We reconnected with boating friends we met on the Great Loop today. After thinking about it for a while, we finally figured out that we all first met in October 2015 at the Looper Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama. We last saw them just about one year ago when we passed through North Carolina on our completion of our Great Loop voyage.
Each day at port I have a "to do" list. Today's list included laundry. While I sat tending the machines, Pat from Dream Catcher came by and we chatted for a while. Then, after my laundry had completed and I was on my way back to the boat, I came across Nancy and Carey from Tug LeeLoo who had decided to go for a walk by way of a local ice cream shop. I asked them if they were willing to wait long enough for me to collect Clark to join them on their walk.
I dropped off my laundry, found Clark practicing guitar, and convinced him that he wanted to go for a walk for ice cream. As we walked around town, we saw some of the fiberglass bears found throughout the town. New Bern was founded by a man from Berne, Switzerland who named the town New Bern. Bern means "bear".
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| "Future" Bear |
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| Flag Bear |
Outside the ice cream shop we found wooden, carved bears.
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| Carved wooden bear |
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| Carved bear cubs |
We made plans yesterday to get together for dinner tonight with our looper friends from both Dream Catcher and Tug LeeLoo, so after our walk for a treat, we split up and returned to our respective boats to reconvene later. When we got back to our boat, Clark recommenced his guitar practice, and I relaxed with my Kindle.
At 5:30 the gang came to our boat for a tour and to collect us for our dinner outing. As we walked to dinner, and as we sat down to dine, we heard some interesting tales from our live-aboard friends who have lived on their boats here in New Bern for the better part of a year. One story concerned a 75-foot boat that had been left at the docks by the owner while they traveled. While gone, wind caused the boat to yank out the cleats securing it to the docks and then proceed to rip out the electric also tethering the boat to the dock. As the story goes, this new multi-million dollar boat had yet to be paid for due to a dispute between seller and buyer, so besides being damaged due to breaking lose from the docks, it was later impounded due to monies owed.
Pat also told us a rather gruesome story. She and Dick had been out on their boat, and when they came back they saw something they could not identify floating in the water. Not too concerned with the debris they went about their business, but later in the day, Pat once again saw this floating thing and saw a diver in the water. She asked the diver to go investigate, and once he did, he yelled back, "Call 911!" The floating mass was a dead body of a 20-something man who had gone missing two months earlier.
We also learned a little about live-aboard life. Clark and I have never stayed on board in one place long enough to get involved with the local boating community. The women living at the New Bern Grand Marina go to breakfast every Thursday. Recently their husbands put together their own group to go to breakfast at a different restaurant on the same day. Wednesday offers trivia night, and Tuesday's anyone interesting goes to Taco Tuesday. Boaters also participate in yoga and other similar activities found in the local area.
Looking for dinner, we first went to Captain Ratty's but found they could not accommodate a table for six for about 45 minutes, so we left there and found our way to a place called Prohibition Drinks & Desserts. Although the name implies differently, we did find a somewhat diverse dinner menu. Clark and I shared a pizza. Others either had pizza, tacos or burgers. This place is a standard eating place for the New Bern boaters who gather here every week for "Taco Tuesday".
Time flew and all too soon it was time to call it a night and make our way back to the marina. With the sun down the temperatures dropped considerably, so when we left the restaurant, we made it a quick walk back to get out of the chilly night air.
Regrettably, Ralph and Linda from Mazel Tug, who have a house here in New Bern, are out of town, so we did not get to visit with them this time around.
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