River Dunes to New Bern, NC

Day #409; Loop Miles to Date = 4,557

On Saturday, we left River Dunes and headed for New Bern Grand Marina in New Bern, NC. River Dunes was very nice, if you like a resort type of marina atmosphere. It was quiet there, but there were plenty of resident boats, and we expect that it is busy when the weather is warmer. It reminded us some of the Herrington Harbor Marinas that we stayed at this summer, and we're glad we stopped, But, there wasn't a town right there, and it would take some work to get provisions, etc.

New Bern is a bit off of the ICW...20 or so miles actually. But it is a great marina and cruisers stop. The downtown area is very nice, and right here at the marina. The marina is big, and has a higher than average population of folks who live on their boats. Within a few hours of being here, we had already met some folks who we had crossed paths with before, met some friends of friends, and recognized another handful of boats from elsewhere in our travels. And there are dogs everywhere...the boat next door has 4 dogs on board, and not small ones...and we thought we had our hands full with 2! Additionally, this is the location for the AGLCA Rendezvous next Spring that we plan to attend. So, we're getting the lay of the land, and it will all be very familiar to us when we return next April. The other bonus is that we are back in fresh water here, so our engine and generator certainly appreciate the break from the salt.

We're glad that we beat the weather here as we planned to. On Saturday night a front blew through providing us with some 30 mph wind gusts - and temperatures fell from the 70's to the 30's in 2 days. It's warming back up a tad, but we still plan to keep heading south shortly. We'll be here for at least a week though...and we are happy that our friends on Corkscrew are with us. We have reservations to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner together at one of the local eateries, and look forward to a major turkey pig-out!

If we don't happen to post again in the next few days...please accept our wishes for a happy and safe Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for each day that we are on this wonderful journey...it is nice to pause and reflect once in a while on just how lucky we are!

All for now...stay tuned...