Carolina Beach to Beaufort, NC

We head out of Southport and up the Cape Fear River towards Wilmington, but the ICW veers off towards Carolina Beach which is where we were headed to catch a mooring ball and spend a long weekend.  A little surprised to find a duck begging for a handout in this anchorage.  Carolina Beach mooring field is a terrific stop along the NC coast.  Very protected and easy shore access.  Larry the harbormaster is the best!  He is easy to work with and very responsive.  After finding the shore access - there are two for this anchorage.  One gets you close to the Carolina Beach Dive Bar.  True to its name it a great dive bar with great food and drinks!  The Second access gets you two blocks from public beach access.  So Beach time it is.
This weekend passed way to fast and we are off again headed up to Mile Hammock anchorage and Camp Lejuene.  But first we catch some great sites along the way and plenty of Osprey.  And one Bald eagle that chose and interesting place to build a nest.  We are close to Camp Lejeune when Dee says there is bridge from the back gate leading to Sneads Ferry.  This is gate Dee went through many times during his station at Camp Lejeune. We catch site of some barracks before rounding the bend and heading into the anchorage.  It was just beautiful here.  You could hear the ocean all night, Except when the marines were practicing.  We watched them set up and set out into the woods and listen to their wars games into the night.
The next morning we head north and through the live fire area across the ICW where the marines also practice.  Thankfully not today…… but an interesting area to cruise through.  We continued to see marine corps osprey flying and Live osprey some with a catch all along our course.  We pass through swansboro , the Bodie Sound and Morehead City before making Beaufort, NC…. We spot another endeavor, Pappillon passing through Beaufort as we try to find a spot to anchor we can be happy in as we prepare for the sun to go down and the Memorial Day Weekend ahead.  Tomorrow the fun of Beaufort, NC begins…..