Our family came to NC for a few days to visit us! As much as I love to see Jake’s mug all day every day (and him mine)… 😉 …it’s nice to mix it up!

In preparation for their arrival, we scoured the boat from top to bottom, 3 solid days cleaning every visible (and hidden) compartment, deck, wall, floor, etc. I’m pretty sure we cleaned Bosco better than we did when we first moved aboard! We were hoping to make a really good first impression since my family thinks we are (slightly more than a little) crazy living on a boat. Bosco cleans up very nice. She took on her former glory – almost like a brand new boat!

Day 1

August 23

Charlie’s Angels (or in this case now, Bosco’s Angels) (as they are often referred in our home life) were planning to drive, but decided that flying would be more efficient for their limited visiting time. They arrived early afternoon where we met them at their hotel, River Neuse , just a few blocks from the boat. We wasted little time, making our way to the local drinking hole, an outdoor tiki bar for some cold drinks and catching up. Then off to dinner (right next door) at Toucan’s Grill. It was a meal full of laughs and yummy food! It was so nice for Jake and I to finally have other people to talk to besides each other.

Everyone was excited to come check out Bosco, so we made a short 2-minute drive. We were all in full picture-taking mode by then. We hung out below so they could get the “grand tour” and see how not-as-scary the inside of the boat is – actually quite spacious and comfortable, even for five people.

Day 2

August 24

The next morning came quickly. We had a light breakfast at The Bean (mostly just so the fam could visit this native artifact). The plan was to visit the Outer Banks, Atlantic Beach and Fort Macon, Pine Knolls Aquarium and eat some delicious seafood. With my family, there’s also got to be at least a little bit of shopping involved, or else the day is incomplete.

The two hour drive was pretty easy-going and we pulled into the end of the line, which is Fort Macon State Park. Across from the fort is a nice stretch of beach, so we decided to take a stroll along the shore. Mostly it was the three Angels posing, or having us pose, for pictures 🙂 It was a common theme throughout the day (and the next 3 days after). “Get together for a picture. Here’s a great spot for a picture.”

We walked a lot further than we initially planned, getting lost trying to find the best shells for our growing collection.

We spent the next 2 hours walking through Fort Macon State Park – a completely FREE attraction. Its rare to find someplace done up so well AND free. It was a highlight for sure! The fort was left preserved so visitors get a sense of what life was actually like back then. If you had kiddos, probably best to hang on so they don’t accidentally run off of a ledge.

Besides its use in the Civil War and WW2, Fort Macon was also used as a prison. Much of the grounds have been preserved in its pre-war state, but some of the significant happenings were left untouched. Note the stairs where a cannon ball was fired (from enemy lines), leaving it’s marks. Just one of many fascinating pieces of history to experience.

By the time we finished, all of us were starving. We figured Atlantic Beach would have plenty of restaurants (its kind of touristy place). But to our dismay it seemed everything was closed. I mean it is a monday after all! 🙂 We happened upon a place, Sanitary Fish Market. The name left little to be desired, but once we walked in we were happily surprised. The place was really big and kitschy with tons of “crap” all over the walls and had a great view of the water. The food was AMAZING! Fish, shrimp, hush puppies, lots of really tasty fresh veggies. Oh and of course we can’t forget the salt water taffy for dessert! We were beyond stuffed…if there is such a thing. Ready for a food-coma-nap I think.

But of course, with this group, if there’s daylight we still have places that require visiting. The Pine Knoll Aquarium was only about a 10 minute drive from the restaurant, so we decided to head that way for an afternoon indoors. The a/c was glorious of course, but I’m obsessed with aquariums so I was in sea-creature-heaven.

We rushed through the first half of the exhibit(s) to make it to the shark tank for feeding time. It was pretty rad to see all these giant fish and sharks being fed. Sharks apparently don’t eat very often, something like once every 2 weeks in the wild. And they are notoriously lazy so if they aren’t hungry, they won’t make much effort for food. It was funny to see all the other fish make mad dashes though.

After the fun, we made our way around the rest of the aquarium. I took way too many pictures (as I always do) of course. Some of the highlights included petting the nurse shark and sting rays, walking along the outdoor Marsh Trail and viewing the upside-down jellyfish (which I’ve never seen, I thought they were sea anemone). Jake played a hilarious joke on his mother-in-law, something like placing a fake snake on her shoulder in the gift shop and her freaked out reaction. You had to be there to appreciate the hilarity of it.

By the end of the day, we were all wiped out. We decided to mix it up a little, and take the ferry back (saving us about 60-miles of driving time). Since the ferry was not due for about an hour and a half, we spent the time doing some much needed shopping. Most of the shops were super touristy so we didn’t get anything, but it was a fun distraction.

We made it back right as the sun set over the bay. That night we were going to call it an early one, and everyone went their separate ways.

After we got back to the boat, I realized I left our phone in the Angels’ car. Seeing as how that is our only way to coordinate with them, I went back to their hotel to grab it (Jake fell asleep before I left the boat). I ended up hanging out with them for another hour and a half, enjoying wine and snacks, before coming back and promptly passing out.

Day 3

August 25

This morning we decided to cook breakfast for everyone on Bosco. I didn’t know how well we’d do with five people at our boat table. Jake did all of the labor – he made a feast: sausage, pancakes, cinnamon apples, oatmeal and coffee. The ladies said they’d be here by 8AM, but it was more like 9AM before they came by; thankfully it took a long time to prep all this food in the boat galley, so it worked out well that they were so late.

Breakfast was a yummy affair and I think the ladies were all impressed that we could cook in our cozy galley as well as we did (well Jake gets all the credit for this one, since I didn’t do anything to help).

Afterwards, the 4 of us women decided to hit the local scene and check out the neighborhood. We went to River Dunes & Whitakker Pointe, both of which are very lovely neighborhoods. Jake stayed behind to talk to our electrician about boat projects (battery installation, diesel work, plumbing). I can’t say what his morning was like, probably nice and quiet. 🙂

We drove to River Dunes, which is very beautiful area with a gorgeous marina. We spent the better part of an hour driving around, then visited the marina and yacht club facilities. After that fun tour, we made our way over to Whitakker Pointe. At the end of the neighborhood is a marina, appropriately named Whitakker Pointe Marina. Jake and I hope to take Bosco here after boat work has been completed.

My family REALLY loves to shop. A general requirement for any family visit includes shopping. Staying true-to-form, we made our way back to downtown where the shopping commenced. First it was this little place, Nautical Wheelers. I assumed it would be all kitschy local-made stuff. It turned out to be much much more: outdoor clothes, yoga clothes, shoes, wine, jewelry, kids and babies stuff, soaps, cards, the list goes on and on. I even called Jake to come over because I was sure he’d find something (which he did), like the rest of us.

After our shopping binge, Aunt Eileen and Jake decided to go back to the boat to relax and snack and the rest of us continued shopping for another hour or so. Once the rain set in, we decided to grab a few things and make our way back to Bosco for a light lunch. It was somewhat impromptu, but turned out to be just what we all needed.

We had some fun adventures this afternoon: Aunt Eileen was the first one (other than Jake and I) to use our composting head. And she did it like a pro! Mom and Aunt Pat had their first kayaking experience. At first they were scared because it started to rain and they didn’t want to get wet. Once loaded up, they took off like pros. I followed along on the SUP (stand up paddle board). They would often try to go in a specific direction and end up going in circles instead. 🙂

After awhile, the rain came down harder so we decided to call it a day and head back to the boat. By then we were all cold and wet and in need of showers. We decided to hang back to clean up Bosco while the girls took off, and met them a few hours later to grab some dinner. We ended up at a local place, The Silos, which pretty much only had pizza on the menu (since it was an hour before closing time). The food was awesome and we had a lot of fun reminiscing (mostly because of the old records hanging all over).

We headed back to the hotel to pick up our car, but ended up staying for another hour to hang out before Jake and I were exhausted and made our way back to the boat.

Last Day

August 26

It was very rainy when we woke up today. We decided to take it easy and have a leisurely morning so the ladies could recover from all the happenings of the last few days.

Since it was the Angels’ last day with us, we decided to head up to New Bern. They needed to be in Raleigh by evening, and figured it’d be a good place to tour around for the day. We spent the morning at Tryon Palace. Its not really a Palace, but several acres of land dedicated to historic preservation. The Governor’s Mansion and several homes erected in the mid-1700’s were restored to their glory and offer a pretty cool place to visit and learn about the history of North Carolina.

One of the coolest things about the tour here are the actors who dress up and perform as if stepping back in time. Telling a story in the resurrected 18th century grounds really does bring it to life. Too bad we couldn’t take a lot of photos inside (they don’t allow photography), though I did sneak a few shots in there because I’m bad.

After our first guided tour, we spent some time walking along the grounds, which have some of the most beautiful gardens any of us have ever seen. We can only assume they were used for celebratory occasions and events. They were pretty awesome.

We also visited the working kitchen (which is in a separate building as the homes), a blacksmith shop where they fabricate real pieces and a couple of smaller mansions, which are more like modest homes. Homes were maintained by servants and children of wealthy families were reared in completely separate quarters, rarely seen by anyone other than their personal handmaids. Kids that were of modest families were sent off to masters to learn a trade, like tailoring or metal smithing.

A mansion in the mid-1700’s would cost around $5000 to build. Irish crystal chandeliers, elegant silverware, decadent carvings, Porcelain pieces and tapestries imported from China, made these homes luxuriuos. By today’s standard, they might seem sub-par (especially since the only form of A/C is windows and heat is fireplace). It was easy to get lost in the past.

Once finished with the tour, we were famished, thirsty and tired. The weather was turning ugly, so we decided to make our way over to the more modern part of downtown for reprieve. On our way, we stopped by the first Pepsi Cola Shoppe (New Bern is the birthplace of Pepsi) to get a few drinks and cool down for a bit. Afterwards we walked (well some of us drove some of us walked) to a cute restaurant on the corner called Chelsea’s. It was perfect timing, because as soon as we walked in, the storm raged.

Lunch (or really more like early dinner) was super tasty. We took our sweet time since the weather didn’t look like it would let up anytime soon. We hung out for probably an hour after we eating, but the rain didn’t look like it would stop, so we decided to call it a day and part ways. The ladies went on to Raleigh, where they would spend the night in the same hotel we stayed in just a few weeks earlier (which they said they loved). Jake and I headed back home to Bosco.

And now I need a nap.