We went into Beaufort for breakfast and wifi this morning. We are so used to getting up and turning in with the sun, we haven't really noticed how early the sun gets up these days. We ended up waiting a bit for the coffee shop to open at seven. The waitress was cordial but apologetic - we were welcome to sit down when she unlocked the door, but they didn't start serving breakfast until seven-thirty. No problem, we asked for the wifi password and Dan enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee. We were sitting on the upper deck overlooking the Beaufort docks, enjoying the view while Dan browsed the internet and I uploaded our blog posts. A man nearby overheard my question about the name of the island directly across from us and strode over to chat. His name was Gene. He was eager to tell us the history of the horses located here. He directed Dan's attention to a sailboat on the way out "We come up here for the morning's entertainment" he said, explaining that it usually involved boats running into each other as they left the marina while misjudging the strength of the current. The sailboat they kept an eye on was headed out of the channel and would soon run aground. Gene informed us that the channels here changed so often dredging couldn't keep up with them. Eager for local knowledge, Dan asked a lot of questions about how best for us to go over to the outer bank - Shackleford Bank - to better view the larger herd of horses.
Gene gave us great advice about how to get there and where to anchor, and then also told us to go visit the Old Burying Ground a few blocks away. Beaufort has a great history, he said, and the best place to get a sense of it was to visit the graveyard.
We decided to take him up on all his advice. We walked over to the Old Burying Ground, a wonderful cemetery (if you can say that about cemeteries) with privateers, sailors, soldiers from several wars, including the pre-revolutionary war with Native Americans, and various dignitaries who fathered the town. Just as we arrived at the gates, a local volunteer from the historical society came with the key to let us in, then urged us to follow her back to her office for a brochure with a map detailing a self-guided tour. We learned about many of the dead, all of it very interesting.
The grave of Capt. Otway Burns, commander of the privateer Snap Dragon, one of North Carolina's naval heroes from the War of 1812. Buried here with a cannon from his vessel.
We walked back to the small historical district where another volunteer invited us to pick fresh vegetables from the historical garden. Seriously? We happily gathered some fresh chard and several beets. What friendly people. 
The Beaufort Historical Garden.
Back at the boat we hauled anchor and made our way out of Beaufort over to Shackleford Bank. Thank you Gene for great information - none of our charts accurately showed the depth or even the coastline. We anchored off the beach and went ashore to see the horses and to do some shelling. A handful of other people had been ferried over by the local tour boats. Some had set up camp on the beach with chairs, buckets, and umbrellas, others were walking toward the horses with cameras. There was a small group of them grazing nearby. Dan and I watched for a few minutes, then continued on to explore.
They don't know where these horses came from; they have 'always' been there. Genetically they are related to Spanish horses.
This island is just littered with shells. I've never seen anything like it. Most of them are clams or oysters, and some of them were very large! We also found a row of washed up or possibly uprooted trees, a few different birds, and an area with little tiny holes. They looked like someone had been poking the sand with a pencil. Dan stood around pondering what could make such holes when he turned to me and asked for the camera. "Look! Crabs!" I watched. Sure enough, there were very small crabs - perhaps an inch big - scuttling around. If you got close, they'd disappear into the holes. Dan managed to get a few on film. 
Shells on the beach.
Tiny crabs.
Sanderling
We spent a couple hours exploring the end of this island, then decided it was time to leave. We still wanted to get to Oriental today. We have recently become aware of a possible tropical storm developing and moving into this area over the weekend. If we can get up into the Dismal Swamp, we will be well protected from any winds such a thing might bring. So we returned to Willie, hauled anchor, and hit the ICW for a four hour run to our next stop.
Adam's Creek, on the way to Oriental.
Oriental was one of our favorite stops in the fall. There are free docks, extremely friendly people, and they have a marine consignment shop that Dan spent several hours in last time we were here. He wants to make sure to visit it again tomorrow while I go up to the grocery store for a couple things.
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