It seems early in the trip - after only two days of sailing - to take an off day. But it is Oriental, and who would not want to spend a day in Oriental? It is a lovely town, a great harbor and a free slip, in my case up against the bulkhead where SPARTINA fits just fine. I feel nostalgic visiting Oriental, I first sailed here 14 or 15 years ago, and have been back several times over the years. There are a lot of memories in town, all of them good.
I sleep on the boat, quiet and peaceful. Morning comes sitting on the deck overlooking the harbor, and then a muffin and iced tea at The Bean. I see a handful of friends from past visits, including Keith and Allison from Towndock. And my friend Jimmy, our connection going back over 40 years ago to when we worked at the same place in a little town in Texas. Talk about a small world...
It is not even mid-morning and SPARTINA shows up on the homepage for Towndock. How nice!
Lots of folks on the waterfront stop by to say hello. A pleasant walk through the village. An excellent salad for lunch and M and M's. Catching up on the log, and picking up some supplies at the Inland Waterway Provision Company. An afternoon reading in a comfortable chair by the docks. Back to M and M's for dinner.
And a late evening Dark 'n Stormy at the Tiki Bar.
The wonderful rule as you know of sailing with no schedule, is when you are ready to take a lay day, you take a lay day! We were in the BVIs (my first trip there) a couple years ago, and did an unscheduled marina stop at Scrub Island, we had no plans to actually stay, and the marina there ended up being really fabulous..,. There was a small reef at the next island that was some of the best snorkeling of the entire trip we may not have found otherwise.
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