Sunday 5/31 - Bellhaven, NC to Coinjock, NC (Coinjock Marina and Restaurant)

As usual, after i finish my chores (pull up and put away the fenders, tie up the stern, spring and bow lines, and batten down the hatches down below) i take my coffee to the bow and just sit, meditate, practice mindfulness, gather my thoughts, recall my dreams, what ever comes to mind….this morning i was fascinated by the early sun light hitting the water.  I tried to imagine what i would think was happening if i did not know it was sunshine reflecting off the water.  it looked like sparks jumping out of the water - exactly what a sparkler produces…i wondered if a video could convey what i was seeing - and a photo I knew would just paralyze the sparks.  it was very beautiful.  This thought came and went as most do…..

Our cruise to Coinjock was LONG…..we headed out about 830 and did not arrive until 530.   We were traveling through what i call big water….it seemed we were in the ocean because not much land in sight but we were actually in the Pamlico Sound which is a very large body of water.  I didn’t take any pictures and just read a lot.  

Teresa’s book, Hungry Mother Creek, continued to amaze me in the fact that she was writing about such familiar places (Oriental, NC and all the restaurants we’d been to) and such familiar topics - women's circles/groups, the power of intuition and becoming mindful.  This book allowed me to think about all the wonderful work i’ve completed with my beautiful women friends and thought how I was so proud to have been a part of such powerful groups as our Artist Way group and the Dream Group.  It rekindled my desire to rejoin upon my return home.  That was the serendipitous message i felt I was supposed to receive by introducing myself to Teresa in the restaurant that evening...but there was more.  

And on a side note, while we’re talking about serendipity, listen to this one - a couple of years ago I was laying on my couch looking through a book that my ex-mother-in-law had given me (a book she no longer wanted so she sent it forward).  This book was entitled, The Artist’s Way….i was very intrigued by it and then the phone rang and i was so attached to the book that i let the call go to voice mail.   a bit later i go to retrieve the voice message and it’s my dear friend Fonda, and she’s inviting me to attend a group that’s meeting to read a book called, The Artist’s Way.  No way…  Way!!!  it’s hard to believe but true.  While i was reading the book, Fonda was calling me about that book.  Needless to say I accepted the invite and it was my first women’s circle/group and i feel it changed my life in various ways.  Thank you Fonda for inviting me and thank you Kelly for facilitating the group. 

My charting station is below, out of the wind, while en route.

And back to my current serendipitous occurrence and why i’m bringing all this up in the first place.  As i was finishing Teresa’s book, a passage near the end gave me a start.  It read….’She looked toward to water and it sparkled with thousands of tiny diamonds created by the early morning sun.’  The same damn thought i had had earlier this morning!!!!  coincidence, i prefer to think not.

i plan to email Teresa and tell her i enjoyed her book (and wondering if i should tell her about all the typos i found - maybe a dozen!! - no editor i guess since the book was self-published), talk about my women’s groups and see what transpires.  

okay, back to cruising….and the last 2 hours were really rough waters - i had to stay seated or move very low to get around.  the high winds and waves were hitting us starboard side and at one point i started reading the chart as i usually do and immediately knew i could not do that right now..and the nausea set in a bit.  and when you can’t read or easily move around all you can do is try NOT to focus on how you’re feeling.  

We finally got out of the sound and into a smaller channel as we approached Coinjock and the waters settled down considerably.   And soon I was back to normal and hungry.  Harry had prime rib and I had cobia.