Thanksgiving in Oriental

November is coming to a close and we are still here at Deaton's, in Oriental, NC, things are moving slow but at least in the right direction. The new foils for the jib and stay sails have arrived along with new standing rigging. The new mast should arrive next week which will give Bernie something to do attaching all the undamaged hardware from the old mast. We have also received a check for replacing all the mast equipment lost so we'll be ordering that from West Marine. We have run into some people here we had not seen in awhile. The first pleasant surprise was finding where Tom & Joyce "Whispering Seas" live here in Oriental. It is actually walking distance from Deaton's. A few days after the old mast was removed as we were sitting on our boat, Craig & Debbie "Charmed" passed by us heading up this branch of the creek (Whittaker Creek has MANY branches.) We knew they had friends in Oriental but we never knew who they were. We also knew Tom & Joyce had a house in Oriental but didn't know where. Bernie got on his bike and went to see where they were headed as it is a short branch and he knew where road went. Imagine the surprise of finding "Charmed" at the dock of Tom & Joyce! What a small world! Craig & Debbie were spending a few days before proceeding south, if we hadn't seen them go past we would have never known. Talk about coincidence. Tom & Joyce have been doing some remodeling so they are not planning on cruising until at least after the holidays. They have been very gracious, letting us borrow a car for errands and doing our laundry at their home. The next week Rick & Chris "One With The Wind" come walking down the dock at Deaton's. They we visiting some friends in New Bern and came over to say hello. Then last week Rod & Sue "Glenlyon" surprised us. They came here to have some work done and Rod just happened to see our boat while walking the dock. We discovered they also know Tom & Joyce. Again, what a small world! We all spent an evening together at Tom & Joyce's and had a great time. Tom & Joyce had family coming for Thanksgiving and we had Rod & Sue over for a feast on "Cats Cradle." We have definitely been making the very best out of a bad situation. Rod & Sue are heading south tomorrow and we wish them fair winds and following seas, it was great to see them again and an unexpected surprise. We have met many new, as well as our old friends here and are making lemonade out of our lemons. Scupper & Gilligan have been getting a lot of dock time, especially Mr. Gilligan, think he could walk all day if we let him.