Half Way There

We left Myrtle Beach at a more reasonable 830am (at least according to the Admiral) and headed toward Wrightsville Beach NC about 80 miles away. This was a planned "short" day on the water (about 5 hours running time) as there aren't a lot of choices past Wrightsville Beach without making it a very "long" day.

As much as I like the location, the people and the amenities of the Wrightsville Beach Marina, it is located RIGHT on the Intracoastal Waterway and is subject to passing boat wakes and activities. That makes for lots of sloshing and slapping on the hull. Normally, that would all settle down after sunset and be quiet for the night except this was the weekend for a big fishing tournament, so lots of boats came in late and left VERY early (like 4am). Needless to say, it was not as restful a night as we would have liked.

Today we left Wrightsville Beach at 745am (hey, we were awake with the fishermen anyway) and made our way to Oriental NC. We had to clear three bridges (two of which only opened on the hour)
which required some precise timing in order not to get stuck and spin in circles until the next opening an hour later. All went as planned -- well, we were lucky.

Tonight we are at one of our favorite places along the ICW, River Dunes Marina. Located just off the Neuse River, it is a well protected, first class and QUIET place to spend the night. I think we will both enjoy a more restful nights sleep.

We have 720 miles left to go to our final destination. Our 7 year old grandson informed us tonight on the phone that we we are "half way there"!

Dinner overlooking Grace Harbor at River Dunes

River Dunes Club House