10 Apr 14

Clear and cool at sunrise, with only a bit of north wind, so we decided to go for Ocracoke. In fact, we motored the whole way across, in mill-pond conditions. The entry into Silver Lake was unremarkable; we beat the two 12:30 ferries in by about 20 minutes and tied up at the Anchorage Inn & Marina. After lunch at SmacNally’s, the bikes were unlimbered and we went for a tour of historical Ocracoke, including the lighthouse, Teach’s Hole Museum, the Ocracoke Waterman’s Working Museum, the Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum and the British Cemetery (so named because 4 of the 37 man crew from a British trawler converted to an ASW ship that was torpedoed by a U-boat are buried here; the entire crew was lost but the other bodies were never recovered).  

11 Apr 14

We lazed around in the morning, organized a pump-out and pulled off the dock and moved the boat a couple hundred yards to anchor in Silver Lake. After lunch, we went for another ride around town and ended up at Zilli’s for happy hour. It is a quirky little shop that sells draft craft beers, wine by the glass or bottle and snacks. We sat out on the patio enjoying our libations and got into a chat with a British family, who were visiting from Norfolk, VA, where he is working for NATO (British Army career officer, and an engineer, so a stirling chap). They were good fun to chat with and after 4 or 5 pints of double IPA (apparently this stuff is about 10% alcohol, I know now), Terri apparently dragged me back to the boat; I’m a bit vague on the details.