Date: April 27, 2013
Days on the Cruise: 33
From: Oriental Marina and Inn, Oriental, NCTo: Oriental Marina and Inn, Oriental, NC
Statute Miles: 0.0
Time: 0.0 Hours
Cumulative Miles: 1,044.3
On Board: Chuck, Susan, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
It was a beautiful Saturday in Oriental. Today brought out many people to special events in this small town. We walked the town for about 4 hours, and we saw art exhibits, plant sales, wine tasting, and partying at our marina.
We visited several marine stores, two local and West Marine. We picked up supplies that have come up as being needed during the trip. At West Marine, we bought two 15" round "ball type" fenders to use at docks and in the hundreds of locks we will go through. We have needed these already at some of the marinas in which we have tied up.
We found a marine consignment store that had rooms filled with old and used marine equipment and supplies. Susan found some connectors that we have needed to connect our 30 amp shore power cords to the 50 amp to 30 amp pigtail that we use to connect at the shore power pedestals. When we got to the boat, we put them on and they worked perfectly! Great find!
Lunch was at the Oriental Food Emporium that was a quaint local place in an old house. It was good.
We visited an art gallery across the street from the marina. They were having a show and a silent auction. There were several neat things that we wanted, but since we have started the trip, with VERY limited space, we have not been in the buying mode. So, we will save this for another time.
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| An art gallery that we visited across the street from our marina |
There was another local marine supply store next to the marina. It is called "The Provision Company", and they have a little bit of everything. We bought some needed supplies here to use for cleaning and organizing. The prices weren't bad, and certainly better than West Marine.
We found Oriental to be a beautiful, basic, unpretentious town. It is much smaller than I envisioned. The azaleas are in full bloom, and we finally caught up with the flowering shrubs and bushes as Spring and "Blue Moon" both head North!
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| The town dinghy dock at the harbor |
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| This sailboat has a purple hull....Yuck! |
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| A harbor walk |
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| This is a huge rose bush along the harbor walk |
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| A scene in the harbor at Oriental |
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| We found the azaleas in bloom! |
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| This is the main drag in Oriental |
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| An old home in Oriental |
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| This is not Mobile, it is downtown Oriental |
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| This old home needs a foundation! |
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| Azaleas in full bloom |
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| A beautiful Spring scene in a yard on a side street in Oriental |
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| A little known fact about the town |
We learned that Oriental is famous for their Dragon Mascots. Why Dragons? Good question! We asked a local shop owner and he explained that Dragons are a sign of "Oriental" culture, so Oriental, NC adopted the Dragon as a symbol of the town. All around town we saw these rocks that are painted like dragons and other animals. There are "official" signs at each of these rock scenes that declare them as natural Dragon Eggs. Imagine, painted rocks that are Dragon Eggs.
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| A metal sculpture of a dragon in a yard on the main street |
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| Sign announcing location of Dragon Eggs |
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| Dragon Egg at a store in town |
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| Closeup of Dragon Eggs |
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| Dragon wind vane thingys |
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| Another Dragon Egg location |
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| Another Dragon Egg |
When we got back to the boat from walking around town, we found another Mainship docked next to us. It is a Mainship 390 named "M/V Freya", and we met the owners, Maryanne and Ozel from Rockport, TX. They are doing the Loop with their two Portugese Water Dogs, and we are excited to be traveling in the same direction.
Dinner tonight was on board. Tomorrow we are off early to Belhaven, NC. It is about a 50 mile day, and we have maybe 30 miles across big water. I am looking forward to the trip!
Thanks for Reading!
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