Ocracoke

Entrance to Silver Harbor Lake

For those of you that have never been , you should really go to the charming little island of Ocracoke, the "Pearl of the Outer Banks".  Captain Man and I take the boat and dock at the National Park Service Docks, in Silver Lake Harbor, but if you are not a boat owner, you can take one of several ferries that make the trek to the island each day (a few times).   This little village is a tourist Outer Banks hot spot, but maintains the island village charm, and we love it.  

We left our dock last Sunday morning and headed that way.  A beautiful sail and we were there by lunch time.  After getting the boat secure and tidied up, we headed for our favorite spot, SmacNally's.  It's on the harbor, in front  the charter fishing boats dock, so we enjoy having a beverage and watching the sport fish boats come in with their catch.  It seems they were having a great run with fishing, as we saw plenty of Mahi, tuna, spanish mackeral and even a hugh grouper (our favorite).  

A pitcher of Mimosas at SmacNally's

 

 

The next day, we rented bikes and rode to the beach, thinking we would enjoy a picnic on the ocean side.  It was hot!!! We stayed for about an hour, and then looked at each other with "what in the world are we doing" looks on our faces, and packed up, headed back into the village, for a spot at our favorite bar.  

Walking back towards Captain Man hoping he is ready to get somewhere much cooler!

It's interesting, when I was younger, I could have stayed there basking in the sun for hours, not anymore!  But, it was fun, and it is always great to sink your toes into sand.  Later, we walked around the village shops, ate great seafood, and enjoyed another wonderful sunset together.  The next few days were spent eating, walking, reading, napping, and just plain relaxing. 

Lemon ice cream on the porch!

Amazing Ocracoke sunset view from cockpit of Kittywampus

We left Thursday morning, heading to Oriental to spend a night, before winding down our week long vacation.  It was a wonderful, relaxing few days in one of our favorite places on the water. 

Leaving Ocracoke

After having such a relaxing week, it will be hard to get back into work mode again.  Ugh!

Sailing to Oriental

I came home from work on Friday and Captain Man suggested we take Kittywampus to Oriental for a long weekend trip.  WooHoo!! We get to sail the boat and relax for a few days.  So, early Saturday am we left the dock and headed towards Oriental.  By car, Oriental is approximately an hour away, by Kittywampus, well...a tad bit longer.  We sailed south on the Pamlico, crossed the Hobucken Canal into the Bay River, then down the Neuse River to Oriental.  I was pleasantly surprised...we had light winds and the boat was swishing through the water.  Nice!

Heading to bow of boat to check out his new "watch"

 

Of course, the captain was playing around a bit with the boat, trying out his new gadget...a Garmin smartwatch that wirelessly interfaces with the navigation electronics (chartplotter, radar, etc).  So...basically, he can wear it on his wrist, ( it looks like a watch), and can navigate the boat with it.  Worked really well, and he was smiling.  Me, I was enjoying the sun, breezes and views.

Enjoying my coffee in the cockpit as we head south on the Pamilco River.

 

A view of the Hobucken Canal, which links the Pamlico River to the Bay River.

By 3:30pm, we were at the Oriental Marina, ready to freshen up and head to the Toucan Tiki bar to meet a friend.  Afterwards, dinner at M&M's.

  Captain Man backed her into that slip flawlessly.  . 

Sunset view from the porch of Toucan Restaurant

Leaving Oriental, heading home

Another beautiful morning!

Early Monday morning, we left the marina and headed home.  A short trip, but relaxing and fun.  It's great to be back on the water.  This little trip...we felt like cruisers again.   Can't wait for our next excursion....next week we are headed for Ocracoke!