Waiting Out Noel In Hampton

We have extended our stay in Hampton to wait on the weather. Once we enter the ICW, we will need enough good weather days to carry us through Albemarle Sound and the Alligator River. We are really enjoying our stay here. This is a very cruiser-friendly town. While out shopping for groceries, we had two offers for rides back to our dinghy. It was only a 1/4 mile, so we declined, but the offers were much appreciated. A few years ago, while on vacation, we stayed in Hampton for a couple of days. This was early in our planning (dreaming) for this trip, when we could only imagine ourselves anchored off the downtown area. Wow, and now we are here. Pictured are opposite views - downtown Cousteau Society from Ariel and Ariel from the Cousteau Society.

 Cousteau Society from Ariel

 Ariel from the Cousteau Society

We really needed the time to get caught up. We found a really neat area on East Queens Way with several boutique-type shops and neat restaurants. We both had crab cakes one last time before leaving the area at the Taphouse. We recommend this place.

Yesterday, we set out a second anchor in advance of the high winds as we are pinched between a large high-pressure system moving in and Noel, which is moving up the coast. Later that same evening, Noel was upgraded to hurricane status, and winds are now expected to gust to 60. This morning (Friday), we reduced our windage by removing our dodger and connector to the bimini. We also added a third anchor. We put out our Fortress FX37, which is our storm anchor. We should be able to get going again on Sunday.