A Bald Eagle and a Birthday on the ICW

On December 8th we left Coinjock, a little stop with a dock and restaurant, on our way South, after getting some provisions and paying a diver to clean the bottom of our hull. We were headed for an anchorage in Alligator River. It was a beautiful day, cold but with the sun peeking through the overcast sky. It was also my birthday and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it: out on the water with my family.

A few things happened today: we lost service on our phone (which we wouldn’t get back for days), we passed mile 100 on the ICW and we saw an amazing sight!

We were making good time; the cleaning of our hull was proving to be well worth the cost. Partly through our day we were hailed on the radio by our friend Bill on s/v Solstice traveling ahead of us. Look at the marker on the port side, he said- it’s a Bald Eagle! It was a little too far away to see, but we quickly grabbed our binoculars.

Sure enough, with an incredible zoom on our camera and good binoculars we were able to see a magnificent sight! A proud looking Bald Eagle posing on top of a navigational marker! Beautiful- what a treat!

That night in the secluded anchorage in Alligator River, we made carrot cake cupcakes for my birthday. So how do you make birthday cake on a boat knowing no one is going to help you eat it? To start, I only used half the package of cake mix and halved all the ingredients. It made exactly ten cupcakes. Then, we only frosted four, one for each of us (Haven wouldn’t be eating one). The girls eagerly frosted their own! The unfrosted cupcakes that were left we simply ate as “carrot cake muffins” for breakfast the next morning!

In only a couple of days we would be at our first major port: Beaufort, North Carolina, where we would learn that our plans are truly not our own!