We loved Oriental, NC + New page of favorite towns.

Fence in Oriental, NC, topped with conch shells.

This artsy front walk commemorates a family's history:  a 50th birthday, their move from NH to NC and more.

We were inspired by Oriental, NC, to start a new page on the blog.  So look at our Top Towns list.  These towns are charming and vibrant and well tended.  The people are friendly and welcoming to strangers.  They are walkable towns.

Yesterday we had docktails with three other looper boats:  Ariel, No Zip Code, and Diva Di on Diva Di, a 34 foot catamaran. They had so much wide salon space! It was fun to compare notes and share stories.  Then we walked to dinner.  As we walked by the marine hardware, we saw an amazing sight:  The owner had left 6 dinghies and 7 kayaks outside after hours.  They were not locked up or chained.  What a town!  This kind of valuable item can be left out without being stolen or damaged?  We were impressed.

You see the dinghies.  The kayaks are to the right.

Today after going by the small farmers' market and buying fresh eggs, we shoved off in grey weather.  It was chilly too.  We went north on the Neuse River and Goose Creek, across the Pamlico River and into the Pungo River.  Don't you enjoy saying the names?  The water was calm today.  Yahoo!  So we made good time and were happy to cross rivers without being bounced.  

We always look at houses and choose our favorites.  This one stuck out because it is isolated.  

How do people live in such a solitary place?  

We decided to push past our anchorage because there is really nothing to do in an anchorage on a rainy day but sit and look at each other and worry about possible bad weather. Since I can do this any old day, I didn't need to stop moving at noon for the extra hours of quiet.  We drove about 47 miles to Belhaven Marina in Belhaven, NC, a tiny town.  We are here with lots of the folks from yesterday.  We took a walk around town, found ice cream cones, and returned to Aunt Aggie when the rain started.  We are snug here and may stay tomorrow too because rain and wind may be coming.  We are early for Norfolk, so spending an extra day here is okay.

(Don't forget to look at the new page:  Top Towns.)