Cady Girl

Where to I begin??? When we left Norfolk, we had barely gone 1 mile and the US Coast Guard hailed us and came aboard to do an inspection.  YIKES!  Anyway, an hour later, they left us with just two warnings: 1.  We needed a sign to notify our guests that they could not dump their garbage overboard 2.  We needed a USCG book, that they said we would probably never use.  Go figure! NO FINES. After that, I navigated through one of the busiest seaports in the US over to Hampton VA.  We moored at the Safe Harbor, Bluewater. The marina was ok but the restaurant onsite had the best crab dip with homemade pita chips!  YUM. On May 3rd, Lisa and Don Hollwedel joined us - what fun to have them!  We took the tender over to Hampton and walked around, but there wasn't really much going on.  Hampton is the home of Catherine Johnson, the mathematician who worked with NASA and calculated data for the astronauts. On the 4th, we motored over to Cape Charles Virginia.  It was a rough trip across the Che

When you leave Chesapeake VA heading North on the ICW, you get to wait for a swing bridge and then go through the NORTH LOCK!  Thank goodness for Joe, the Lock Master - who helped me secure the lines and told me I did great for my 1st time.  I think that was because I didn't swear - he said lots of other boaters do!   From there it was easy sailing to Norfolk, where you pass hundreds of Naval vessels.  Norfolk is the largest Naval yard in the world.  Glad to see our tax dollars at work! We docked at the Waterside Marina which is right in downtown Norfolk.  There were having a wings cookoff that day, so it was a noisy night!   On Monday, April 29th, we rented a car, through TURO (a new app for us).  It was a red Lincoln from our new friend Richard!  We traveled South back into North Carolina so I could actually say I'd been to the Outer Banks.  First stop, the Wright Brothers National Memorial - a bucket list item for me!  You get the full story of the Wright Brothers, a full-sc

On April 24th we arrived at the Grand Manor Marina in Belhaven. Belhaven is a small community of less than 2000, but it's prime location on the north shore of the Pongo River, just eight miles from the Pamlico Sound which separates North Carolina's Inner Banks from its Outer Banks, makes it a small town that celebrates life on the water!  The Grand Manor Marina was terrific, with golf carts to use, free laundry, pickleball and other games on site. Located on the property is the beautiful River Forest Manor, a home built in 1904 and is the icon of Belhaven.  The manor now has a restaurant, Bistro 1904!  Our bartender, Harley, fixed fantastic beverages. And they even had Prosecco on tap!  The town has a great Ace Hardware store with a store called "Handpicked Sister" inside - they had all kinds of gifts and home goods. On the 25th, we had a pretty choppy ride up the Alligator River to the Alligator River Marina (well, actually it's a gas station).  They are known, f

On April 19, we departed Jarrett Bay, the weather was cloudy and by the time we got to the Neuse River the waves were 3 ' so it was choppy ride into Oriental.  We docked at the Oriental Marina and Inn.  What a delightful place and the staff was very helpful!  Marina has a Tiki Bar - one of our favorites and pool - though it wasn';t quite warm enough to go for a swim.  Met up with Darrin and Susan from Kennewick Washington, who are doing the loop for the 2nd time!  They're a great couple and gave us lots of tips! Also enjoyed the cute coffee shop across the street!  They had the best French toast muffin.  The weekend we were there, the NCAA sailing championships were being held. On the 20th we had a smooth ride up the Neuse River to New Bern.  Docked at the Galley Stores Marina.  Walked all over town and found Crema Brew, a coffee shop owned by 2 former Oregonians.  Visited the Tryon Palace and gardens - lovely.  The Palace was the 1st permanent colonial and state capitol in

On April 10th, we left beautiful Wacca Wache Marina and cruised into North Carolina.  To do that we had to slog our way behind Myrtle Beach and the miles of houses....It was a beautiful day.  The Waccamaw River was so glassy, Don wished he could go waterskiing.  We anchored that night in the Shallot River in NC. On April 11th, we cruised to Southport through rain and 40 mph winds; seems like it took forever to get there and it was only 15 miles.  We spent 2 nights in Southport, loved the town, it had a summer beach place feel.  Thank God for our driver "Billy" - whom Don had met in December; he showed us around and entertained us - he talked a lot! We left Southport on the 13th for Wilmington; weather still blustery and blowing hard! We moored at the Port City Marina. Found a great restaurant called the Copper Penny and chatted with some locals!  Wilmington has a wonderful river walk and some cute stores near the marina!  On Sunday we toured the Battleship North Carolina.  Th

We left Charleston on the morning of April 6th.  Weather was sunny and windy - got stuck on a sand bar in less than 3 feet of water just west of Isle of Palms.  Boat US is a great service to have - they towed us out of the sand!!  We saw lots of dolphins and arrived in McLellanville about 5 pm. Don's Aunt Frances was raised in McLellanville and we found her childhood home. We walked the town of McClellanville, ate at a classic restaurant, JW Grahams, and some local fisherman gave us some fresh Wahoo which they had caught about 50 miles offshore. Tasty! April 8th, we motored to Georgetown and stayed at the Harborwalk Marina.  It was glassy water and a sunny day; saw more dolphins - they seem to like to surf our bow wake!   Georgetown is a cute town with lots of old homes, cute stores and coffee shops!  We met some other Loopers, Matt and Roxanne. April 9th, we motored to Wacca Wache Marina in Murrells Inlet. This trip was amazing as the Waccamaw River is lined with Cypress trees.  T