All over town in Oriental there are dragons of every shape and size. They are very superstitious and seem to worship them.
Our new friends George (between Deb and I), and Mary, to my right. They took us to New Bern, and we had a great time. 
We start our tour of New Bern, NC
While Oriental has the dragons, New Bern (which means bear) is full of bears
New Bern is the town that Pepsi was founded in.
When we are touring a town...this is how I (and Andy) spend most of our time. Waiting.
After a terrible night of rocking, Good News moves to a slip right next to us.
Log 135
Day 365
Thursday, May 21, 2009
7:30 AM EDT
Location: Oriental Marina & Inn; Oriental, NC
Weather: 63 degrees with light winds; Forecasted to be sunny and mid 70’s today
We have been on board for 365 days today. It seems like yesterday we left Michigan.
The winds have died down, and the sun is out. The birds are singing, like they know something special is going to happen. Several boats have left their slips already this morning, most of them headed north. Lots of activity at “The Bean”, the coffee house next to our marina, and “heartbeat of Oriental”, according to one local. And overnight, the water has dropped about a foot, leaving us just 1 foot higher than when we arrived, last Saturday.
Tuesday...with the winds blowing 20 to 25 mph, Deb and I putzed around the boat in the morning, and walked 3 or 4 blocks to “The Deli” for lunch. We had decided to borrow a couple of bikes from The Provision Company (they have 3 bikes there, and first come, first served) and ride to the local grocery store. The bikes are old, and rusty, but they work just fine, and Deb’s even had saddle bag baskets she could load groceries in. They said the grocery store was 3/4 of a mile from our marina, but with the strong north wind, it seemed, and felt, like 2 miles. But on the way back, the ride back was no effort at all. Just once in a while peddle a couple of times, and let the wind do the rest. In the early afternoon, Andy and Mary, on Good News, came into a harbor a couple of blocks away (they had traveled up from Beaufort). We rode the bikes over to greet them, and agreed to meet for dinner (their 36th anniversary) at a restaurant called the Oriental Steamer. We had a fun time catching up again, and talking about future plans for both of us. At some point during the meal, Deb left the table, to check something out, and ended up talking to a couple having their dinner. It turned out they were very friendly locals, and Deb made some instant friends. Later, as they were leaving, they stopped by our table to say hi to all of us, and Mary mentioned that they wanted to go to New Bern, but could not find a car rental in town. The guy (George) said that he had a doctors appointment in New Bern the next day, and if we wanted we could ride over with him, and check out the town, while he was at the doctors. Ok. Tomorrow we go to New Bern.
Wednesday...after leaving the restaurant on Tuesday evening, George went home and sent us an email (he had our boat cards, so he had all of our information). He laid out two options of how the day could go, and we agreed to meet at 10, and go to New Bern. We called Andy and Mary to see if they were still going, and found out they had a terrible night at the dock, because the winds continued to howl, and the waves were going over the breakwater at their marina, and the boat was rocking side to side all night long. So...at 10 we all jumped in the van and headed to New Bern, NC...pronounced Newbern (like one word) by the locals. We got a car tour from George of the many historic homes; had a great southern BBQ lunch; walked several block to look at the downtown area; had a beer at Captain Ratty’s; and in general had a very good day in New Bern. It is a very historic town, and they are doing a lot to continue to upgrade it. Back in Oriental, Andy and Mary decided to move their boat to our marina, because it was still rocking in their harbor, and our harbor was very quiet. We got together on HQ for a pot luck dinner, and laughed about the day. Each day there are things that happen, that are probably worth writing about, but I generally don’t, because I don’t think most folks reading this really care. But, one thing happened yesterday, that bears passing along. Andy, Mary, Deb, and I were sitting on the back deck getting ready for dinner when all of a sudden, some guy steps on our swim platform (without knocking, or being invited) and comes up the back stairs, and pops his head in the aft hatch and says “so you’re from Holland, huh”? I was so surprised, all I could say was...”yea”. This guy had no clue how to read body language, because he should have seen I was mad...and staring right through him...not believing he had just jumped on the boat. He was oblivious to all of our shock, and went on to start naming peoples names (that he knew in Holland) and asking us if we knew them. In each case the answer was “no”...hoping he would leave. Trying to be nice, Mary did ask him “what boat are you on”...to which he replied “oh...I’m on a friends boat, and we’re out at anchor”, and all of a sudden, we hear another person say “that would be me”. And, as if he were invited, the first guy reaches over and unlocks the aft door, and comes in the boat, so his buddy can come up the stairs. Now I am really pissed (and confused) because these guys are standing on our boat...uninvited. Who does that? Andy is looking at me, as if to say, “are you going to kick them of...or am I”? But, after a minute of so of chit chat, Deb finally says “well...nice to meet you, thanks for saying hi”, and I guess they figured out that meant we wanted them to leave...and they did. Amazing.
Today...there has already been a lot of activity. I’ve helped several boats leave the marina, and others are already starting to arrive. Andy and I borrowed the bikes from The Provision Company, and rode about a mile to West Marine, and we’re back getting ready to work on our boats. Both of us are looking for leaks. He has a front hatch that leaks in his master stateroom, and we have a leak in the aft, that drips inside the bilge area. The good news is, it really does no harm, but if something is wrong, I have to fix it. I have continued to calk different spots, and have stopped a couple of leaks, and I just need to continue to work on them to get them all. We are also expecting Brad and Patty on Salvage Crew to come in the harbor today, as well as Buck and Haldine on Darling. Who knows...there could be a party.
I’ll keep you posted.
Bob
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