Wrightsville Beach

 So we are here in Wrightsville Beach for the month of November.  This is a routine stop for us in the spring and fall.  We will often get some waxing and touch-up work done on the boat by a fellow we know here that does a great job.  It has been a little bit of an adjustment for me.  Having spent 5 months on Ocracoke, I got used to the quiet life.  Few people and few cars.  Here in Wrightsville and Wilmington it feels like New York City to me right now.  I will just have to make the best of it.   I have been enjoying the very nice Harris Teeter grocery store here.  It is a treat to have so many things to choose from.  I also have easy access with the Jeep to any number of stores (fabric) and otherwise.  So I have been stocking the boat while convenient and doing errands.  I got my hair done for the first time in a while and we also got the Jeep a tune-up.  In addition, I have been hitting tennis balls several times a week at the park, and I've had the kayak out for a paddle or two.

Paddling around the marsh just north of the Wrightsville Beach Bridge

There is a small sandbar north of the Wrightsville Drawbridge that people have had a flag, palm tree, and parking meter planted on for years.  It is still there.  I paddled by at high tide so you could not see the sandbar, but at low tide it is out of the water.  During the summer people pull their small boats up to it and hang out watching the boats go by on the Intracoastal.

Parking meter on the sandbar.

Here is one of the other bridges that goes across to the beach side of Wrightsville.  This one cannot be opened so only small boats can pass through it.  It runs parallel and east of the Intracoastal across Banks Channel.

The past several years we stayed at a dock behind a house here in Wrightsville; however this year we are at the Wrightsville Beach Marina.  This is a little like deja vu.  For nearly 15 years we had a slip and boat here at this marina.  Good old "Coastal Comfort" was our trusty Meridian 41.  She was a great boat and there are time we both miss her.  She was sold so we could purchase "Southern Style" when we were getting ready to retire and move aboard.  Being here at the marina does bring back many memories.

Wrightsville Beach Marina and Intracoastal Waterway as seen from the WB Bridge.

The marina is on the left of the picture along with Southern Style docked for the month of November

Closer view of Southern Style

This is a view of the walkway along the marina.  Our old slip was located just behind where I stood to take the picture.

Since we are docked right along the Intracoastal, there is a lot of boat traffic that passes alongside of us.  Below is a tug pushing a barge that looks like I could reach out and touch the side.  I snapped it with my phone while inside the boat.  It is even crazier when they go by in the middle of the night.

We are getting ready to take the boat up the Cape Fear River to downtown Wilmington.  There is a boat yard there where we will be pulled out of the water for some fresh bottom paint.  It should only be a 2 day process (out on Monday and back in by Wednesday).  For Thanksgiving we are driving to Raleigh for a day or two to spend time with some old friends, the Terrys.  Weather permitting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving we may make a run for Charleston.  It is getting to be time for us to make tracks toward our winter destination ( Captiva Island, FL).  Next week is likely to be a busy one.