Yes, we are still here. Irma, Jose and now Maria. It seems like the storms keep poking their noses this way. Luckily they have just threatened us and have not come to visit. Today is the day we were supposed to start feeling the effects of Jose and yet it’s really pleasant here in New Bern. That tells me a couple of things. 1.- Jose didn’t come nearly as close to NC as originally projected. 2.- New Bern is a great place to be when a storm does hit. We are 20+ miles up the Neuse River from the Outer Banks and that gives us good protection. Tim just told me that several boats from Ocracoke (south of Hatteras on the Outer Banks) have moved into the marina, out of the path of the storms. To move north, we’d have to go out into more open waters. We need to cross the Pamlico River, run up the Alligator River and then on to the huge Albemarle Sound. The Albemarle is relatively shallow and in a west wind can kick up some nastiness that we prefer to avoid. So, here we stay, waiting out the alphabet of storms.
Since it looks like we’ll be at New Bern Grand Marina for a while, we’re making our selves right at home. The other cruisers have some great traditions and we’ve enjoyed joining in. There’s the Taco Tuesday dinner at the Prohibition Grill. 5 bucks for 3 tacos and since it’s outside Maggie gets to join. If inclined one can go to the bar at the Doubletree for Wednesday night wings. I recommend the garlic Parmesan crusted ones. Thursday morning the ladies and gents separate for breakfast. Ladies enjoy a dignified brunch at the museum restaurant while the guys go to the local dive. Then every other Friday the marina has a free lunch for the cruisers. If that isn’t enough, there’s always the other great restaurants to check out. Tim likes the burgers at The Beer Army and we both had fun eating at the bar at MJ’s- fresh steamed shrimp, crab, mussels, etc. Anyway, we certainly won’t go hungry while here.
And because we now have Tim’s truck, we can head off on more road trips. We decided to do just that last Thursday. Neither of us had ever been to the Outer Banks so off we went. We enjoyed the little town of Manteo, checked out the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, and drove the length of the skinny barriers islands down to Hatteras. Maggie and I strolled the beach while Tim took in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. It was a relaxing and fun couple of days.
