River Dunes Harbor Marina then the rain, the fog, the wind

We spent a couple of days at River Dunes Marina to collect our mail and Chart Chip to continue our trip.

River Dunes Harbor Marina
Oriental, N.C.

We received a "Care Package" with a "Special Treat".. a bag of candy and some beautiful handmade cards from Kayla and Aidan.  We know that someone cares!!  Then a little further south, we looked at the weather a last time before leaving. NOAA said winds light, seas less than 1 foot until afternoon. We decided to take off to make it to the next scheduled stop before the rains started. Just like clockwork, 12:00 noon, the winds started to blow right on the head and waves started crashing over the bow and the bikes were holding on dearly to the front of the boat's hand rail. Then the fog bank rolled in. I thought a stiff wind would blow the fog away. Not a chance!
Sharon with camera in hand was stationed in front of the helm and was told to look for a "Green" one or a "Red" one. So down Adams creek we went at less than 2 kts. Out of the fog ahead of us popped a sailboat. I think he was as surprised as us. Do we continue or pull into one of the marinas that are along the way? We had about 1/8 mile visibility. I radioed ahead to the marina that was only 5 miles away and checked his conditions at the marina, they were the same and likely to get worse as the day goes on, so we continue. Around the turning basin in Morehead City, N.C. and the marina was directly ahead of us. Then Sharon yells out "DOLPHINS"!!! I'm looking for a marina and she is looking for dolphins. We spot the marina and get tied up in 20+ kts winds and both breathed a sigh of relief. I walked into the office to register and the Portside Marina owner asked me how the ride was and then he handed me a beer.(Jim deserved it!! as per Sharon)

Weight room at River Dunes Harbor Marina

We got company

There is a sailboat
in the fog

At least someone is
getting some exercise

Sharon was still on the flybridge looking for the dolphins. We also saw Pelicans flying around and diving for fish and Jelly Fish swimming all around the boats. So the last hour of the trip was fun and a change from the occasional boredom. We never felt that we were in danger, just a good adrenalin rush. The winds blew throught the rest of the day and the evening. Its good to be tied up to a concrete dock in 30 kts wind gusts. We turned in with the boat occasionally rocking us to sleep. About 2am, Sharon wakes me up and says "we got company" I look over and see Daisy in bed with us. The hard rain, thunder, lightening and the winds convinced her that she should crawl in bed with us. First time that happened, but we have lots of firsts on this trip.