recently is pronounced with the long "u" sound. I have been told that they were both named from Lord Beaufort from England but long ago mariners needed them to have different names so South Carolina's pronunciation changed.)  The marina was new and had  a very nice lounge, front porch with rockers, showers, free laundry, and a courtesy car. Historic downtown Beaufort was easy to walk to and we explored bars and restaurants on Wednesday. Thursday it rained and so gave us a chance to do laundry and other administrative tasks. Later, we had "dock tails" on Tina and Kevin's boat (Cross Rhodes). It was great to reconnect as we hadn't seen them since St. Louis in October! Several other boaters were there too, including Tamara and her daughters (boat Savella). Her and her husband, Ford,  are almost done with the loop with their young daughters, choosing to do the Loop before they start school! 

Friday, May 8, we took the courtesy car to run errands in the morning. Then we drove to Atlantic Beach and to Fort Macon before we needed to have the car back. Later we explored more of downtown's historic sites. Then we enjoyed a rooftop restaurant called Moonraker, and another on the water called Rhumbar at Stillwater. Then we learned there was a band at Compass Margarativille right next to our marina so went back and listed to the local band Salty Bones, followed by watching another beautiful sunset from the boat!

On Saturday, May 10, the early morning rain stopped in time for us to do the Beaufort Historic Buildings Tour at 10 am. Our tour guides took us through the John C. Manson house from 1770s era ,  and the Joseph Bell House restored to the 1800s Victorian era.  These houses look nice but they have no running water and the heat was from the fire places, which needed constant stoking. It was hard living. To us it looked more like camping with a hard top tent than 1700's luxury living. We also saw the original courthouse and jail, the schoolmaster Jeffers House from 1778, and the Apothecary. We then went to the local Farmer's Market, ate lunch at Beaufort Grocery Co., and went to the North Carolina Maritime Museum. We had dinner at Clawson's 1905 Restaurant and Pub. 

Our last day in Beaufort, North Carolina was Mother's Day, May 10.  After church and eventually speaking to all the kids, we got together with Herb and Belita (boat First Light) and Mike and Pam (boat Afternoon Cruise) who had just arrived at Homer Smith. We tried the local brewery called Fish Towne and had dinner along the water at Black Sheep. Later we had "dock tails" with mini beer shots and were joined by Peter and Sue (boat Lake Effect), and Jeff and Marsha (boat Junonia).

On Monday we cruised with First Light and Afternoon Cruise to Oriental, North Carolina to the Oriental Inn and Marina. The marina was quite nice with free laundry and showers equipped with soap and towels. They also had a tiki bar and restaurant called The Toucan.  Oriental was incorporated in 1899 and named for a steamship called the Oriental that ran aground in 1862. They are also known as "The Sailing Capital of North Carolina". The town was small but had a great many shops and restaurants and very friendly people. There were many other loopers there and we had dinner together at M&Ms restaurant with Herb and Belita (boat First Light), Mike and Pam (boat Afternoon Cruise), Robin and Bob (boat Livin It), Paula and Anthony (Honahlee), and Zack (boat Sea-n-Red). Next stop will be Belhaven, North Carolina!