4/23/18: Ahhhhh – a nice sleep-in day! Highs to be in the mid 60’s today, but windy. Not really good enough to enjoy the pool. Darn! A nice leisurely morning, complete with a bacon, egg, and toast breakfast served up by chief cook Karen. Another looper boat pulled in around 10:00. They said it was a very wet ride out on the Sound today! These folks are Platinum Loopers! That means they have completed the entire loop at least twice. They are well known in the AGLCA, and are headed to Norfolk to speak at the Spring Rendezvous. Now we have Island Girl, Melody in Sea, Namaste, Contentment, Reflection, Intuition, Nine Lives, Ned Pepper, and Total Eclipse here at River Dunes. Those are the ones that I know of!
I went for a walk and a bike ride around the area. It is a huge development that seems to be in just its beginning phase. It’s very pretty. Most of the slips in the marina are full, due to everyone hiding from the weather.
This is the “clubhouse”. It is really nice to have a place to go be inside – not all marinas have a captain’s lounge. This marina is over the top in that arena! And this is really beautiful at night with lots of garden lighting.
This is a great screened in porch on the far left of the building.
It has a great library area.
And then the lobby/lounge even has a pool table!
Outside, there is a very nice pool, with music playing, cabanas, hot tubs, and a bar area. We might have to stay another night…. our 4th night would be free, and the weather on Wednesday is supposed to be pretty nice! We’re in no hurry to be anywhere…right?
Around the neighborhood, I find it interesting that they use pine needles as mulch, in place of bark. It makes sense – they have lots of pine needles.
There is a cute little chapel in the neighborhood. That little street lamp to the right is actually burning a flame!
These are some of the vacation cottages that are available for rent.
The whole area is nicely manicured. There are hundreds of acres here, with streets, street signs, utilities, fire hydrants, etc., just waiting to be developed.
It apparently is a country club waiting to happen. They have the marina, tennis courts, restaurant, little store, a deli/cafe, workout room…. I think it is kind of like Black Butte in Oregon. It is a place families can own a vacation home to come to in the summer time. Having the marina is a great idea, because that brings in transient income in the spring and fall as boats migrate north and south.
I rode my bike to a place where I could look out over Pamilco Sound. It was a rough day out there today!
Meanwhile, back at Island Girl, Stuart has some new adornments. We always cross tie the stern lines when we back into a slip. They have been giving Stuart a rash. I had a friend tell me last year that pool noodles serve a multitude of uses on a boat. Sure enough! The first place we used one was on the hard top at the stairs, to save noggins from getting bonked. And now, they are being used as little line jackets to save poor little Stuart from getting a rash.
This evening, Nine Lives hosted a gathering with all of us loopers on their nice Endeavor Power Catamaran – something like 20 people!! We had a great time visiting with everyone. I hope to get a copy of a group picture to share. Back on board Island Girl, the chief cook whipped up some Fettuccini Carbonara, salad, and Rice Krispie treats for dinner and dessert. Nope, this is not camping. The galley comes up with some good stuff sometimes. 😉 The only thing odd at this marina is that we’re having trouble with e-mail. We have a very weak AT&T cell signal. The available wi-fi is unsecured though seems to work pretty good. But we (and other boats too) are having trouble getting email to download. Odd. Tomorrow is another nice sleep-in day. But, I will have to hop out and brave the wind and rain. A bunch of the ladies are getting together at 9:00 at the gym. I’ll take my yoga mat and 30 minute yoga workout on the computer to share. That will feel really good – I haven’t done that since we left home.