Back to the boat (and coastal North Carolina)!

Ever since we left the boat stored safely on land in North Carolina at the end of March, we've been thinking about getting back to her. Leaving a boat so far away is never a preference, but for now it's necessary while we work toward our goals in Alaska. Luckily for us, we found a great boatyard meeting all of our requirements that include excellent security, the option of "do-it-yourself" work, a weather and tide-protected location, and affordability.

All that said, even though our fiberglass leading lady is doing fine without us, we still miss her and have a bit of work to do (not that we're expecting that to end, ever). So, we're making the cross-continential hop back over to pay her a visit.

The weather in coastal North Carolina is currently pretty agreeable, with daytime temps in the high 70s and nighttime temps in the 60s. Since we're planning to cut trip costs by sleeping on the boat (our preference anyway) it helps to know that we'll be able to sleep comfortably without air conditioning as we don't currently have any on the boat.



Scotty is looking forward to grilling out.. on deck!

Last time we were in town, we stopped in downtown New Bern for the afternoon and came across the authentic and inviting Stingray Café and its sister storefront, Tryon Palace Seafood. For lunch, we decided to eat at the café and munched on a very tasty lunch of homemade hush puppies, oyster chowder, fish and chips, and cole slaw. (Their food puts Red Lobster to shame, y'all!) And happily, once again I found myself back in a world with two types of iced tea: sweet and "un-sweet". ;)

Oyster chowder and hush puppies

Trout fish n'chips

With seafood cravings satisfied, we were able to focus on dinner plans. Scotty and I are suckers for a good mom-and-pop seafood counter, and next door to the Stingray Café, Tryon Palace Seafood exceeded all expectations.

While the friendly guys at the counter answered our questions with patience and knowledge, we had to restrain ourselves from buying more than we could eat. We decided on a locally-caught fish called a sheepshead. Here's an interesting article I did not see before eating it... this fish should totally be on Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods!

Next, we made a foray over to local-legend, Mitchell Hardware, also in downtown New Bern. If you're ever nearby and looking for a good way to kill at least an hour, don't miss Mitchell's.

Mitchell's has an extensive selection of cookware, gifts, and regular hardware items, and we left with several useful items for the galley and also picked up a home-blended seafood spice mix to use on the sheepshead. Also, the people working there were very welcoming and seemed to take pride in their store, which goes a long way with these two travelers.

Later that night at the boat, we brushed the sheepshead fish with olive oil and the spice blend, then laid it on the pre-heated grill in tin foil. After it was done I picked up the tail to clean it and the meat slid right off the bones, cooked to perfection.



That dinner- eaten sitting around the main salon on the Wind-Lass- was way better than any restaurant meal ever could have been. I think we also had salad and rice (quick-cook, from a box), but the sheepshead took center stage. And the sunset view from our perch on deck was pretty nice, too!

Anyway, after all that meal reminiscing, it must be dinnertime! Check back soon for more updates from the land of sun and water... and no, I'm not talking about Juneau this time. ;)

Atlantic Beach, NC ~ March 2013