I know this is out of order, but I realized I forgot to talk about River Dunes Marina, 5 miles before Oriental. We went there with our friends on Wye Knot, Jeanette, Larry, and dog Cali(sp?). Getting into the marina was a frustration, as the markers were not where they were supposed to be nor were they easy to see. And as there was extremely thin water on either side of the channel we needed to stay in, it was pretty stressful and nerve wracking. To top it all off, no one at the marina was answering the radio, and the woman on the telephone hadn’t a clue.
Well, we eventually made it in, hovered for a good long while waiting for the single elderly gentleman to help us into our dock. For such a fancy sounding marina to be so understaffed that people can’t answer the radio and guide us in through a confusing entry was irritating to say the least!
Well, we got there. I must concede that the facilities are beautiful and attention to the physical layout and details was obvious. We were on the furthest dock from the facilities, so a lot of walking was in order. Even so, I couldn’t miss out on using the wonderful shower, which included a steam option, which I didn’t choose as I was giving Shuki a shower as well and feared it’d frighten him.
We decided to sign up for the dinner, so we could have a meal with our friends from Wye Knot. We left the dogs onboard their respective boats and headed up to the beautifully appointed main building. Antique furniture furnished the whole building, which has a large lounge with pool table, a game(chess and checkers tables)/library room, and an upstairs dining room. See the pictures when I post them.
We enjoyed the dinner, everyone around us all talking about boats and sailing. Had chili, cornbread, salad and desert was delicious carrot cake and German (Shephard)Chocolate Cake. Why “shephard”? Jack was so tired, he kept saying “German Shephard Cake”, and then Larry, after 3 cups of wine, kept repeating it too!
We left the marina the next morning after a lovely hour or so of chatting and having coffee on the front porch with Jeanette and Larry and the dogs. The sail to New Bern was a bit disappointing: no real wind to sail by. We had to motor the whole way. But I finally got to see the whole Neuse River from the water, the tension and excitement at finally arriving there building with each passing mile! And get this: I was down to my summer Solumbra sun protection clothes and sandals! This is why we are relocating Jack’s and my landbase to New Bern.