We arrived in the sea village of Oriental after a 3 hour trip from Beaufort on Sunday. As we have posted before, the scenery and sights from the waterway are "postcard" views. After the loop, we could come back to Eastern NC for months just to see the side trips. We have seen another view of this great state. We are amazed at the number of dolphins we have seen on the trip and Pia is constantly trying to take pictures but they just won't stay above the water long enough for a good picture - guess they did not watch Flipper! This picture is of a "school" of dolphins in the ICW as we approached Oriental.

As we left Beaufort on Sunday morning, we were navigating to the ICW and knew the water was "skinny" but discovered how we need to be constantly aware of the water depth. Before we "found" the ICW, our depth sounder read -.9 feet! We weren't on the bottom but was probably plowing - thankfully the bottom was sandy. We were finally able to find the channel and made the scenic route to Oriental. Below is a picture as we approached the marina that would become our new home for the next few days. Again, the water was "skinny" - we now have 2 feet of water below the boat.

On Monday, we took the dingy into Oriental - a great little seaside village(population <1000)> 2700 sailboats and is known as "The Sailboat Capital of NC". Oriental is definitely a destination that we would revisit. After our trip into town on the dingy for marine shopping and lunch with John and Sue, we returned to the marina and we walked to the local grocery store for provisions. On the way back - less than 1 mile - the local residents stopped on the road to ask us if we needed a ride. What a great town!

The last picture is "Still Busy" in the slip in Oriental at Whittaker Creek Yacht Club. We will leave in the morning early for a 50 mile run to Bel Haven on the ICW.