Columbia NC to Mile Hammock Bay NC

Tuesday 10/15, we woke to 48 degrees!  It's time to get going south!  We left Coinjock making our way to Alligator River Marina in North Carolina.  The ride was great....nice and warm in the pilot house!

Alligator River Marina is an isolated marina/truck stop/restaurant.  We were the 2nd of 3 boats by the end of the day.  Bill took the opportunity rinse off some of the salt spray on the deck and windshield.  

Bill stumbled upon a stowaway!   

Wednesday morning we were the last boat to leave the marina.  Bill had to move our little buddy to the dock because he was still on the boat.  We had a 5 hour ride to Belhaven NC, where we stayed on the town dock.  The town is small, but really cute with several restaurants and pubs.  Roxie loved the mowed field just off of the dock!

The next morning was pretty chilly and wind was in the forecast.  We had a 7 hour ride to Oriental, NC where we have a reservation at the marina.  

Cursing the intercostal in NC!

Coming into Oriental.  We stayed at the Oriental Marina and Inn.  They only have a couple of slips and we managed to score one of them.  Just off the dock is the pool and bar tiki bar.  Another cute place with provisions close by. 

Friday morning we left Oriental for a 65 mile ride to Mile Hammock Bay NC, where we anchored in the bay just off of Camp Lejeune.  There were 8 boats already anchored, but there was plenty of room.  After getting anchored, the next order of business was to get the dingy down and get Roxie to the beach and she was ready to go!   

We got the dingy down in the water without any issues, but Bill found that the battery was dead.  After messing around with that, he discovered that the batter switch was turned off....so no batter issue after all.  Lol!  We got loaded up into the dingy and started to drive away when Bill noticed the steering was frozen!  We couldn't turn! Lol!   

We got back to the boat after a bit by using the paddle as a rudder and after some manhandling and WD40, he was able to loosen up the steering.  All this time Roxie waited patiently in the dingy.  The old boat saying is true, you got to use all the accessories on your boat or they will break. Lol!

Anyway, we finally got Roxie to the beach and all was good in her world again.  On the way back from the beach, in the distance we saw what looked like huge drones and they were coming our way.  Once they were closer they were actually military helicopters called Osprey, which we learned later. 

The Osprey flew over the bay a couple of times then landed just behind the trees on the base.  A few minutes later they were back up in the air and flying around again.  They looked super cool and you could definitely hear and feel their power!

Practice was still going on when we went to bed at 9:30....when the boat was not vibrating from the power of the Ospreys, the shrimp were snapping below the boat.  😊

P.S.  We saw our first dolphin and pelicans on this leg of the trip.......were getting closer!

What an anchorage!

What a sunset!

Moving on tomorrow!

Charleston SC to Oriental NC

Leaving Charleston Friday 5/10 was a little gray and drizzly.  We went for about 4 1/2 hours and anchored in Awendaw Creek.  There was nothing as far as the eye could see but water and grass, except for an old boat wreck.  It was so peaceful and calm and luckily there was a boat ramp close by for us to take Roxie to land.  

Saturday morning was cool, clear and bright without humidity.  Beautiful!  We made our way to Georgetown and we anchored in the mouth of the Sampit River, dropped the dingy and took Roxie into town to explore.  Plenty of free day dockage on the Harbor Walk.  

We picked up some treats from the Indigo Bakery and went to dinner later that afternoon at Buzz's Roost.  

Reminds me of walking in Frontier Trail at Cedar Point! 

Sunday morning 5/12, Mother's Day we started making our way to Myrtle Beach.  We stayed at the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club where we celebrated Mother's Day going to the Officers Club for dinner.  I had lobster ravioli with seafood bisque and Bill had the seafood basket.  Yummy! 

The next morning we untiled the lines in Myrtle Beach SC and tied up for the night in another marina in Southport NC.  A new state and two marina stops in a row!!  We stayed at the Morningstar Southport Marina.  It was a nice marina with a great dog park!

Robert and Kay are well known AGLCA harbor hosts.  Robert came down to the boat to introduce himself and invited us to his home for a little porch time at 5.  This lovely couple does this with loopers passing through.  We also met Captain Jimmy who grew up in this town fishing these waters as a commercial fisherman.  It was so fun meeting these folks and hearing their stories of this lovely community and past travels.    

This was the view from the porch....We could have set there all evening!

After our visit we walked into town for dinner at the highly recommended "Provisions" and we weren't disappointed!  The seafood was so fresh!  It was a casual joint where you order as you come in, help yourself to drinks and make your way out to the patio where they bring your order to the table.  After eating, you just go up to the cashier and give them your name, they ask you what you got to drink and she rings it up for you.  Still the good ol' honor system.   

We made our way to Mile Hammock Bay Anchorage located just off of Camp Lejeune. It was a long day going 64 miles.  There was a boat ramp located in the anchorage, but access not permitted.  We had to take Roxie to a beach on the other side of the river for her potty break.

We left early Wednesday morning and started our second long day of 65 miles to Oriental. We had stayed there when we brought Cheers up from Stuart in 2020.  We had hoped we could score a dock, but we ended up anchored out.  

There were storms headed our way so it was just a quick trip to town for Roxie and dinner on the boat.  Good for us, we just got a little rain. 😌

Thursday morning was cool and sunny! Back into town for a potty break!

The town dock even has a loaner bike!