Covering Ground

Wild Ponies on the Beach

It seems like ages ago that we were at Cumberland Island, maybe because we've covered a lot of ground since then. I'm looking back now at the photos I took on our excursion through the old oak trees that cover the middle of the island on the way to the Atlantic beach where I watched these ponies, plus two others that eventually joined them. They seemed to be aware of my presence, although I was moving slowly and was never less than 50 feet away from them, and at first hardly moved. Gradually, as I moved away and they were joined by two others, they trotted off down the beach and into the dunes.

Campground Laundry

The woods at Cumberland are almost as beautiful as the beach, but the beach is always the real draw for me. The half mile long path is an easy walk and a chance to see an armadillo, although their population has been diminished by two very cold winters (not this last!) and the drought of the last several seasons. We encountered several groups of campers pushing huge carts full of gear on their way to meet the Park service ferry back to the mainland. All had glowing reports of their experience, but I have to say that I am very grateful that I can return to comfortable Carry On.



We traveled several days on the ICW, arriving at Beaufort, SC on a Sunday afternoon to meet an old fraternity brother of Paul's and his wife for drinks and an early dinner. It was a nice respite, but short, and then on to Charleston the next day. We had planned just a two day stop in Charleston at a marina near the cruise and freight ship terminals as well as all the charms of historic Charleston, but our stay extended to three while we had a nagging engine problem looked at. Anxious not to lose one of our flex days and just anxious to get moving, we took advantage of a perfect weather window and headed overnight up to Wrightsville Beach. It was a smooth trip, not too exhausting, and the next morning we made an early start on a thirteen hour run up to Cape Lookout, NC.

Carry On at Cape Lookout

We've wanted to go to Cape Lookout, another National Seashore, ever since we've been moving up and down the coast on Carry On, but have never hit the weather conditions required for a comfortable trip out and back and pleasant anchoring. We were in luck this time, and had a lovely evening in one of the more beautiful spots on the East Coast.


It was busy, a Saturday night and such settled weather, but we found a quiet corner with only one boat nearby. We launched the dinghy the next morning and took a long walk in the dunes, collecting shells and admiring the view of the harlequin patterned lighthouse across the water. It was a wonderful diversion from the waterway while it lasted, but all too quickly we were on our way back to the mainland again, with forecasts of deteriorating weather.

Shells!

Now we're in a really nice and really cheap marina-- what a combination-- off the Neuse River near Oriental, once again enjoying the company of the local Deere dealer. We're waiting for a fuel injection pump, which we hope will arrive tomorrow, so we can be on our way again.

There are many empty slips and very few transients in the marina, part of an attractive new residential development that was caught in the real estate crunch. We were lucky enough to dock next to a sailboat from Great Britain and have been keeping company with its owner, whose wife is back home at the moment-- dinner out in Oriental last night via the courtesy car and tonight dinner here. It's nice to have a bit of a social life!