Dana at the helm and Greg on lookout. Over the Independence Day weekend the Spalding family was driving around North Carolina and had a couple days to come hang out with us. They arrived a little late due to the holiday traffic so we had a quick meal, played some rock band and called it a night.
The next day Lisa and I got up early threw some breakfast on the stove and took off to meet Greg and the girls at the boat. After the long drive and late night partying on the PS3 they slept in a bit. It was nice though. It gave us some time to get the boat straight before they showed up. We usually like having the boat ready when guests arrive. It's just easier for Lisa and I to get Starjewel all set up without the extra help on the 32' boat.
While we were there we noticed the water was pretty low and I had some reservations about going out. Our boat only draws 4' 6" but I don't like to press it. I'm not going to be the guy who gets stuck in the Pecan Grove Channel. I've seen that guy already since we've been there, and I'm not that guy. We waited around a bit and the tides started filling back into the marina so we were able to get out on the river for the day. It was a grey gloomy, windy day, but it didn't really rain on us, so it wasn't terrible. We only had the main up the whole day. The river was choppy and I could tell Sophia (the dog) was feeling it. She was just laying around trying to find a comfortable position. We didn't want to unfurl the jib and lean the boat over anymore. We were even heeled enough for Lisa, Sophia, and Mia to sit on deck and dip their toes on the low side. The girls seemed to be having a good time walking around the sailboat as we tacked back and forth along the river. We didn't really go anywhere in particular since our guests would be leaving early the next day. We just hung out talked about sailing and tried to convince Dana and Greg to buy a boat and hang out with us as we travel around the world. We'll see how well we fared.
We made it back into our slip with no issues and talked about what to do next. While you're in Oriental you have to stop by The Bean and grab some ice cream so we lowered the dingy and motored over to the Oriental public dock. We checked out the Dragons and they got to see a dragon egg and check out downtown Oriental for a little while before we jumped back in the dingy. Lisa stayed behind to walk Sophia and tidy up a bit so I brought her back a scoop of the toasted almond ice cream, her favorite.
After that we waited for dark and enjoyed the Oriental Independence Day fireworks. The clubhouse at Pecan Grove is a great vantage point. Especially this year. They moved the launch location to the bridge, so we sat out on the back lawn and watched the display. The show lasted about 20 minutes and was really well done. After the fireworks we packed it in for the night. The next morning we had some breakfast and said goodbye to the Spaldings. It was a blast and I'm sure this won't be the last time we have them aboard.
The next day Lisa and I got up early threw some breakfast on the stove and took off to meet Greg and the girls at the boat. After the long drive and late night partying on the PS3 they slept in a bit. It was nice though. It gave us some time to get the boat straight before they showed up. We usually like having the boat ready when guests arrive. It's just easier for Lisa and I to get Starjewel all set up without the extra help on the 32' boat.
While we were there we noticed the water was pretty low and I had some reservations about going out. Our boat only draws 4' 6" but I don't like to press it. I'm not going to be the guy who gets stuck in the Pecan Grove Channel. I've seen that guy already since we've been there, and I'm not that guy. We waited around a bit and the tides started filling back into the marina so we were able to get out on the river for the day. It was a grey gloomy, windy day, but it didn't really rain on us, so it wasn't terrible. We only had the main up the whole day. The river was choppy and I could tell Sophia (the dog) was feeling it. She was just laying around trying to find a comfortable position. We didn't want to unfurl the jib and lean the boat over anymore. We were even heeled enough for Lisa, Sophia, and Mia to sit on deck and dip their toes on the low side. The girls seemed to be having a good time walking around the sailboat as we tacked back and forth along the river. We didn't really go anywhere in particular since our guests would be leaving early the next day. We just hung out talked about sailing and tried to convince Dana and Greg to buy a boat and hang out with us as we travel around the world. We'll see how well we fared.
We made it back into our slip with no issues and talked about what to do next. While you're in Oriental you have to stop by The Bean and grab some ice cream so we lowered the dingy and motored over to the Oriental public dock. We checked out the Dragons and they got to see a dragon egg and check out downtown Oriental for a little while before we jumped back in the dingy. Lisa stayed behind to walk Sophia and tidy up a bit so I brought her back a scoop of the toasted almond ice cream, her favorite.
After that we waited for dark and enjoyed the Oriental Independence Day fireworks. The clubhouse at Pecan Grove is a great vantage point. Especially this year. They moved the launch location to the bridge, so we sat out on the back lawn and watched the display. The show lasted about 20 minutes and was really well done. After the fireworks we packed it in for the night. The next morning we had some breakfast and said goodbye to the Spaldings. It was a blast and I'm sure this won't be the last time we have them aboard.
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