November 13, 2023 Beaufort NC

The weather turned and we awoke to a beautiful morning. Packed up the bicycles, cleaned up the cabin, sprayed and scrubbed the boat, re-tied the dinghy on the deck - all before 10:00 am. We walked to town for lunch, then took a ferry to Shackleford Banks, a barrier island. We hiked to a high enough point to see the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, which was about 7 miles away. Came across 10 wild horses on our journey (there are 120 on the island) and hiked to a beach on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island. Happened across "Happy Birthday Carol" written in the sand - it's not my birthday, but we thought it was good karma anyway. Gathered a few shells and just enjoyed the scenery. Walked back to town for a delicious dinner at Moonraker's. Nearly 25K steps today!

We'll head offshore tomorrow mid-afternoon for an overnight sail to Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington NC. Weather and winds look favorable for a good trip, and we're looking forward to some nice sailing.