There are a few places we travel along the ICW that really feel like home, and Greg and Kate's home is one of these places. They make us feel so welcome. Kate always spoils us with the best home cooked Italian meal and Greg always spoils us with the wine cellar. Then, to top it off, we have a Doodle Love Fest with "the kids" Lucy and Gracie. Home this is to us. We snack, drink, eat, laugh, catch up on our last year of travels, lounge on the sofas, and simply enjoy our time together. After being on the boat for so long, it is great to go to a house and stretch out and relax and play with the doodles. Greg and Kate are former Island Packet 350 owners who now have switched over to land yachting in a 40 foot "Party Bus!"First, we up anchored out at Cape Lookout Bight after our ocean run of 2.5 days and came through the Beaufort Inlet and then up the ICW to their home.
Entering their private development and marina is very interesting. The dredged channel runs right across the low tide land and into a manmade marina where the homes encircle the yacht club. Check out these screen shots of the entrance, with the image of our boat as we moved across the chart.
First order of business was to party on the "PARTY BUS" so we popped a bottle of Moet and Chandon to celebrate. Kate made an antipasta and Greg uncorked a bottle of fine red wine.
It was party on the DA BUS and the Doodles jumped right into the game. This Tiffin Phaeton motorhome is really amazing with slide out sides and leather sofas and two bathrooms and a laundry, as well as 4 TVs. It is beautiful and we can see how land yachting is just as much fun as ocean yachting. Here are some photos taken on the bus.
After that, it was time to return to the house and to enjoy one of Kate's fabulous meals. We had pasta with home made sauce and sausage meatballs, a wonderful salad, and ice cream sundaes with special coffees.
The next day we serviced the boat, filled the water tanks, washed off the salt and caught up on emails and communications from the last few days of travel offshore. Kate helped with laundry and transportation to the drugstore, post office, bank, grocery store and thrift shop donation drop-off. Greg and Kate own this slip at their home and, since they sold their IP 350, it was available for us to dock. We appreciated it so much!
NOTE TO ALL: If you are looking for a beautiful home in perfect condition with a waterfront lot and a dock for a 35-40 foot boat in a deep water, protected harbor, with a yacht club and pool, then THIS IS THE PROPERTY to buy. Greg and Kate are selling their home and plan to move to the southwest. This gorgeous waterfront home, with a dock in a private yacht club marina in Beaufort, North Carolina, could be yours. See this sign and call.
That night after our laundry and boat chores were finished, we all went out to a dinner in town on the Beaufort waterfront. Of course we celebrated first at home and played with the Doodles some more and then enjoyed a great night out.
Sadly, the third day we departed at 0545 and headed 54 nautical miles, 10 hours, up the ICW towards home. Greg and Kate are near mile marker 200 on the ICW, so that means we have 200 statute miles to the Chesapeake Bay, then we have 140 nautical miles up the Bay to Rock Hall, MD. Here was the sun rise on the ICW as we departed.
54 nautical miles looks like this on a Google Map. This is where the ICW goes from Beaufort NC.
Thank you so much Greg and Kate for another wonderful break and fun visit at "Home" We really enjoyed the time once again. Hug the Kids and tell then we miss them.....see you again soon....
