Pleasant surprises happen when you travel, especially when you travel by boat. Four years ago, we were navigating our way south toward Florida along the intracoastal waterway on a small sailboat. It was November, the weather was miserable and so were we. The cat couldn't even find a dry, warm place in the boat. Cold with rain, then cold, then rain, more rain and cold rain. Why we weren't farther south in our journey was a dumb decision on our part, we had simply started too late. We had been warned but hadn't listened. So it was a relief to tie up at the docks at Elizabeth City, North Carolina. At least we would be able to stay fairly warm and dry inside the boat. Stores and restaurants were within walking distance of the docks and small craft warnings were flying out on the water. We considered ourselves lucky. With Thanksgiving a just few days away, we were looking forward to a nice restaurant dinner. Not so, said the citizens of Elizabeth City. We, along with other cruisers at the dock, were invited home for Thanksgiving. We were picked up, driven to a spacious, comfortably warm, dry house with a fire in the fireplace, delectable smells coming from the kitchen and large glasses of wine waiting for us. The owner of the house was a woodworker and when I admired a small book rack he had built, he gave it to me. It holds my cookbooks now. Whenever I take a cookbook down, I am reminded of the generous people who took in slightly bedraggled, damp, probably musty-smelling sailors and gave them a lovely American holiday. May their turkeys always be tender.
That wasn't all Elizabeth City offered to cruisers. The Rose Buddies, a local club gave a wine and cheese party for all the cruisers, and on our last night at the docks, we were fed and serenaded. Our dinner host got out his guitar and sang "May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You" especially to us and for us. He meant every word of that song.
Nothing could be finer than to be in Elizabeth City, North Carolina at any time of the day.
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