June 12- Motoring Along

Tuesday, June 12 Last night, we anchored in a cove Mile Hammock Bay. It is part of Camp Lejeune, however they allow cruisers to anchor here. Of course, you have to be aware that it is a military base. That means you get extra traffic of an unusual nature. As you might have read in yesterday's blog, we were passed by numerous runabouts painted in camouflage colors and filled with soldiers carrying guns. Last evening, we were entertained by the osprey- that would be the military version. It was obviously in training mode. It would fly over the cove, practice setting down just beyond the trees, and then it would take off and fly around again. This went on for quite a while. This morning, two military watercraft came on trailers. They were met by soldiers who hoped aboard, and the watercraft took off through the cove. But the anchorage was a nice one. This morning, we woke up to a cloudy, windy day. The wind did blow all night long. We're moving right along. Peggy and I decided to do a little cleaning. We reorganized the shelf over the port hallway. Now, we have four baskets, each with a set of items that go together. And, Peggy got the rest of the ditch bag together. Things look neat and tidy. That ought to last for at least the rest of today. On another note, I thought I would mention a few of the really good things done while provisioning. We really like the silicon products. The silicon cutting boards have been great. They obviously don't take up a lot of room, and more than one person can help when making dinner. The silicon pot lids continue to perform as advertised. They do literally seal on the pan when cooking. I also purchased Zyliss knives (a paring and a serrated). The reason they are so great is that the came with knife covers. I like that I can reach for them in any conditions and not worry about stabbing myself. I also bought an OXO vegetable peeler. It came with its own cover as well. We also bought our own snack size storage bags. That allowed us to buy essential things like pretzels, cookies, and fig newtons in bulk and apportion them out ourselves into snack size servings. Peggy's idea of hanging a net for snacks is also brilliant. It's perfect for DIY quick and easy snacking. On LUX, the snack net is hanging over the settee in front of one of the windows. One note of warning: Don't get the granola bars that have a layer of icing-like stuff on one side and then hang them in a window in the summertime. Best to stick with plain old oat and honey bars. I also really like the fabric sweater storage rack. It ended up making a great set of shelves in the hanging locker. They are just the right size for the hanging lockers in LUX. Yes, they are actually too long, but the extra shelves just collapse underneath and really do not take up that much space. I am really pleased with that spot of inspiration! Note to Tom and Linda: We found one more package of bimbos. Just when you think you have cleared the boat of all the bimbos, more hop on board.