HEADING BACK TO WANCHESE FROM
WASHINGTON, NC:
Arrived back
in Washington on Wednesday about midnight after driving 7 hours from our home. The marina in Washington does not offer fuel service and I was afraid I was running low on diesel and might not make the 40 minute trip to the nearest marina that has diesel. The dock masters usually frown on hauling in your own fuel so under the cover of darkness using three five gallon tanks, I made several trips to the nearest stop and rob to haul in 50 gallons of diesel. I finally made it to bed after 1 am. Thursday
we spent the day with John and Cheri Vaughn and preparing the boat for departure. John took care of Ring of Fire while
we were away and now he thinks he wants to start another business called Johnny
Boat Check. He signed me up for his Platinum Service Level. He will get with me on pricing later.
For lunch on
Thursday I had a hot-dog from the county famous Bill’s Hot Dogs. It is a red dye
#3 hot dog, deep fried and then it sits in a water bath waiting to be
constructed to the customer’s wants which might include a light brown, secret recipe chili. I don't think the color of the chili is on any of the color charts at the Home Depot paint section. That’s all I’ll say about the hot dogs but
you must walk into this nostalgic business if you come to Washington. The front
screen door reminds me of the screen door that used to be on Oak’s Grocery in
downtown Jonesboro. The hinges must be original because of the loud creaking
when opened. It also had an old Camel cigarette sticker on it.
Once inside,
you must order from the 8” hole that is cut out in a large piece of ¼”
Plexiglass. I stood to the side of it and the three old women looked at me like
I was a tourist and from one of the ladies demeanor and expressions demanded
that I step one step to the left and speak into the 8” hole. Evidentially, she
could not take my order as I stood in front of her. I did notice the “Cash
Only” sign so I knew not to get my credit card out so as not to receive another
frustrated look.
Thursday
afternoon, Johnny Gripp came over to our boat because I had heard he was a
preacher years ago. I wanted him to bless the boat and put it under God’s care
rather than submitting to traditional mythology and Gods of the sea. He read us
a few verses from the book of Habakkuk and shared some of his thoughts and wishes.
Thanks to Johnny for doing that for us.
That night,
John and Cheri came over to the boat and we had a dinner on the fly bridge as
the sun set on the city. What a wonderful view!
Friday
morning John Kim and I left for Washington Yacht and Country Club to top off
the tanks. It is always good to have a few good dock hands when shoving off.
Then Kim and I left for Alligator River Marina which was 5 hour
trip through the Alligator River. About 2 hours was through a narrow channel or
“ditch” as the locals call it. Most of the way, Kim sat on the bow of the boat
as I navigated from inside. There are some really good views and sights to see along the way.
After going through a swing bridge at the
Alligator Marina, we made it to the marina which was about to close. Kim had
called ahead and spoke to Anna who said that the restaurant was about to close
but she would fix us 2 of her well known double, bacon, cheese burgers and
fries. What a nice lady and what a good, fresh, hand patted burger. She also
threw in 2 small cups of cookie dough ice cream.
Now
Alligator Marina is not your typical marina. It is really a Shell gas station
on the main road going to Roanoke Island. It was a beautiful sight to see the
sun going down over the Shell station with its yellow and red signage, behind
the cellphone tower. The green diesel price sign also blended well with the
other lighting. Yet, the burgers were quite good on the fly bridge.
Saturday
morning we departed to Manteo for lunch and arrived about noon where we had
sandwiches at Poor Richards. The clam chowder is worth eating. Then back to the
boat after getting a couple of bottles of local scuppernog wine- Jack Ass Red.
Back to the
ship yard from Manteo to dock Ring of Fire before the next adventure.
We are trying to go
to Virginia Beach at the end of October to get with Jan Holloman and her
husband along with Sherry Swint, who I hope is able to make it.
If we make
the trip to VA Beach and back, Ring of Fire will be in storage for the winter.
The next departure is set for the end of April 2018. We will keep everyone
informed.
I want to
thank everyone for your prayers as we travel and it is so good to hear from
those that I haven’t talked to in a long time.
