Thanksgiving in Belhaven

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Hard to believe this time last year, we were in St. Augustine for Thanksgiving.

We left Elizabeth City bright and early at 0650 and cruised nine hours and forty-one minutes to Belhaven. We could not have had a more perfect day! Our days start with cussing about how cold it is while getting dressed. I check oil and fuel level then bring electronics (laptops, tablets and phones) and other items up to the fly bridge where I get everything set up -- navigation apps, propane heater, instruments, icemaker, etc. Sharon takes care of everything down below -- makes coffee, fills Yetis with water, drains water out of the cooler and stocks with beer for me (how cool is that!?!) and makes sure all the 'missile hazards' are secure. I'm sure there are 20 other things she does... Once we're underway, Sharon goes down below and makes breakfast. "Breakfast" depends on conditions. It could be just a breakfast bar or a bacon, egg, cheese, avocado sandwich and fruit salad.

0650 departure from Elizabeth City

This propane heater is worth it's weight in gold!

Lunch depends on the same (conditions). It could just be tuna packets "Fish in a bag" and crackers or a nice Dagwood sandwich. We also do some snacking and exercising underway. Since there isn't a whole lot to do, this has probably been the most I have been on Facebook in months and now I know why. 

We had a perfect weather window to cross the Albemarle Sound which can be brutal in winds over 15 knots. Our only bridge opening was the Alligator River Bridge which opens on request. The Alligator River and AP (Alligator/Pungo) Canal was like glass and we only encountered a few sailboats along the way. For the most part, it was just us on the water. This is a brutal time of year to be on the water because the sun is so low in the sky -- especially in the morning and afternoon. We love the sun for the heat but even the best polarized sunglasses don't help much.

Alligator River was like glass

We tied up at Belhaven Town Dock. We prefer free docks (who wouldn't?) or anchoring but at a $1/ft + $5 for electric, it was almost free. We wanted a down day to chill out for Thanksgiving. By 'chill out', meant troubleshooting another issue, finding a mailbox to mail birthday cards, take care of some maintenance items and, for Sharon, make an incredible Thanksgiving dinner! We had the dock all to ourselves. We always try and give back to the communities that offer free/cheap dockage but no bars/restaurants were open Wed or Thurs (totally understandable given the holiday).

We had two birthday cards to mail. The closest Post Office was about a 2 mile round trip walk. I asked an older gentleman if there was a mailbox around. He scratched his head and told us about a condominium complex that had an outgoing mailbox slot. He was awesome! Retired Navy. Told us some sea stories along with several other stories. We discovered last year that the people in North and South Carolina are about as nice as you can get.

For Thanksgiving dinner, Sharon went into full Sharon-mode! Homemade Ranch dressing, salad, mash potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, turkey breast, biscuits, gravy and pumpkin pie. All washed down with a nice red wine. The weather was perfect and in the 70s, although it rained in the morning which made it a nice day to sleep in.

We were able to have video calls with family and friends which really made the day!

Five Uber Rides, Repair Done, Off to Elizabeth City

Monday morning started with removing the strainer for the engine. One of the bolts that held the strainer together had corroded over the years and broke. It was time for a new strainer. If anyone has ever removed hoses on a boat, you know what I went through to get it off! Strainer removed and it was off to West Marine in Hampton via Uber for their 9:00 opening. West Marine is great if you love T-shirts and Yeti products. It is increasingly frustrating when you actually need parts!!! The Hampton WM didn't have what I needed but the Virginia Beach store did. Whew! Uber ride number two and three back to the boat.  

New Groco 1250 strainer

The new strainer was a side-mount. Go figure, my drill and bit didn't fit the space between the stringer and engine. Since moving a Cummins 6BT wasn't an option, I needed to use my impact driver. Naturally, I didn't have impact drill bits so it was off to Lowes -- Uber rides four and five for a total of $125.

Strainer installed

Strainer installed, a few other repairs done and the anchor windlass problem work-around complete. It was about 2:30 so we decided to stay put for the night. And, as luck would have it, we were able to go to dinner with Kevin and Nancy! We always have a really fun time with them and enjoyed an awesome dinner at Lobscouser's in Portsmouth.

Good thing we had our "Tilghman Island Tennis Shoes"
to get off our boat last night.

High Street Landing in the morning

We left High Street Landing (free dock) at 7:00. We had to make it to Deep Creek Lock for the 8:30 opening to enter the Great Dismal Swamp. I padded in half an hour in case one of the railroad bridges closed. It did but it happened before we got to it and again after we passed it. Last year we met Robert the Lockmaster who entertained us and had us over for coffee and breakfast for two mornings. Sadly, Robert passed away a couple of months ago. He was a national treasure on the AICW. Sudden deaths like that always make me realize I made the right decision retiring early.

The Great Dismal Swamp was beautiful with leaves changing and unlike last year, no duckweed! We stopped at the Visitor Center for half an hour since we had time before the 1:30 bridge/lock opening at South Mills.

Deep Creek Lock

Inside the lock

Dismal Swamp Visitor Center

Our next challenge was making it to Elizabeth City by 4:00 for the bridge opening. The bridge closes between 4-6pm and 6-8am for rush hour traffic. We made it with five minutes to spare! We tied up at the Elizabeth City Free Wharf and Bulkhead. Like High Street Landing, there are no services but it's free to tie up for 48 hours. Once we tied up, we went to Hoppin' Johnz' for drinks and an appetizer then back to the boat where Sharon made shrimp tacos.

Two Days to Portsmouth

Ka'Why Knot underway (pic courtesy of Don)

We had our 'last supper' with the Julians Friday and had a tearful good-bye. I don't think I will ever forget hearing Gemma say, "Mr. Rob, are you crying?". (It was Nicole's fault!) We love them and will miss them big time.

 

We left Herrington Harbour North around 8:15 after pumping out and were southbound and down! We managed to time it perfectly to travel the first couple of hours with Jeff, Layne and their kids and Andy, Carrie and Ryan (their son) onboard Kroh's Nest, Don and Lynn on Olga and Tim and Laura on Sojourn. They were going 'slow' until Cove Point (near Solomons) before picking up the pace and going to Hampton. We had a perfect day on the Bay!!! And anchored in Cockrell Creek near a seafood plant in Reedville, VA. Luckily the breeze was in our favor and we didn't get to 'enjoy' the smell. Sharon made a nice dinner and we just chilled on the boat.

Leaving Herrington Harbour North

Perfect day on the Bay!

Kroh's Nest

Olga

We were not able to get a picture of Sojourn as they had the lead.

Bub-bye Maryland! We had a great summer and fall.

Seafood plant in Reedville, VA

Night shot of the seafood plant.

We left Reedville bright and early (for us) at 7:15. Our first 'problem' -- the anchor windlass didn't work. We had the EXACT same problem last year when we first left! So, I had to hand-over-hand 50+ feet of chain and the anchor. Day two was NOT a perfect day like day one. The Bay was pretty rough for the first two hours. We hit one wave so bad that EVERYTHING that wasn't secured went flying. This included Sharon's herb garden -- dirt all over the fly bridge, and her coffee cup. All I smelled was Toasted Marshmallow Mocha ALL day! 🤮 We were finally able to turn and head due south about the same time the wind and Bay laid down. The rest of the trip was pretty nice.

Norfolk is always impressive with all the commercial and military ships. We went to High Street Landing for the night after an eight and a half hour day underway. This is a ferry stop and there is free dockage for the night. There are no services (water or electric) but it felt good to get off the boat. We walked about 25 minutes (one-way) to Food Lion for a turkey breast for Thanksgiving. The neighborhood was a bit sketchy but we got in and out during daylight hours. We decided to eat dinner onboard. We were both exhausted and had some tidying up to do along with a couple of minor repairs.

Ka'Why Knot at High Point Landing

As I was typing this blog entry, I heard the bilge pump running. Uh-oh! The sea strainer* for the engine 'broke' (for lack of a better term) and needs to be replaced. Looks like we won't be getting an early start tomorrow but THANKFULLY if it had to break, it broke when we were docked and not underway. We're even pretty close to a West Marine and several marine supply stores! I consider this one a 'good luck' break/fix.

*Sea strainer: A sea strainer filters the cooling water before it goes into the heat exchanger on the engine. It catches any debris large enough to clog up your cooling system, which would cause your engine to overheat.

Finally

Well, Halloween has come and gone and no work has been performed on the boat since we returned from Cleveland. I apologize, I shouldn't say no work has been performed, they did attach fiberglass for where the boat will be on blocks once it gets moved inside.

We went to the office to inquire about when the boat would be moving inside and the timeframe moved from Tuesday \ Wednesday to Friday, October 30th. As you can assume we were not very happy as no progress has been made since the 20th. 

We have been enjoying ourselves, we spent a beautiful Saturday with Andy and Carrie Polk. We were able to visit Saint Michael's by boat on Got Fish 🐟 .  Andy goes the back way to St. Michael's, just as we did, on San Domingo Creek.  

Carrie, Sharon, Rob, and Andy

On the creek, there was a sailboat that has been there as long as we have been going the back way.  He has a very interesting 🤔  setup, including his own floating garden.

We were able to enjoy the Halloween 🎃 👻 festivities: pumpkin carving, trick or treating and seeing the decorations in North Beach. We missed doing that last year.

Pumpkin carving 

The Witch created a chute to deliver candy to the kids.

Halloween Blue Moon

Now, here we are in November and ready to be heading to warmer weather, still no date as to when we will be able to leave. On November 4th, we were able to go inside and see some progress was made.

We headed to Ocean City, Maryland for the week to celebrate our 13th Wedding Anniversary.  We could not have picked a better week. The weather was absolutely perfect!  We enjoyed walking the 2 1/4 mile boardwalk just about every day, spent some time on the beach and enjoyed several sunsets.

On the night of our anniversary, we decided to try Liquid Assets. We never thought we would need a reservation in November.  Liquid Assets is a wine bar and bistro. Supposedly they are known for their wagyu burger.  The wait was actually not very long. After about 20 minutes, we were at least able to get a seat inside and order a cocktail while we waited for a table.

We started our dinner with a Rogue River Blue Cheese platter.  On the platter was fruit, honeycomb, pickled red onion, candied chestnuts, brown butter rye crostini's, and of course blue cheese. Our cocktails were a straight up vodka martini with blue cheese stuffed olives and an Asset Martini with white Godiva, Chambord, and crème de cacao.  Dinner was a Muffuletta with a Caesar salad and  Wagyu bistro steak.  There was definitely a good choice of meals to choose from.  Everything was very enjoyable and we would definitely go back.  Next time I would be just as happy with a cheese board and wine. 

Rogue River Blue Cheese platter

Martini time

Muffuletta with artisan meats, on brick oven fired
 house bread, and a side Caesar salad

10 oz. Grilled American Wagyu Bistro Steak with shishito peppers, cherry tomatoes, fingerling potatoes and caramelized onions

We were walking on the boardwalk and ran into Dave and Sharon Flynn. They invited us to join them for dinner that evening at Mother's Cantina.  We had heard about Mother's but had not had the pleasure of dining there.  We all enjoyed a margarita and a delicious dinner.  We always have a good time with Dave and Sharon.

Dave, Sharon, Sharon, and Rob

While in Ocean City we had dinner at Sunset Grill, lunch at Bad Monkey (West OC), breakfast at Bayside Skillet, happy hour at Ropewalk, and of course brunch at Crabcake Factory.  We also did a little shopping at the outlets in Rehoboth, Delaware.  Thank you Gary Stock for letting us stay at your condo!  We had a nice relaxing time.

Bad Monkey's The Randolph Cheesesteak

Ropewalk's Fried green tomatoes topped with
lump crab and creamy horseradish sauce

Crabcake Factory's The 'Original' crab lump eggs benedict

Crab Bloody Mary 

Friday, November 13th, time for us to get a boat update.  We were able to actually talk to Joe, the technician working on our boat. He was hoping we would have stopped by when they were applying the resin to the boat so we could see what they were doing.  His plan was to sand the boat, apply a coat of Pettit Protect, and then apply the bottom paint. If all goes as planned, we should be complete by Wednesday November 18th. 

Joe from Osprey

On Tuesday we stopped by to check the progress and see about completion time.  At this point the boat was completely covered, they needed to finish sanding, apply a coat of Pettit Protect and then bottom paint and we will be completed.

On Wednesday, they were finishing the bottom paint and we we were unable to install the aluminum anodes (aka "zincs") and begin loading our provisions.   The odor was overwhelming, the fumes would have knocked us out. 

In the meantime, Herrington contacted us as they were surprised 😮 we wanted to be put back in the water, they had no work order and thought we were out for the season.  Danielle informed us they were booked through December 14th, well you can imagine the look of horror on Rob's face.  

Back to check the progress on Thursday, the painting was just about completed, they were areas.  We were able to install the zincs and load our provisions.  We provisioned this time anticipating not making nearly as many stops along the way as we did last October and with the thought that states may start shutting down again. 

Our Ka'Why Knot gear arrived and we are thrilled.  Thank you Jackie Cowger. 

At this point, we needed to decide whether to stay for Thanksgiving and see our kids or begin our journey south.  It was a hard decision to make but we decided if we had a good weather window we needed to head south.

We want to thank the Julian's for their incredible hospitality. It's not easy putting up with Rob (or me) for almost two months. AND them letting us use a car for five months.  We love them and will miss them dearly.

Finally, November 21st we are leaving Herrington Harbour North, not sure where our first stop will be.  We always have a plan A, B, and C.  Stay tuned!