It was a rainy day in Deltaville.  Mark and I had just arrived after an all day
battle with the weather elements.  We
took the dinghy to shore and prepared ourselves for a long walk to the boat
store and the supermarket.  Soon it was going
to be dark, so we felt rushed.  Once we
reached the main road, we decided to hitch. 
The first car stopped and in no time, we found what we needed.  In the grocery store, a friendly man passed
me some milk out of the fridge.  When
Mark and I tried to hitch a ride back to the dinghy dock, a fancy car
stopped.  The driver happened to be Paul,
the “milk man”.

He turned out to be a very nice and helpful man.  Not only did he bring us all the way back to
the marina, he also provided us with useful information about Norfolk

On the way to Norfolk, we
stopped in a creek called Horn
Harbor.  When Mark and I explored the area in the
dinghy, a woman called us from shore. 
“Do you need a place to take the dogs out?  You can use my grass!”  Well, we can’t let an opportunity like that
pass.  Kali and Darwin hopped in and our
little group met Janice and her neighbor Jerry on their waterfront properties.  The dogs ran around the big yard and played,
happy to stretch their legs.  The humans
got asked inside to have a glass of wine and a good conversation.  Janice even invited us to take a shower.  We declined. 
There was heated water on the boat, and it was getting cold and
dark.  With a bag of fresh Virginia peanuts (so
tasty!) and a good feeling, we returned home.

We planned to arrive in Norfolk
a week before our trip to Florida.  The weather had something else in mind.  By the time we finally got to our city of
departure, we had one full day to make preparations.  We lucked out with our marina of choice.  Owner David and the other people from Rebel
Marina are extremely helpful and friendly. 
From the moment we arrived, they helped us tie up, and to run errands,
we could use David’s car.  This way we
loaded up with groceries and got our sail fixed.  Robbie invited us to his birthday party the
evening we arrived and his wife Jamie took good care of the dogs while Mark and
I went to the wedding.  So much goodness,
you almost forget it exists!

And then, the other day… 
We were anchored in Town Creek, Beaufort,
NC.  We just found out the supermarket was three
miles away, along a very busy highway. 
And, we’d given up the plan to go after discussing some alternatives
further down the “road”.  Out of the
blue, a total stranger offered us his car to go shopping!  Yep, the people in the South are still
extremely friendly and that is very much appreciated!!   

(for more stories and pictures, check out www.irie.com)