We left Albemarle Plantation early this morning after we topped off with diesel and pumped out at the fuel dock on our way out. The winds this morning are predicted to be 9 – 11 knots from the north, however after we got out of the protection of the harbor area and out into the Albemarle Sound the winds were 17 20 knots from the north east. Right on our nose, so no sailing and much stronger than anticipated so once again we shoulder into the wind and waves of the Albemarle Sound. Otherwise it was a fairly uneventful passage and we were much more protected once we turned north up the Elizabeth River toward Elizabeth City

Elizabeth City has free docks in town which make this a great stop. However, sometimes you get what you pay for and the dock are really just a extremely short section of dock about 3 feet long and piling that you have to tie your boat to. We are not a fan of these extremely short finger piers which makes it hard to get on and off the boat. Instead, we were told of another free dock in town at the Christian University, so we opted to head there. This is just on the other side/north side of the draw bridge, so the added bonus is we won’t have to wait for a bridge opening in the morning when we want to leave. Here we are on the nicer free dock.

It’s just a little bit longer walk to town from here but really only about 2 – 3 additional blocks. Once we got docked and all settled we headed over to the city docks where our friends Dee Dee and Jon on War Eagle pulled up. Once we got over there, we realized we had several friends there. We found Ron and Sandy on Rockin’ Chair who we last saw in Carolina Beach. We also found the boat Alvin James. We remembered this boat from our time in Manitowoc, WI. Could this be the same Alvin James from Manitowoc? We knocked and ask the owners where they were from and sure enough, they are from Manitowoc, James and Jill. We also unexpected ran into 2 additional boat here Gin Bo and Alexos. Now this is really funny because we haven’t seen these 2 boats since last September on the Hudson River! After they spent the winter down in the Caribbean, they are headed back north. What are the chances of running into them again! After greetings and reunions, we gathered a few of us to head over to the local brewery.

After a beer or two and chatting with a large group of coast guard recruits sitting next to us, we headed to the local burrito place – Big Boss Burrito. Today is Cinco de Mayo so we must celebrate in the Mexican tradition.

This place was hopping for Cinco de Mayo and they had the street blocked off with a live band playing, so it was pretty awesome. Best steak quesadilla I have every had!

We had a blast in Elizabeth City with some amazing friends, but tomorrow it’s time to move on!