This was exactly what I needed – an absolutely gorgeous, low-stress trip. We had early morning fog that had burned off by the time we got under way and before we passed Belhaven town, the clouds were burning off too. The wind was too light to sail, but it turned out to be the perfect, warm fall day.
We decided to take the Goose Creek route, and I’m SO glad we did! We saw a mama bear with her three cubs right on the river bank, and I was so happy I had my camera out. Right after we passed, mama turned and headed back into the marsh grass, and the cubs all followed. I was so excited to get to see them, since we’d heard there were bears in the area around the Alligator River, but we didn’t get to see any. They’re such amazing creatures, and I’m always excited to see them (from a safe distance, of course… unlike our Glacier encounter). We also saw our first wild palmettos along the creek – a sure sign we’re getting south.
We were able to roll out some sail late in the day, and even though there wasn’t enough breeze to purely sail, it did give us a bit of a boost. We decided to anchor just off the channel since we heard the anchorage in behind the breakwater was tight, but it turns out there would have been room for us out by the bridge. It was so calm that it didn’t matter, and it was nice to be out far enough from the lights of town for some good star gazing before the moon rose.
Oriental is a cute little place with a nice laid-back vibe, and the working docks remind me a bit of home. We stopped in at The Bean for ice cream before heading back to Silent Sky to grill up a steak for dinner. I love getting to eat in the cockpit just as the sun sets, and I’ll miss that when we set the clocks back in just a couple weeks.
