Oriental to Belhaven

As we left the safe harbor of Oriental Marina, we knew the weather was in transition, hopefully in our favor, so we head out into the Neuse River, which is a large open body of water and we had seven hours of travel time ahead of us.

The winds were light, out of the north, as we pulled into Belhaven on the Pungo River. Belhaven Waterway Marina is a charming, small family run dock and the owners, Brenda and Les, do everything to accommodate your needs.

The marina is a block away from downtown, of which half of the storefronts are vacant, a sign of tough economic times. In the background of this picture is the street and the back of the only fast food in town "Farm Boys". We got take out fried catfish and chicken strips.

There is an Ace Hardware that also sells wine and costume jewelry (I found that odd). There is a bank, drugstore, beauty salon (we both went there) and three restaurants (of which we went to all three) all within two blocks of the marina.

Time goes real slow at the One Stop Barber Shop and Salon. Like a scene out of "Steel Magnolias" three female hair dressers were teasing the hair of three very old ladies and talking about everyone in town. It was like out of another time and the only game in town, so Bob got a hair cut and I had color done. How does it look? Different.

In the morning, we walked to the only stop light in town and found O'Neals, the best and only place for breakfast. Everyone was very friendly.

We took a bike ride on the waterfront and it was a charming little town with a view of the river.

It was Saturday, so we passed families enjoying time together. I just can't imagine being a teenager in this town with no movie theater or stores. We passed a few hanging out on the front porch.

This is an abandoned house that was damaged in Hurricane Irene last year which brought in four feet of water into the town.

Many grand homes built in the later 1800's and early 1900's remain standing today. The largest of all is River Forest Manor, completed in 1904. It's first owner was John Wilkinson, president of Roper Lumber Company and vice president of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad. The mansion has 11 fireplaces with carved oak mantels, crystal chandeliers, and tapestries on the walls. This country inn is now closed. It looked very spooky. 

The evening ended with dinner at Georgie's Sport and Oyster Bar. It didn't look like much of a place but being Saturday night, the whole town packed the place with a very lively atmosphere. Have I said how friendly everyone is. Our waitress brought us complementary cheese and crackers (because we are new visitors) and after dinner she took our picture for their facebook page. Find that in Miami. The rib eye and steamed spicy shrimp were very good. It was a fun night.

We have been here two nights waiting for a weather front coming across the country. We missed home as we watched TV as the bad weather hit Florida.

It's a lazy, rainy Sunday as the front passes through North Carolina.

Samy agrees.