Ahhh ... This Is The Beaufort Weather I Remember

Beaufort    

What a difference a day makes. The Beaufort weather we became accustomed to last year arrived overnight. Although the temperature remained mild, the morning's cloud cover was thick, and the wind was increasing by the hour. I did my stretching between checking television reports of the winter storm's effects both here and at home. At 11:30 we left the boat to go meet our Uber driver who took us to pick up our rental car. The marina's palm tree that suggested warmth yesterday was telling a different tale today. While waiting for our car to be cleaned we checked in on the cameras at home. Ugghh. White is not a good look for my back yard. White was also the color of our rental which came with Oklahoma tags. With that plate, there is no chance that we'll blend in with the rest of the traffic between here and Richmond. 

We made a few stops along the way back to Crossroads. The first was at The Friendly Market to scout out possible purchases before we cast off from Beaufort. Oh, my. The selection of prepared foods and locally-sourced treats was incredible. We'll definitely be back in a few days. We also crossed the bridge over the ICW to revisit Atlantic Beach. The flags on the street lights were both wrapped around the poles and flying stiff, indicating a change of direction and intensity of the wind. It was no surprise that we pulled into a front row parking space at the community beach lot. Conditions were bad and deteriorating. I settled for a distant photo of the lifeguard station set against the rolling surf ...

and took the selfie in the parking lot. I'm hoping we'll also get to revisit this stretch of sand next week. The large flag at the traffic light gave its best effort to separate from the pole. Barry and I both noticed how the water had taken on an odd turquoise cast. The sunlight filtered by the heavy clouds was playing games with us.   

The walk to Crossroads was an adventure. Wind-driven chop splashed over the floating dock and the wind had its own idea for how my hood should be worn. I made sure Barry carried his favorite Spanish Wells hat to keep it secure. We added a few more dock lines and fenders then retreated onboard to await the arrival of the rain. The wind held steady at mid-20 knots all afternoon. The rain did come, moved out, and took some clouds with it. Taking advantage of the rental car, we went to dinner with Pat and Tom on Front Street. Our return walk down the dock at 7:30 required a bit more effort. Checking the instruments, the wind had indeed strengthened and changed direction (and the tide went out). The wind forecast combined with our experience from last year makes us a little wary. At the same time, we think we learned some lessons from That Dark and Stormy Night. We'll find out in the morning.

Now for the rest of the story ...

I alluded to a crazy period leading up to our departure from Deltaville last week. We picked up the rental car so we can drive home for a short visit. Yes, we know the route between Beaufort and Richmond very well. My mom went into the hospital just before Thanksgiving and was in rehab over Christmas. Now that she is home, we will return to share our belated Christmas with her, my sister, and brother-in-law. I will pause the blog until we return on Sunday evening. The long-range forecast looks promising for an opportunity to jump offshore and make quick progress south. Fingers crossed.