Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival, Oriental, NC (Oct. 8-16)

The after effects of Hurricane Matthew had more of an impact on our travels than the storm itself.  Power outages and high water levels closed the waterways to navigation for an extended period.  Thankfully, our stay in Portsmouth was without drama and we had the opportunity to enjoy both it and Norfolk.  We took advantage of the inexpensive ferry service to make multiple trips to Norfolk.  Jim visited the battleship Wisconsin and Naval Museum and Debby enjoyed the MacArthur Mall.  We met a delightful couple from Erie, PA with a sistership to PARADISE, and enjoyed exchanging experiences.

Battleship Wisconsin

The flood gates were finally opened on Oct 12, so there was a mass exodus of boats heading south.  Our objective was to get to Oriental by Nov. 14 where we had long standing reservations coincident with the Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival.  We stopped overnight in Coinjock and Belhaven.  In Belhaven we had dinner at Spoonriver, a well known and popular farm-to-table restaurant.  The night we were there was the first they were open since the hurricane.  Unfortunately, we were disappointed with our meal and expressed it to the waitress.  Almost immediately the husband and wife owners came to see what could be done to make us happy.  They went beyond all expectations to make up for the chef’s failure which included a bottle of wine to take home.  As we were the last to leave we got a picture with the entire staff.

Staff of Spoonriver
Owners are at each end

Sunrise in Belhaven

On arrival in Oriental we were saddened with the news that one of our long standing friends in town had died in July.  Bob and Betty Brown were the first couple we met in this town on a trip in 2009.  Bob was fixture at the Tiki Bar, and a friend to all he met.  He is missed.

It is amazing that one week after Matthew its effects are still being felt throughout North Carolina.  Sections of I-95 and US 70 remain closed due to flooding and the water level in Oriental did not crest until Saturday, one week after the hurricane.

Flooded street in Oriental

Can you pick out PARADISE in the flood?

The third annual “Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival” was all it was hyped up to be.  On Saturday 33 musical groups performed on 20 different porches throughout town.  Playing everything from gospel to bluegrass to rock it culminated with a great performance by The Carmonas at the end of the day.  For further enjoyment there was a classic car show, food court and village market.  We love Oriental!

Mt. Zion Choir

The Del Rios

Gumbo Lily

Harbor Sounds

Salty Paws

Moores Creek Bluegrass

The Carmonas

WEATHER, WEATHER, WEATHER: Cambridge, Solomons, Deltaville, Portsmouth (Sept 27- Oct 7)

Since our departure a year and a half ago we have, in general, been blessed with very few weather related travel delays.  That good fortune came to a halt this September.  We waited in Staten Island for one week for the effects of Tropical Storm Hermine to dissipate.  We spent an extra 2 days in Cambridge waiting for calmer seas, then sat at anchor in Solomons for five days waiting for calmer winds/seas, and now we are spending at least 8 days in Portsmouth, VA to avoid the effects of Hurricane Matthew.  Considering what has happened in Florida we are not complaining, just making an observation.

Our extended stay in Cambridge turned out to be interesting as Russel Baker, the gentleman we met at the yacht club, came by and offered to take us on a tour of his farms.  Not sure how much land they actually own, but he and his son farm a total of 2000 acres.  They have all the latest equipment for planting, fertilizing, irrigating and harvesting corn and soy beans.  We saw the original farmstead of his ancestors as well as the farm he lived on up until a few years ago.  Interesting to us was the fact that when they moved out of the farm houses they just closed the doors and left everything intact.  Utilities are active, but no one occupies them.  At age 90 he and his wife of 66 years live in condos in town now, but he still drives every day and is very active in the business.  Note the use of plural.  His wife lives in one condo and he lives in another in the same complex.  They join each other each evening either at the yacht club or in his condo for dinner then go their separate ways.

Russell and Jim
Grandpa's 1930 Barn

Russell and Debby
Most Recent Farm House

Eventually we were able to move on to Solomons where we anchored and commuted by dinghy to see the sights and do some reprovisioning.  The reprovisioning involved a dinghy ride then a one mile walk to the store.  Unfortunately, on the return trip it poured down rain.  Debby was a surprisingly good sport about it.  We spent one evening at the Solomons Island Yacht Club for drinks, and as with most clubs found them very friendly and accommodating.  LYC could learn a few things with $3 wine and $5 martini pricing.  Again the weather delayed our departure, so we had to bypass Tangier Island, one of our intended stops, and move directly on to Deltaville and Portsmouth to await Hurricane Michael.