3 Apr 14

The plan was to go to an anchorage at Campbell Creek, just north of the ditch between Bay River and Pamlico River, so we got up early and left Oriental with very light airs. On the way to Campbell Creek, we read about a weekly traditional music jam session on Thursday nights in Washington (which was our next destination anyway), so we just carried on and went all the way to Washington - 57 N-m for the day - and tied up at the city free dock. After dinner at The Bank Bistro, we went to the jam session, run by the Beaufort County Traditional Music Association (BCTMA) and I joined in for about an hour; what a hoot. We were welcomed like old friends and even won the prize for coming the greatest distance (on the night) to the jam session. I was sitting in the circle in the sweet spot between two very talented fiddle players, a banjo and a mandolin player and could not stop grinning.  

4 Apr 14

Friday dawned clear and warm, so we put on shorts and went for a bike ride around town. Terri’s main pedal bearing has some problem that I have been unable to fix (or even get to, lacking the proper tools), so we stopped in the local outfitters/bike repair shop and Attila (his real name) said he would have a go at it during the afternoon. He loaned us a shop bike while he was working on Terri’s bike, so we went on the self-guided tour of historic homes around Washington. Several times during the day, we “bumped” into folks we had met at last night’s jam session, who all waved and wanted to pass the time of day; this place is “Mayberry on the water”. Attila worked a miracle on Terri’s bike and got us back on the road for $37; we would have paid two or three times that in Houston. After dinner back on the boat, we got to chatting with the group on the speed boat parked next to us; they were trying to party at the dock, because the engine was broke down and they could not get out to their favorite spot on the river to party. But they were very nice and considerate and stopped by for a chat; after about an hour, Terri had the full life history of the boat owner and his girlfriend and most of their friends, all of whom live within about two blocks of the waterfront in Washington. They very kindly invited us back to their house for the continuation of the party but we demurred, not wanting to cramp the style of these young folks.

5 Apr 14

The wind howled out of the south all night long and kept us pinned against the dock and vibrated the mast/rigging nearly all night, so I did not sleep well (doesn’t seem to bother Terri, but it drives me nuts that I cannot get it to stop). There was another jam session by the BCTMA from 10:00 to 13:00, so we went along for that as well. Afterward, we moved from the free dock (two night limit) to the paid dock, so we could get water and power. I re-tensioned the jib and the main sails to see if that would stop or limit the rig vibrations (seems to have worked a bit, as I slept well last night). The BCTMA had an “open-mike” night, again at Union Alley (which, by the way, has an excellent selection of art on display from local artists, using a number of different media). This show turned out to be mainly a forum for the Moore family, who currently run the BCMTA, to take the stage and display their “talents”. It was not as much fun as the jam sessions (because I did not get to join in), but definitely worth the price of admission. 

6 Apr 14

The cold front came through last night as anticipated and brought a cold northerly wind with it, but we both slept like logs. Today was laundry day, so we schlepped two weeks worth of dirty clothes and linens down to the local laundromat to hang out with the upper crust of local society; it was a very nice laundromat and all the folks there were very nice and friendly. The afternoon was cool with intermittent rain, so we hung out at the boat most of the afternoon. We went out to dinner at Apollo’s Steakhouse, which looks out on the waterfront; pretty average meal. 

7 Apr 14

Cool and damp in the morning. Between showers, I road up to West Marine (twice) and made a luff extension pennant in an attempt to cure my jib trimming issues. After lunch, we walked over to tour the Estuarium, but it was closed on Mondays, so we got a taxi to Walmart and took care of the grocery shopping for the next few days. Terri whipped up some excellent leftovers - chicken and sweet potatoes - for dinner and we then watched a bit of Discovery Channel on Netflix. The front came through during the night and the wind and rain got up enough to wake us; I had to get up at 02:30 to adjust a fender and we were (again) pinned up against the dock.