Day 1

March 10, 2018

Day 1

What an incredible day! Yesterday Ed, one of the boaters who has his boat docked at Beaufort Yacht Basin, drove from his cattle ranch in Wilson, NC with steaks and potatoes in hand to spend our last night with us and our dock family here. Lee grilled the steaks to perfection and 9 of us spent a great evening together.

The Grill Master and his steaks

Ed and Bobby John (another boating friend, not our dock master)

An animated conversation

This morning we said our tearful goodbyes to Jerry and Bobby, our most gracious dock masters who have exhibited true Southern hospitality throughout our stay with them since last August. I can't say enough about these men. Bobby sent us off with another dozen of his chicken's eggs. They both have such giving spirits. They walk the talk. Period.

Next to Lee is Anthony, a retired Marine, now a boat Captain and all around great guy.
Next to me is Jerry, Harbormaster and former leader in the NC Ferry Division.
Bobby, Dock Master and former Master Chief in the US Coast Guard.

We had quite the send off as we left our dock in Beaufort. Again, tearful goodbyes to our dear friends there....but with the promise to stay in touch always and intentions of returning to Beaufort in a year or so.

Anthony, Ron, Terry, Rich, Ed

As we cruised away from the dock we gave the horn one long blast which is customary whenever you leave your slip. Another long blast as a goodbye to everyone. The rush of adrenaline that hit us both was incredible as we realized that this was the day we'd planned so many months for.

From Beaufort to our first stop in Campbell Creek, 5.5 hours away, was just choppy enough to give us a fun ride. We arrived at Beth and Rip's lovely home by 2:30. They are Harbor Hosts for the AGLCA (Americas Great Loop Cruisers Assn). They were waiting on their dock to greet us and invite us up for docktails and snacks. We tied up to their dock and plugged into their electrical power so we didn't have to run our generator. They live in a very remote creek where dark and quiet mean just that. Having just completed the Loop last year, we spent several hours talking to them about their experiences and picking their brains about certain areas along the way.