Anchoring in Goose Creek

We finally got the weather window we had been waiting for, albeit small and short, but big enough to go out and have some fun.  We woke up, did a few checks and cast off the lines.  You don't have to tell us twice what this boat is about.  We tacked our way up river to downtown New Bern.  Union Park is right on a point past the 65 foot bridge.  We pulled in to the transient docks, locked up, and headed out for lunch at Pollack's, but not before an ENTIRE family asked Baxter to take a family portrait of them...ON our boat.  We had everyone from 75-year-old grandma to what appeared to be about a 3-week-old baby, and every age in between.  Yep, all on our bow while Baxter, Kala and I stood on the dock and took a picture of them with Stella Blue.  It was the best walk in the park for them in a long time!

New Bern is rich in heritage and stories of old.  It was the original capitol of North Carolina in colonial times and the British governor's mansion (Tryon Palace) is still standing.  New Bern was named after the homeland of the Swiss immigrants who founded the town in the early 1700's.  It turns out "Bern" actually means bear in German and as you walk through the streets, it is not hard to figure that out.  It also is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola and the shop of the pharmacist who created the recipe still stands in the middle of town.

After spending the afternoon in New Bern, we cast off the lines once again and headed downwind for a beautiful sail to Goose Creek.  We had the music going, enjoyed laying on the bow soaking up some rays and made good progress at about 4.5 knots.  We arrived at Goose Creek just in time to set the anchor, drink a beer and watch the sunset before dinner.  The forecast indicated we would have a steady 15 knots through the night increasing to about 25 as the sun rose in the morning.  We drafted our plan for the next day and enjoyed being rocked to sleep.