Off-island daily

John and I are on vacation for the next 18 days (woo hoo...we are ready for the break!), so the blogs during that time will not be Ocracoke related (unless I hear from someone about something interesting happening on the island, in which case I will post it, of course).

The first day of our vacation has been lovely and relaxing. That is, after we got through the rush-around-get-packed-and-get-out-of-here-without-missing-the-ferry routine this morning. You really don't understand the stress of worrying that you've forgotten something until you live in a place where, if you do forget something, and you realize it seconds (or moments) you leave on the ferry, there's no going back to get it.

Once we were sure we had everything (or at least we were sure we didn't have time to pack anything else without missing the ferry), we hit the road. We took the 10:30 ferry to Cedar Island, drove from there to Beaufort for lunch, then to Morehead City for a quick visit with our friend Grady, and finally on to New Bern where we are spending the evening in the Turret Room at the Howard House Bed and Breakfast. After a couple of glasses of wine, some snacks, and a friendly chat with the assistant innkeeper Jill, we enjoyed a delicious (and pleasantly inexpensive) dinner at Morgan's Tavern and Grill.

Today's images:

Ferry wake hitting the rocks as we pull out of Silver Lake harbor through the Ditch


My favorite things...

...home..."my" Lighthouse...sunlight dancing on water

One of the two resident cats at the Howard House, watching us through the window as we left to walk to dinner


One of the things I love about New Bern is that you really can walk to just about anywhere in the historic district. We walked about a block and a half from the B&B to the restaurant where we ate dinner. Last January, we stayed in New Bern for two days. During that time we shopped, ate, and visited most of the historic and interesting sites - Tryon Palace, North Carolina's first permanent capitol building; The Firemen's Museum, commemorating the state's first fire department; and The New Bern Academy Museum, housed in the original building of the first public school in the state - all without using the car. If you haven't yet visited this historic North Carolina town (home to several more firsts in addition to the ones I noted), I highly recommend a trip here.

In the meantime, hope you are enjoying life right in your own home town.