Osprey nest

We are glad to be anchored this morning -- a night away from marinas.  At the moment, we are all alone, but I counted a dozen boats here when I turned in last night -- ten sailboats, an American Tug with whom we have been playing leapfrog since Osprey Marina, and us.  It vaguely reminded us of the "RV ghetto" at any popular Interstate-exit Walmart.

We can thank the Marines for last night's digs, as this anchorage, at Mile Hammock Bay, exists only due to extensive dredging to a 12' depth some years ago for their use.  We are entirely surrounded by Camp Lejeune, a place we've been before when we passed through in Odyssey on highway 172, way back in 2006.  North of here, live fire exercises sometimes close the ICW, but I called Range Control this morning and confirmed there is none scheduled today.



We actually enjoyed sitting on the deck, watching the marines ashore at work.  Sounds of exploding ordnance can be heard in the distance, and this morning we heard small-arms fire.  We were buzzed quite a number of times by the Ospreys.  Not the raptors, which are plentiful here along the ICW (I can see one nest ashore from here), but the Boeing V-22 Tilt-Rotor that is the Marines' current favored form of transportation.  They were taking off and landing just out of our sight, obscured by trees.



As much as I am enjoying having the anchorage to ourselves this morning, we have another bridge schedule to make, and a section of skinny water to cross before low tide, and so we will be motoring out of here shortly.  We are planning a short day today, stopping for the night in Swansboro, where we can tie up in walking distance of the town.  It will be our first tie-up against pilings at a fixed dock -- up to now, all our stays have been at floating docks.