Stats for Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

Origin: Ocracoke, NC

Destination: Manteo, NC

Distance: 66 miles of hell

Speed: 9.1 mph

Time on the Move: 7 hours and 16 minutes

When the anchor came up THIS muddy, I should have taken it as an omen about the day and dropped it right back down. I mean look at all that mud?! I brought up about half a foot of chain at a time and sprayed and sprayed and sprayed the thick gooey mud off, making a mess of the deck. Painstaking. Filthy. Slow. I think Mike might actually have gone back to sleep for a bit while I worked. Finally, the anchor was up and I only had the deck left to clean.

We headed over to the ferry dock to quick pick up our bikes. We know you’re not supposed to dock there, but we were going to be quick–just long enough to load up the bikes. Of course we had to explain this to 2 boaters and a ferry worker in the 17 seconds we were docked there. 5 bikes back on the boat and we escaped before the ferry showed up. All this before coffee, even.

Now out to the Pamlico Sound to start our day towards Manteo. I hoped it would be an easy day, despite the fact it would be a bit long. We were down a kid, and things are always surprisingly easier with just 1 child out of the equation. It doesn’t matter which one. I’m not picking favorites, but when we only have 2 kids, things just seem to flow better.

But that was when we were counting on 1 1/2-2 foot waves. We expected them to be on the bow, like they were, but we did not expect them to multiply in size. The day started off a little rough and instead of getting easier, it just got worse and worse. We were stuck traveling 66 miles into 4′ waves right on the bow. If they were coming from any other direction I would have loudly suggested we turn around and go back to our quiet little harbor, but waves on the bow are the best place to take waves on our boat.

9 hours (or so) that we were expecting our trip to take would be forever in those waves. Never ending white caps. Barely any land in sight. Only 3 boats within sight all day. It was just not comfortable. Mike decided to run a bit faster and to see if it would be better, and it was, but it still wasn’t comfortable to the point where we could walk around the boat safely or do anything at all besides hold on, really.

Then came the realization that several things on our boat were not as they should be. The paddleboards that are tied on the bow were taking an awful lot of wind. The top one was flapping in the wind like a sheet and slamming down onto the bow. I was worried that the strap holding it down would break free, and then we would have a huge problem if it blew into our salon windshield. We were also watching the dinghy closely because the water was washing over the swim platform and lifting it up off the davits and setting it down a little out of place. The dinghy was strapped down, but just by one strap. We couldn’t even put the tow rope on it, just in case it slipped off the davits, because the drain plug was pulled out, so it would surely sink if it slipped off the swim platform.

Besides these two major issues, there were all kinds of leaks and groans from running the boat so hard in rough water. But, we know the boat can take much more than we can, so seeing no better options, we continued on towards Manteo. Poor Mike had to just watch all day as the boat bashed into the waves. I at least got to play some games on the floor with the boys to help distract us and pass the time. Thank goodness we only had 2 kids with us that day. Regardless, it was not the “easy” travel day I hoped for.

By running a little harder, the good news was that we didn’t have to travel quite so long. And boy oh boy did we deserve some nice calm water and a shorter trip after bouncing through those waves!! The bonus was that there was a playground right next to our marina and a brewery literally across the street. The kids played while Mike washed the salt crust off the boat and I got laundry started, and then off to the brewery we went.

I have to say, as much as the ride wasn’t fun on this particular trip, it’s funny how the stress of a bad ride disappears so quickly once things calm and we’re tied up safe at the dock. It wasn’t a scary day (other than the thought of a broken windshield or losing the dinghy), but it was just a very long, uncomfortable ride. However, a few hours later, looking at this sunset, those bad experiences start to soften.

The next day we moved the boat about 500 feet to a free dock right next to the marina. Seriously–who would stay at a marina when they could stay at a free dock?! I guess people who need power or need to do laundry, but we felt pretty lucky to move over to the free dock. Even closer to the playground, if that’s possible.

Mike’s mom came to pick us up and take us back to their condo a short drive away in Nag’s Head. She told us we could have their car to do exploring and sight seeing in the area and then later, the grandparents would watch the kids while we had an adult dinner out!! This day just keeps getting better and better!!

We started our adventures off by going to Kitty Hawk to learn about the Wright Brothers and see the area where they perfected their flying machines. It was interesting to learn about their childhood with parents who raised them to be creative and think outside the box and a sister who believed in them completely. The kiddos all earned Junior Ranger badges and it was really a lot of work (for all of us).

The question was, “What inspires you??” Hayley: hard work. Tobin: inventions. Colin: pizza and robots. Kelly AND Mike: trying new things.

Next we headed to Jockey’s Ridge State Park because we heard something about sand dunes. I imagined some big sand hills, but I didn’t think it would look like the desert!! What a crazy place this is with all the sand piled up!! It was interesting to learn that the dunes are always moving and drifting due to the coastal winds blowing the sand. I seriously think it would be possible to get lost out here if we weren’t careful. And then I wouldn’t get my date night. Yikes!!

On our way back to Grandma and Grandpa’s beach condo, we saw a drive-thru beer store called “Brew Thru.” We were amazed and delighted by such a concept, so we had to stop!! What a country!!

We took our new goodies back to the beach condo and joined Larry and Cheryl for a swim in the pool. The kids raced each other and even challenged their dad and grandpa to races.

Can you believe anyone still has energy for more adventures?! Just writing about everything we cram into one day is exhausting!! But of course, there’s more!!

As promised, Larry and Cheryl fed the kids and had some good quality grandparent time with the kids so Mike and I could go out to dinner. We haven’t been able to “get away” from the kids in quite a while (and we even had a car!!), so the choices of what to do were overwhelming. We ended up eating at Outer Banks Brewing Company, which is partly powered by a wind generator (awesome!). Then we headed to…where else but the grocery store?! We took advantage of being kid free and having a trunk to stock up!! After that we went to some place on a pier to listen to live music and we got lucky because the band was awesome!! It was one of those nights that was hard to tear yourself away and be home by 9 like you said you would be. We made it, but just a little late. We loaded up Hayley and Colin in between bags of groceries, leaving Tobin to have his turn to stay overnight with Grandma and Grandpa. It was a long day, but we got so much accomplished!!

We had one more day in Nag’s Head, visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Herbon, so we headed to the beach right in front of their condo. It was HOT and WINDY. Tobin was so excited to show us these black things that were all over the beach. They are skate egg sacs. Skates are in the shark family, but I think they are similar to a ray. Considering how many of these things were washed up on the beach, I’m assuming they are quite plentiful in the water here! Tobin went fishing that morning and even caught a double header with 2 skates!! Woah baby. Of course the creature catcher was totally into this and all the other creepy things he found washed up on the beach.

We headed back to the pool and then took advantage of unlimited hot water to shower everyone living on a boat. Then we headed to another “shrimp hour” at the spot on the pier that had live music the night before. We were lucky enough to score a table that would fit all of us. The shrimp were 15 cents each so we splurged and ordered 80. Most of the people at our table were thrilled. Colin, Hayley, and I moved right past shrimp hour and on to the dinner hour.

Our last stop was another pier where there was an aquarium and lots of fishermen to keep us all entertained. We watched these guys pull in all kinds of fish!! The kids were cracking up at how many fish they were catching. It was fun to watch and had a beautiful view!!

We’ve really enjoyed having Larry and Cheryl around off and on for the last 10 days or so. We appreciate their effort to visit, their flexibility on the “where” and the “when,” their chauffeur services, and their willingness to take all the kids for some special one on one time!! Thank you, thank you, and we love you!!

We had a great time in Nag’s Head and the surrounding area!! Thanks for reading about and following along on our adventures!!