Day 138 - St James To Carolina Beach

Friday, January 14, 2011

Last evening with Nancy and Larry was really nice, catching up on family news and learning more about the St. James Plantation and surrounding areas. Nancy calls St. James a gated community, but it's more like a gated town. Driving through the community is like driving through the countryside because it's so big. I was up at 6, packed the gear, and soon was smelling bacon cooking. Nancy fixed a nice breakfast, fixed a lunch for me to take today, and sent along one of the chocolate pies for my brother and me to eat this weekend. We loaded the cart and gear in her car, and headed back to where I left off yesterday. We drove through some of the community to let me see more of the area. Soon I was taking the cart out of the car, saying goodbye, and starting down Hwy 211 toward Southport.

The walk into Southport was nice due to a good road and not much traffic. Along the way I spotted Morgan Harper from the local newspaper. She stopped by to take a few more pictures and ask more questions. Morgan is originally from Southport, left for a while, came back, and now lives in one of the older homes along the waterfront. She describes herself as a very lucky girl to live in such a nice home in a great community.......I have to agree with her on that. I also had a call from Gary Gauthier, a Michigan guy whom I met in Globe, AZ. He and his brothers have been followers of this blog for quite some time now. We talked about the walk, airplanes, and boats. Before long I was in Southport, and stopped by the newspaper office to thank them for their coverage of the walk. I decided to call Nancy and invite her to lunch, so did and she agreed and said she would be in town shortly. She had suggested a place called "Trolley Stop" (great hot dogs and ice cream), so I told her I'd meet her there.

The sign on the window of Trolley Stop said it all: "Closed until March". That's not so unusual for certain business along the NC coast during the winter months, we'll just find another place. And we did, a small sandwich shop around the corner. Had a nice lunch, talked a while, and it was time to leave to catch the 1:45 ferry to Fort Fisher. We walked down by the waterfront, took a few pictures, and I headed to the ferry landing.....about 2 miles away. I arrived in plenty of time and met a woman named Sherry who was also walking on the ferry (as opposed to driving). Sherry is originally from Wilksboro, NC, and now lives and works in Southport. She was riding the ferry to meet a friend on the Carolina Beach side of the river. I had the cart with all the gear, Sherry had a couple of travel bags, so everyone thought we were together. She was an interesting person.....a former bodybuilder, and she brews her own beer.

The ride across the river takes about 20-25 minutes and it was nice......a clear day and smooth waters. When I reached the Fort Fisher side, my brother Robert was waiting. We loaded the cart on his Jeep, and he took it back to his house while I walked the 5+ miles. Along the way I passed the Fort Fisher Historical Site, a really nice place that I want to visit before I leave the area. The 5 mile walk was almost perfect. Bike lanes on both sides of the road, great scenery, and beautiful homes. Only at the beach do you see houses painted most any color......purple, red, orange, blue, gold, pink, etc., and it looks great. The beach in the winter is completely different than the crowds as the weather warms.......actually quite nice. The ocean was calm and blue, but I can't go there quite yet. Robert met me downtown, and I rode to his place. We soon had everything unpacked, and shortly after that were having dinner....Robert, some of Patsy Bradshaw's bar-b-que and homemade soup; me, the lunch Nancy fixed, and some of Patsy's soup.

I received a call from Annie at New Balance Corporate Headquarters.....they heard about the walk (from my daughter-in-law Michelle), and are going to send me a free pair of NB 1226 shoes. Annie asked if I wanted red or blue? I couldn't decide, so just told her to surprise me! Annie also told me she was passing the info to other departments in the company, so I might hear from them also. That's pretty nice of them. I've been very pleased with this shoe, and will bring out a new pair (the 5th), for the final 90 or so miles. I'm taking Saturday and Sunday as rest days, and will start out Monday morning for the final leg. I plan to arrive at Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier, Emerald Isle, NC, around 10am on Saturday, January 22......if all goes according to plan. If you live in the area, would love to have you stop by.

About the pictures:
Bro Robert and the cart about to take a ride;
Anything goes at the beach;
This way to the ferry;
A pier at Southport.