Alex enjoyed our visit to the condo, and he preferred sleeping on a pile of hats/caps/visors that Jim brought back from the boat.  His collection had grown considerably in almost seven years.  While Alex relaxed, Jim and Su raced around to doctors, accountants, and shopping for stuff we needed to take back to the boat.  We returned to Palmetto Moon in mid April in time to visit with our friends, John and Barbara of M/V Barbara E, who were cruising north to their home in Rhode Island.

As always, the weather did not cooperate with our schedule.  On Saturday, April 28, we finally left Marina Grande Dunes and headed north up the ICW to Wrightsville Beach, NC.  On Sunday, April 29, while cruising to Morehead City, we met up with Frank and Chris Erwin on M/V Mates and cruised with them most of the day.  The above picture was taken by Chris as we waited for the Onslow Beach Bridge in Camp Lejeune to open.  On Monday, April 30, we arrived at the Oriental Marina to relax after cruising about 180 miles in three days and to energize ourselves for the annual haul-out.