June 11 afternoon

So, it is 12:30 on the ICW. With only a half day gone by, we're already having a ton of fun. We left the marina early. And it was mostly cloudy. We went under the Swains Cut Highway Bridge with our regular dance. It was early enough that we only had to ask a jet skier to slow down. We were a little early to the Wrightsville Beach Bascule Bridge, so we had to kill time in the waterway. I wanted to go to the dock bar, but Peggy said we didn't have enough time. It was 10:30, and the bridge opened at 11. Now that we are one and a half hours away, Peggy says, "Oh. I could have ordered and had them bring something over. I didn't think of that." Like I believe that one. Then we had the next bridge, which opened every half hour. Mike decided that we could make it, so he 'put the pedal to the metal.' Yes, he made it with seconds to spare. It helped that there were two sailboats going south who had to pass first. For once, it was nice to have some traffic! And the traffic just got more interesting as we went along. We were passed by boats painted in camouflage colors with soldiers on board. And, they were all carrying guns. The first group of boats went by at a moderate speed. The second group flew by, creating quite the wake. Now, we are moving along hoping to outrace the clouds. It has gone to cloudy, and it is very gray. The forecast is calling for showers and possible thunderstorms. I am hoping we can skip the thunder and lightning. Along the way, we have passed some amazing houses. The are. It enough to be boutique hotels! Even more interesting has been the statues. One house had a mermaid that had to be over ten feet tall. Then we saw a full size giraffe. Next, there was the giant swan. So now we are not only in the land of big houses, but we are in the country of gigantic sculptures!