Down-Time in River Dunes

Monday night at Mile Hammock Bay, the flight training continued well after dark. Laying in our beds, we periodically heard the roar of engines at what seemed like a very short distance above the masts. On getting up to check, they were not actually as low as they sounded. A couple of hours later, all was quiet and we could get some rest.
We joked that Tuesday morning began as we imagine Murphy's might. First, we ran out of propane while trying to heat water for coffee and tea, and Greg had to negotiate the back deck, full of fenders and lines to change the tank. Once underway, the fire alarm went off a couple of times, owing to some grease Greg had used as part of a wet exhaust repair. No actual fire, just the oil heating up and causing the alarm to go off. Nice to know that it works well!
Throughout Tuesday, our luck improved! We caught great current and wind, and zoomed into Beaufort at a whopping 7 1/2 knots. Instead of stopping, as we had planned, in Town Creek at Beaufort, we instead continued north, with the now rising tide pushing us up the Newport River. A ten-mile jaunt up Adams Creek Canal, and by mid afternoon we were sailing on the Neuse River, past Oriental, NC, headed for River Dunes Marina. It was a stop we thoroughly enjoyed on our way south, and it was just as welcome a place to rest on our way north.
The girls swam in the pool, we all enjoyed the great steam showers, and used their courtesy car to drive into Oriental and get some groceries.