Still In Morehead City, NC

This has been a tough stop for us.  Not long after arriving at Morehead City Yacht Basin last week, we got the call that my uncle, Bill Moore, had passed away in my hometown of Lancaster, SC.  I am so glad we were at a location that had a rental car available and close enough to Lancaster so we could drive to attend the funeral.  It was a wonderful service and tribute to a wonderful 91-year-old Christian man.  Bill had a significant military history also, receiving two bronze stars and two purple hearts during WWII.  He would never speak of that military experience until a few years ago when he opened up "so his grandchildren would know and understand that significant history of this country."  I will always appreciate the example he lived, the love he shared, and the sacrifices he made for his/our family, his community, his church and faith, and this country.  While it was certainly a sad time, it was also a celebration of his life and entry into God's eternal kingdom.

It was good to see and visit the church that I grew up in, Calvary Baptist.  There were lots of familiar faces I had not seen in many years. 

We stayed with my nephew Greg and his family.  My sister, Linda, and niece Kim and her family visited while we were there.  Here's the whole crew.

We returned to Morehead City on Monday and reprovisioned the boat while we had the rental car available.  Then this morning, after several weeks of deteriorating health for our 17-year-old cat, it became clear that  Leia was getting progressively worse.  She was unable to keep food down, her hind legs were failing, and she was not able to always get in and out of her catbox.  So, Rhonda made the decision to have her put to sleep. Folks, I'm not a cat person but as cats go, Leia was a good one and all of you with pets know how hard it is to lose them.  I felt really bad for Rhonda but it had to be done.  

We returned to the boat and got busy regrouping after all of the above and decided to go ahead and get a short trip of about 30 miles done this afternoon.  I had the boat about ready to depart the slip and went to unhook the shorepower only to find out that one of the connections had overheated and melted a portion of the female and male halves together.  The only way to get the two halves apart was to tear them apart, meaning both then had to be replaced.  Rhonda hitched a ride to West Marine for replacement parts and spares with some other boaters from the marina while I got all of the old parts disassembled.  Got that project completed and restored shorepower to the boat.  

It was too late by then to travel the 30 miles we had planned, so Rhonda decided to get some cleaning done.  She fired up the vacuum cleaner and it made some really bad noises and subsequently quit working.  It was clear that we needed to just stop for the day and not plan on making much progress.  It was also about then that I realized I had missed lunch so we decided to walk next door and have a late lunch or early dinner, whichever applies at 3:30 in the afternoon.  We went to Floyds 1921 and had a great meal.  We'll take another stab at it tomorrow but let's cover a little about Morehead City before we leave town.  We didn't get many pictures.  There are the typical old homes and waterfront.

Rhonda toured a local museum and thought the story of Miss Emeline Pigott was interesting.  She was very dedicated to the Confederate cause and used her hoopskirt to conceal supplies she regularly delivered to the soldiers.  The skirt and her carriage are on display at the museum. 

In one search that was conducted of her skirt, the following items were found: 1 pair of fine boots, 2 pairs of pants, 1 shirt, 1 naval cap, 1 dozen linen collars, 1 dozen pocket handkerchiefs, 50 skeins of sewing silk, spool cotton, needles, tooth brushes, hair combs, 2 pocket knives, dressing pins, several pairs of gloves, 1 razor, 4 to 5 pounds of candy, and several letters.  There were numerous charges against Emeline over time but she managed to avoid all of the penalties, including the death penalty in one case.  She died a natural death at age 83 and was buried in the family cemetery, having lived her entire life in the Morehead City area.

Rhonda always seems to find pretty flowers and happened up on a lady's flower and vegetable garden.  The owner said people just kept giving her items for the garden and it has grown to become quite an attraction. 

We hope to make a 67-mile run to Belhaven tomorrow.  See you there.