Last trip to Oriental with the car

Well, today is the day that Dalton will 'squire' us to Oriental in the car.  We close up the house, pack our final belongings, and Miss Harmony, and move onto the boat for the winter. Most of our stuff is there already, so this will be minor.

We are both on edge, pre-travel jitters, waiting to get started. The latest news is that there is a swing bridge broken in the closed position at Figure 8 Island, that we planned to go through on Tuesday, our second day. It's been broken since at least Thursday.  The bridge is old and they have to disassemble the gearbox, make a part and put it all back together for the bridge to open.  The last advisory last night was 'Not today but maybe Saturday'.

Figure 8 Swing Bridge - Photo from Linda Robert

Avoiding it means cancelling our Swansboro dock Sunday night and possibly going from Beaufort NC to Masonboro Inlet on the outside. It's about 70 miles or 10 hours plus an inlet I haven't been through before. We'll have to make a decision to hold, go to Beaufort NC and wait for weather/bridge repair, or head on to Swansboro and gamble it will be fixed by Tuesday. We have until Monday AM to decide.

Lynn has been a trooper, getting ready for the trip while not knowing what to expect. Provisioning, packing, for a 1 month trip down the waterway and potentially months in the Bahamas. Not easy even if you've done it before, worse when your husband HAS done it before but over 20 years ago. I have done the move aboard thing in the early 90's, but a lot has changed since my last trip. Internet access, digital charts / guides, cell phones, navigation instruments, and weather Apps all put better tools in our hands to make it all safer. It's had to believe I survived 5 years of cruising to the Bahamas before without any of this!

I'd best get going, lots to finish up before our ride gets here -  Including capturing Harmony for her ride to the boat. Next stop, River Dunes!

Steve

Harmony, our reluctant traveler.