Tanks, everyone!

Yep....that's what it says!

In case you missed the sign...

Yes, that sign says what you think it does... although I've not yet seen one crossing yet in over 15 visits, I'm ever hopeful. So far, the closest I've gotten was seeing tank treads in the mud, and once watched several tanks cross over the Onslow Beach bridge a few miles north.
I was at Camp Lejeune, the military base south of Beaufort NC. And although I've yet to see any tanks, I have seen all sorts of other military gear - lots of helicopters, jets, VTOL aircraft, big inflatable boats with 50 cal machine guns...oh, and once they had live fire exercises going on. All boats were stopped at Swansboro, and even from 15 miles away, you could hear the thunder of the cannons. It was awe inspiring and gave me a new appreciation for what men like my father faced during WW2.

So what else is unique on this segment of the trip? Well, there's also the 'pinkest' house in, I suspect, the entire world.... this house is seriously pink. But dahling, the owner needs lessons in colour co-ordination - his pickup is bright red, simply NOT the best colour with pink....scandalous, we shriek!

Some other neat stuff - well, here's what's probably one of the more unique pieces of yard art you'll ever see... a life size giraffe.

Now you gotta realize, we're in North Carolina, still more than 1000 miles from Key Weird - er, West. What's it going to be like in another 5 or 600 miles? 

Ok, I admit it, I'm getting cabin fever today - it was pouring rain and the winds were howling as a front moved in, and I'm staying here on the boat, trying to work and being way more successful at playing here.
Tomorrow, weather permitting and that's looking doubtful, we'll be off to journey down the Cape Fear River to Southport. I'll hang there for a day or so, as I'm doing a Google hangout on Wednesday, and then on into South Carolina the following day.  Here's the link for the Google Hangout - there will be five or six speakers all told, and we'll be discussing what it takes to get ready to cruise. The formal title is "Preparing To Voyage Google+ Hangout with Teresa Carey and Guests" and Teresa is a well known sailor and videographer who along with her husband did 'One Simple Question', a video about icebergs. 
There will be a lot of great information for all, and the opportunity to pose your own questions via skype, facebook, etc. Check out the page - Preparing to Cruise and I'll look forward to seeing you there.