Back to Day 30

5:30 PM

In Clawson’s 1905 Pub in Beaufort, NC. Beaufort is not on the ACA route but we are here anyway – we are such bad-asses!

We began our day at 6 AM so that we could be at the 7:30 ferry at 7:00. It was a beautiful morning, a cool breeze hinting at a warmer day ahead, but a wonderful time of day to sit and wait for a ferry. So that’s what we did, and while we sat there we met Cathy.

Cathy asked us about our trip, and we asked her where we could get breakfast after the ferry ride, on Cedar Island. She said the best place is in Beaufort, which is 40 miles from Cedar Island. But she offered us a ride to there in her truck.

So we spent most of the ride talking to Cathy, and her dogs, Remington and Lily.

And we looked at miles and miles of water, for two and a half hours.

Cathy gave me some chocolate mint from her garden, which she says is really good in black coffee. Then she gave me some coffee. And some smoked tuna, which her friends smoke at their home on Ocracoke. Meanwhile, Dana asked some passengers and crew about where we should ride next.

The ACA route turns north right before Beaufort, and makes a 60 mile loop which bypasses Beaufort and the other Crystal Islands. There is one motel on the entire loop. Conversely, Beauford is a lovely historic beach town – it’s where Blackbeard ran his ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, ashore in 1718. And Beauford is the first of a series of islands – flat and scenic and not boring – with B&Bs and restaurants and interesting things to look at.

So, obviously, everyone on the ferry told us to come to Beaufort. Most of the ride here was on the ACA route, not that it mattered, since we just stayed on rte. 70 the entire way. Along the way we stopped for ice cream (of course) and subs. And we saw some beautiful birds – white herons, egrets, ibises, and rose-breasted grosbeaks. Of course, you can’t take pictures of them, but they were nice to see.

However, you can take pictures of…

Beautiful views from a bridge:

Spanish moss:

Blackbeard at Downeast Marine:

and this, which totally cracked us up:

So, after all that, we thought traffic would get bad on rte. 70 when we went off route, but it didn’t. We got into Beaufort around 4, after stopping in a CVS for more Ibuprofen.

Dana isn’t feeling great, but I am absolutely spent. My butt is extremely sore – I think I will move my seat tomorrow morning – and it feels like I have a knife in my left quad. So after our showers we took turns with the ice pack, and then we dragged ourselves the distance of one city block for drinks and dinner.

Tomorrow we will ride the Crystal Islands to Swansboro, where Cheryl will meet us and drive us to Wilmington. We are totally looking forward to our first cheat.

On to Day 32