May 1 – Carolina Beach, NC

Carolina Beach State Park

“Tension is who you think you should be, relaxation is who you are.” —Chinese Proverb

We've been at Carolina Beach State Park the last two days. We stopped here five years ago. It's a small marina but very nice. The park has a lot of nice hiking trails and the town of Carolina Beach has a great bike trail.

A guy Stan worked with lives in the area so they came to the boat for happy hour and then we went out for dinner. It’s always nice to catch up with old friends. It was our first time to see the town...we only hiked in the park during our last visit. Carolina Beach is a nice little beach town and has some great little restaurants and funky places to hang out.

We decided to spend Sunday at the marina...the waterway is very busy in this area and traveling on the weekend isn't fun. We enjoyed a relaxing morning then Stan worked on boat maintenance and I went in search of pine needles. My stash is growing...I may have enough supplies for the rest of my life! We also enjoyed hiking a few of the trails, rode our bikes to the store and had a nice dinner onboard...the boat and the crew are rested and ready to move on. We have no set plan at the moment except to keep moving north.

It was a pretty dreary day going up to Southport and the Cape Fear River, so I didn't take too many pictures...but here are a few. The whole week looks like it's going to be the same way. 

Southport, NC - we've enjoyed quite a few visits here, but didn't stop this time.

The Fat Pelican is a funky little dive (beer) bar. No waitresses...you just go in their cooler and pick one of their 100+ beers, go to the bar, pay for it and find a place to hang out. 

Randy and Stan at the Fat Pelican

Part of a trail in Carolina State Park

Most of the green needles are 16-18" long. I see a lot of new baskets in my future.

Three bundles of dry needles...ready to use and A LOT of green ones for future use.