Love Odyssey

This was one of those magical weekends that you never want to end. We got to spend three days on the boat with our almost five years old grandson, Andrew. I don’t want to brag, but he really is the sweetest, smartest, and most articulate child I have ever met. On Friday, we took him on the Minnesott ferry across the Neuse River to Cherry Branch. He had never been on a ferry boat and this became his highlight of the weekend. Now I must admit, from his point of view what could be more spectacular than standing outside on the bow of the boat, sun streaming overhead, warm, soft breezes, gulls hovering and squawking overhead, while a raft of vehicles are being magically towed over the water, just inches above the surface. The ride back in the late afternoon was just as exhillerating for him and to think that this much pleasure cost nothing!

Friday morning at 10:30 we arrived at the NC Aquarium at Indian Beach, nestled on a narrow spit of the island between Bogue Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. Andrew happily ran from one exhibit to the next, relishing all the varieties of fishes and other sea life on display in huge tanks. At times I wished I were on roller skates to keep up with him! I’m sure the divers in the shark tank was his favorite exhibit.

After lunch at a local diner, we headed to Beaufort to see the boats and pirate treasures at the Maritime Museum. Then back on the magical ferry again for our ride across the river.

Yesterday the weather was sunny but decididly much cooler with blustery winds that made it feel more like winter than early spring. We had to forego the dinghy ride because of a “small craft advisory”, so instead we took Mitzie-Sue, our little Yorkie, to the Oriental Pet Parade. Now the folks in this town are very serious animal lovers and I have yet to meet anyone who does not own at least one dog. It seemed like everyone in town showed up with their pooches, some dressed up in lavish costumes to match the owners, others more creative, such as the two large labradors in stripped prisoner outfits dragging a ball and chain while the owner was attired in police uniform. Just watching all the novel entries was entertainment enough, but of course this would not be Oriental if they did not have prizes for a variety of categories, like “most unusual”, “cutest”, “looks most like owner”, etc. Andrew had a wonderful time parading our “little princess” in her black and pink princess shirt that stated “Princess is not just a word, but an attitude”. Of course the competition was pretty stiff with over a hundred entries and we did not win a prize. This did not hurt Andrew’s feelings, but he kept reassuring Mitzie that she should not be sad and that he would bring her a toy from the pet store the next time he saw her. We kept telling him that Mitzie didn’t understand and she was alright, but our sweet little boy wanted to make her feel better!

Saturday afternoon we dyed Easter eggs and then grandpa Bryce got to show Andrew his helicopter. We fly the chopper (all 12 inches of it) in a large bath-house at the marina. Since grandpa hadn’t flown it in a year, it took him a few minutes to get the hang of getting it airborne without crashing. Andrew took great delight in watching the show but never once asked to fly it (of course, he has one at home, too–that’s where Bryce got the idea a couple of Christmases ago).

Yes, a good time was had this weekend by all participants! I must admit, it is so much more fun being a grandma than a mother–you can spoil them rotten and then hand them back to their parents. “You don’t want to eat your eggs for breakfast? OK, how about a brownie?” No problem nibbling on your chocolate rabbit five minutes before supper-time. A bag of chips before lunch–why not? Yes, we let our grandchildren break all those sacred rules that our own children had to follow. After all, we want to be remembered for all the fun stuff–yes, being a grandparent is my reward for all those years of parenting!

Helen- 03/28/10

Yes, we finally took the boat out of the slip! Hurray! We decided to sail to New Bern since we only had two days. I should amend that to “motor” rather than “sail”, since we had absolutely no wind–the water was as still as a millpond. But that was alright; I just needed to get a brief respite from the “same old, same old” of fixing things and installing items on the boat.

We left at 7:00 a.m. just as the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon–a beautiful sunrise with the promise of a perfect day. And really we could not have ordered a more perfect day for the end of March and the first day of spring. The day dawned with clear blue skies and the promise of warm, sweet air. We had not a cloud in the sky all day.

We arrived at the New Bern Grande Marina at 10:30 and tied up on the seawall in front of some pretty huge motor yachts worth many millions. By 11:00 we were strolling through the farmers market and sampling the relishes, brownies, and chutneys while eying all the sundry wares for sale. We spied a roof-top restaurant that looked like it was opening and snagged a table that gave us a bird’s eye view of the downtown, harbor and marina. It felt wonderful to have ole mister sun shining on my winter-starved skin again. After a leisurely lunch we strolled around town visiting our favorite shops and just enjoying being outdoors minus hats and coats.

We returned to our vessel about 3:00 and curled up for a snooze in the cockpit. I awoke 45 minutes later to a good stiff breeze and the sounds of lots of water craft buzzing around the river. Where was that wind this morning when we could have aired out our sails? 

Mitzie, our little Yorkie, and I enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the waterfront park. It seemed like everyone in New Bern was there, either walking, playing ball with their kids, fishing off the seawall,or just sitting and enjoying the 75 degree warmth. What a perfect day! We followed our walk with a chilled glass of chardonnay in the cockpit (that is, the humans, of course). I wanted to enjoy every last bit of the sunshine and blue skies.

This morning we left the dock in New Bern again around 7 a.m. as the sun was rising, but there was more chill in the air and more clouds in the sky. However, once again, the wind gods had over-slept and there was not a zepher to sail on. The morning proved to be mainly cloudy, with a tease of sunshine now and then. Returning to our home dock at 10:30 I felt happy to have had this nice mini-vacation–at last!
Helen

Yes, I have a bad case of sailing fever. We have not had the boat out of our dock since New Years Day. I tend to get antsy much more than Bryce. He is content to spend time each weekend on the boat fixing stuff, adding new equipment and generally just hanging around and breathing in her ambience. But unlike Bryce I like to get her out on the water and put her through her paces–get sails up, engine going, watch her track on the GPS and feel the breezes in my face.

So this weekend it actually looks like we are going to take the boat out of the dock. I am really not too picky about where we will go. I do enjoy driving her through the Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke Island, which takes about five and a half hours if we are not bucking a head-wind. The island is so serene in March; no tourists; little ferry traffic on the one main street through town; just the sound of shore birds squawking over-head; the purr of a few boat engines as the local fishermen come back with their fresh catches of the day. The beaches are deserted and there are plenty of nice shells to collect. Few shops are open, just the grocery/hardware store and a couple of restaurants that the locals frequent. You can walk in the road and not worry about being mowed down by bicycles, trucks, cars, etc. with beeping horns to add to the caccaphony. Yes, I do love visiting this island in the off-season.

But then there is New Bern. I have always enjoyed this lovely river town in every season of the year. This is an easy sail up-river from Oriental. It is very protected water so we never see the waves like the Pamlico Sound can get when the wind is really whipping. It is a nice, easy “reach” up river. We turn on the outside speakers and play Jimmy Buffet tunes as we glide along at 5 knots soaking in the warm sunshine. The town comes into view about an hour before we arrive at the high-rise bridge that spans the river. We usually tie up at the Sheraton/Skysail Marina which makes traveling by foot around town very feasible. The marina has floating docks, wifi, lovely bathroom facilities for boaters, and a nice pool when the weather is warm. But we like the marina because it is only a block away from the down-town area. Bryce and I have our routines here. After we dock the boat we like to inquire about what is happening that day/evening in town. One year we arrived while there was a clown convention in town–yes, I said CLOWN. There were clowns everywhere and that evening we were treated to a show under the big top, each clown competing to be recognized for the funniest! Another year we happened upon an antique car show- there were over a hundred antique cars in the Sheraton’s parking lot and the owners were anxious to tell you all about each one. After we find out what is happening (and in the spring there is a wonderful azelea festival- I just don’t know the exact dates) we walk to our favorite coffee shop and get a large brew. Then we walk around town and try to decide which restaurant we should visit for lunch; there are several nice ones that we have tried and sometimes it is hard to make a decision. After lunch we usually go to the best hardware store in the state–I’m not joking–I love this place because it has so much more than just nails, hammers, and saws. They have a wonderful gardening section with quite a selection of goodies for the home gardener (I try, but I have a brown thumb!). They also have lots of pots, spoons, funnels, etc. for the “would-be chef” (yes, that’s me!). I also like to peek into the toy store (after all, I am a pediatric SLP and “big kid” at heart). Then it is on to the out-doors store that has stuff for those of us who like to camp, hike, ride horses, etc. And we hate to miss the neat boating store, the wine and cheese shop, the bakery, etc. So we certainly can make an afternoon of poking around town.

Then of course there is Beaufort. This is another easy motor-sail across the river and then up Adam’s Creek through the ICW (which becomes a narrow “ditch” after about an hour. So the sails come down and we motor along. It’s fun to look at the lovely houses backing onto this waterway. About three hours after leaving our dock we enter a bay and follow the markers under the Morehead City Bridge and around Radio Island and into Taylor’s Creek. The little seaside town of Beaufort is on our left and a couple of barrier islands on our right. Now we have to make a decision. Do we want to anchor in the creek along with about fifty to a hundred other boats or should be take a town dock that cozies up to the main street and all the action. Ah, decisions, decisions! In the summer-time it can get quite noisy on the docks, especially since several of the waterfront restaurants have live music every evening and folks just stand around on the boardwalk and participate. So summertime we often choose to put down a “hook” in the creek and take our chances with our neighbors. This time of year I would probably vote for a dock, just for the convenience of coming and going without having to put the dinghy into service.

So yes, I am very excited about leaving the dock this weekend–any of these choices could make me very happy. I’ll let you know in my next blog about what we chose to do. In the meantime, just keep thinking “sunny skies and moderate breezes” (no ‘small craft advisories’ or ‘gale force winds’). Helen (03/16/2010)

Today is one of the first nice days for being outside at the marina. Lots of folks are down working on their boats or just messing around and making plans for future boat projects. Bryce is wrestling with a new anchor that we bought, trying to make it fit on our bow roller without scraping the gelcoat. Then he needs to mount the new life-ring on the stern rail and figure out where to put the man-overboard pole. Bryce hates these manual-labor projects and I often escape his vicinity so I don’t have to hear him complaining about them.

So I took our little Yorkie, Mitzie-Sue, for a walk down the dock to the other side of the marina. It felt good to be out in the sun even if the wind still had a bit of winter’s bite. I love to see what other people are doing on their boats- call it a bit of rubber-necking. And of course there are always people to talk to. Dog-walking always seems to act as a people magnet for other dog-lovers. Today I stopped and talked to a lady who had to euthanize her golden retriever two years ago and is still anguished by the experience. We shared our mutual grief about loving a dog and then having to watch them get old, frail and sick, and eventually having to part with them. I don’t think it ever becomes easy. We have had to do that four times over the past 25 years. It seems so unfair that we adopt our dogs as little helpless pups and in a brief span of 10 to 15 years they become old and die.

Mitzie-Sue will be fourteen in June and I know she is slowing down. She used to love to go on long walks and pull me down the street with her compact 8-pound body. Now she wants to go out just to potty and pulls to get back to the boat. She has arthritis and takes pills for the pain; she sleeps 23 out of 24 hours, it seems; she doesn’t play much with her toys anymore. I have toyed with the idea of getting another Yorkie puppy but I think it might just be an annoyance for her. So maybe I’ll just let her enjoy her life in her own fashion and cherish days like today when she seems to take some pleasure in going for a short walk and standing out in the warm sunshine. You know, maybe that is what life is really all about anyway–just enjoying what you can each day.

Helen 03/06/10