Our decision to stay at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point was not just a whim. It was the right distance along our route to Florida, we had never stayed there before, and we had friends in the area. The last factor was the most important one. Pelican Point RV Park at Cherry Point is a nice, little park. It offers spacious, full hook up sites with concrete pads. It’s away from the main portion of the base, so it quiet, but it’s a short bike ride to get to the Base Exchange and Commissary. There is a kayak launch on to Slocum Creek right next to the RV park.

We met Jim and Cindy Rose at Patrick AFB last year. They started their fulltime RV journey from the Havelok area. I noticed on Facebook that they would be at Cherry Point when we were scheduled through the area. Lynn Hector and Dave and Clara Inscoe are old friends from Key West and live in the area.

It didn’t take long to link up with Jim and Cindy and we met for lunch at their rig. Jim started playing the ukulele while we were at Patrick last year and we spent the afternoon jamming and sharing songs with each other. Unfortunately we were having so much fun I forgot to take any pictures!

One day we picked up Lynn at her house and drove to meet Dave and Clara at their place in Beaufort, NC. Beaufort is a picturesque community, right on the Atlantic coast near Cape Lookout.

The weather wasn’t very good and we hung out and talked until it cleared a bit. Dave and Clara took us on a boat ride around the Beaufort waterfront and regaled us with stories of fishing the area. They live in the house Clara grew up in and the history was entertaining. Clara’s ancestors had been lighthouse keepers at Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras, and her dad had been a boat builder.

Dinner that night was fish fresh caught by Dave and Clara the previous day. Wow! There was plenty to eat and it was delicious.

Dave and I tried to get out sailing a couple of times but the winds were either too strong or too light and we couldn’t make it happen. However, we were able to get back out on their boat when Dave took Pat and I out to Shackleford Banks. This is part of the National Park Service and is only accessible by boat. We walked the beach and picked up shells and had a lot of fun. Dave is a great tour guide with a host of historical knowledge about the area.

We hung out for the remainder of the time we were there and left on November 4th en-route to Recreation Plantation in Lady Lake, FL.