Summer 2014

Beautiful view from our bow.

We have had a great summer and fun with several guests this summer.

We had a great visit from Jason. He came down for a short visit the first of June. We had been talking to Emma and David from Five Flip Flops, the couple we traveled to the Bahamas with last year. We finally got things worked out for them to come and visit. They got here the night before Jason left so they spent the first night onboard Sea Salt with our mutual friends, Richard and Connie. We had a great time with everyone. Of course we all went out to our favorite eating place. Yes, Cox Family Restaurant.

Sea Salt

Jason left Sunday morning. We wish he could have stayed longer, but had to go back to something called work. Don't know what that is, do you?

Escape and Sea Salt decided to go to Cape Lookout and spend the night. Neither couple had ever been to the Cape. We had a great trip over. David and Emma wanted to fish, so we put the rods out, but no luck. David said it might be him, he'd never been on a boat that had any luck fishing. We thought about throwing him overboard, but decided we'd let him stay, since we had enough supplies onboard.

We had a cookout onboard out boat--burgers and a huge salad. It was delicious! There were only a few boats anchored there so we had a very peaceful night at the Cape.

Beautiful anchorage

Sea Salt at anchor



Beautiful sunset

Richard and Connie heading back to Sea Salt

 

The next morning we went for a walk on the beach and the girls had a great time shelling. Of course I brought shells back to the boat. I can't resist. Emma and Connie were amazed at all the shells and rocks we found. They agreed that Cape Lookout is a very special place to spend the night.

Back to the marina so Sea Salt could get ready to head north the next day. They are on a mission and we are glad that they were able to visit us for a while.

Lauren and her friend, Maggie decided to come up for the weekend so we had a full house with us, David and Emma, and them. But we had a good visit and we were glad to all be together.

David and Emma had to get back to Vero Beach to pick up friends at the airport, so they left to head back. We were so glad they came to visit us and hope they will come back soon! The pictures below are of Emma exploring Fort Macon.

I think Emma thinks this is an amusement park not a state park!

We got all the laundry done so we're ready for more guests. Wonder who will be next?

It's Big Rock Tournament and we went down to the dock to see the big fish get weighted. I don't think this was the biggest one but it looks pretty big to me.

Next we got a call from Shay's cousin, Gary saying his dad was coming to Morehead City to see the boat. Shay's Uncle Charlie or Jr. as we all call him came down with a friend, Bob, to visit. We had a good time showing them the boat and listening to Jr. tell stories about family and friends. He's a talker! The next morning we took them and a couple from our marina, John and Kaye, for a short ride out the inlet. The water was calm and we had a good ride.

Bob and Jr.

Kaye and John Wayne

Who's that?

Shay and Jr.

Jr. telling tales!

Jr. brought us several great hand-made gifts. I got a beautiful wooden cutting board. It looks great on the bar! Shay got a walking stick for when he gets old and needs help. We both got a corn-hole game.

Do you know what that is?  Well, its a game where you throw a small bag of corn through a hole in a piece of wood. It's lots of fun and we've already had a game on the dock. Shay declared he and Kirstin from Cameron Bennett were the dock champions since they beat John and Kaye from Bad Bunny 3 to 2 in the championship match!

Let the games begin!

 

We know Travis and Sarah plan to come down around July 4th. George and Pam plan to come down after the 4th so we have more guests heading this way.

But before we can get ready for guests, we have to get ready for Hurricane Arthur. Travis and Sarah had planned to come down to spend July 4th with us again this year. Shay called them and told them he thought it would be wise to stay home since there was a hurricane heading up the coast. At that time, it was not predicted that it would be off our coast and not a problem for us.

Travis was determined to be at the coast when a hurricane was predicted, ever if it wasn't near us. So they came down and the weatherman changed his prediction. The hurricane would be off the coast of NC, but not close enough to be a problem. We watched the weather and it looked like it was going to stay far away from us that it would not be a problem. Then at the last minute it was predicted that it would come closer to Morehead. Then it was predicted that the eye of the hurricane would be over Morehead City!

So we went into hurricane preparedness mode! We took things inside if we could, we tied down things, we taped up things, we put on more lines, took down part of our flybridge enclosure and added more fenders. We hope we have things ready.The hurricane came up the coastline so we were concerned about Lauren in Wilmington also. She sent me a picture around 1 pm showing all the staff at her office in the stairwell. They sent everyone home after that but the worst was over.

Tie it down!

Tape it up!

Add extra lines!

 

By the time Arthur was at Morehead City it was dark so it was hard to tell what was going on. We could see a dinghy that was tied to the front of a boat across the fairway that was being tossed around. We did not think the dinghy would survive, but it was still there the next morning. Our power flickered a few times and then finally went off for a few hours.

The eye of the hurricane went over about 11 pm. All the guys from the boats went out to check for damages. A transient boat near us had scrapped against the dock and did some damage. After the eye passed us we heard a different noise and Shay and Travis had to go out in the hurricane to the flybridge and remove part of the enclosure on the flybridge. The wind had changed directions and pulled part of the bimini top loose.

Things finally started to settle down and we went to bed around 2 am. The next morning was a beautiful day. Blue sky, sunshine. Shay made his rounds to see what other damage the others had. We were all lucky--nothing major at all. We were all glad that we could check off hurricane and eye of a hurricane off out bucketlist!

A boat at the end of our dock clocked winds at 72 mph. That's pretty fast. We could tell the wind was fast last night but our wind meter didn't read good since it was low and blocked by other boats. The official wind for Morehead City was a little over 100 mph.

The fireworks had been postponed because of the hurricane so we were ready to see them. We had a cookout on the boat before. Then off to the waterfront to celebrate!

Travis looks like he's ready for a party!

Beautiful sunset before the fireworks

 

Lauren in the kitchen, fixing pizzookie for mom and dad!

Yum. Cookie crust, cream cheese topping and fruit!

Would you want her for your teacher?

It's time for her to find a job, so Lauren and I went to several middle and high schools in Beaufort, Morehead City, and New Bern area to leave resumes. She got a job offer that day! They wanted her to come back the next day to meet more teachers. We had planned to meet Don and Barbara on Carava, for lunch while we were in New Bern  and we had a great visit. Lauren and I delivered more resumes after lunch and she got an appointment for another interview the next day!

We were so excited! Couldn't believe her good luck! When she headed back to Wilmington the next day she had 2 job offers and was so excited and confused. Which one would she choose? Good luck dear! To make a long story short-- in just a few weeks, Lauren ended up with 5 job offers in 4 different cities along the coast. She wanted to be close to the water. It didn't have to be salt water, but she wanted water close by. Finally, at the last minute she got her dream job. The school she did her student teaching in last spring offered her 9th grade English. She was so happy and quickly signed the papers. It was a rollercoaster ride with all those offers and wanting to make the correct decision.

Wilmington seems like a good fit for her. She has lived there for five years while going to school. She has lots of friends here. She likes the school and knows several teachers since she was there last spring. Shay and I made several trips to Wilmington to help her. We helped her get her room ready for students and worked all day long-- cleaning up and decorating. The next trip we helped her move her stuff and buy new furniture for her apartment. Her and a friend wanted to live downtown in an old apartment. They found a new apartment that looks old and they love it. We bought a new bed, chest of drawers, couch, and table and chairs. The next time we went down it was clean up day. We washed clothes, hung up clothes and folded and put away clothes. She has too many clothes! She was glad to get all her stuff cleaned and put away. I got to thinking and realized she has been living out of suitcases and bags since she went to Belize 5 months ago! She packed up some stuff before she left, then moved and packed away more stuff after graduation, and had been living out of bags and stuff since then. I know she is glad to get settled in!

George and Pam Frye came down for a visit and we had a great time. They plan on spending more time with us this year as we travel down the coast. Can't wait!

Shay's sister and her family came down for a visit the end of August. Jenny and her husband David, and their kids Haley, Julie and Luke visited Atlantic Beach and spent time with us. Lauren came up to get her new computer. Her old one was stolen when she was staying with a blind nun. Yes, someone broken into a blind nun's house and stole several electronic pieces. I said it took a real lowlife to steal from a blind nun! Anyway while she was here we visited the Childresses and had a good time.

The next day they came to the boat and we anchored off Shackleford Banks. The kids had a great time jumping off the boat!

You go first, no you go first!

Fun in the sun!

Go Haley!

There's Luke!

Haley and Julie!

Bob Travis and his wife Keith came for a visit the end of August. We had a great time visiting with them.

We spent the rest of the season getting the boat ready for heading south. Shay had already worked on the teak so it is ok. He had someone work on the fiberglass repairing cracks and repainting yellowed places. Then they washed, compounded, and waxed the boat. She is shinny now!

Shay said he can't believe we have so much to do! We have known all summer long that we were planning to leave around the first of October and we have so much to do.

We had made several trips back to visit family and friends and made the last one the first week in October. Our niece, Emily is getting married this weekend so we are here for the wedding and final good-byes until Christmas. We will miss spending holidays with family this year. Last year we stayed in Morehead City and went home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc. This year it will just be Christmas. But, Shay did tell me we can come back whenever we want. I just may take him up on that offer! You know how much I miss seeing everyone.

Well we thing we are ready to leave. We've said our farewells to folks back home and friends in Morehead. I have provisioned like we are heading back to the Bahamas. our next post will be underway! We hope!