Yesterday morning we left Oriental at 6:00 a.m. to sail to Ocracoke. NOAA weather predicted winds 10-15 miles/hour out of the north, which for a sailboat means that we had the wind on our nose and there was no way we could hoist the sails. The Neuse River and Pamlico Sound are very shallow bodies of water, averaging 15 to 20 feet in most spots. We had waves of 1 to 2 feet and our boat bounced off of them about every 20 to 30 seconds. Once you get used to the motion of the boat, it can be tolerated, but moving around much is tricky. We have learned over the years that this is the price you pay for the privilege of visiting this island paradise. Ocracoke generally extracts a price either going or leaving.
We arrived by noon and as soon as the boat was securely tied to the Park Service dock, we left for lunch at the Jolly Roger restaurant. This is one of our favorite places to have a brew and munchies. Then we picked up some good fish to barbeque for dinner at the local fish market. We had never tried tile fish before and we would now recommend it for future meals—delicious with fresh salsa and corn on the cob.
This morning bright and early we hiked up to the airport (where seven small planes were parked) and out to the beach for some photographs. At eight in the morning we had the beach to ourselves! Then on to the Fig Tree Bakery for some breakfast. We figured that we had hiked at least five miles—not too bad for us ole folks!
This afternoon we packed a picnic lunch and headed out in the dinghy for Springer’s Point. This is our favorite beach on the island; it’s not on the ocean but rather on the sound side where there are no waves and the warm, calm water goes out for several hundred yards and is still only chest deep. We always take Mitzie, our little Yorkie, and she barks with excitement the entire way. She can’t wait to swim and explore the little creatures in the nooks and cranies around the beach boulders. Bryce and I enjoy sitting in the shade of our beach umbrella, sipping sangria and nibbling on hummus and crackers. Life doesn’t get much better than this!
Helen—06/19/10
