A Little Prick Caught Up with Me

About two weeks ago, a loose wire on one of the filter baskets in the generator water intake structure pricked my thumb. Exhibiting strong Y-chromosome tendencies, I gave it a quick rinse and forgot about it. Knowing what I know now, I should have paid more attention. A few days later, it stung a bit--nothing a bandaid and a little Bacitracin wouldn't cure--right? A few days of that long proven treatment and my thumb was back to normal it seemed. All good. Until yesterday when I woke up to a throbbing, stinging, swollen, red thumb that made me wince anytime I put it opposite my first or middle finger. I called daughter Doctor Elizabeth starting the call with, "I know the answer to my question; go to urgent care." She listened to my complaint and said, "No, Dad; go to the ER." It turns out there are really nasty bacteria that inhabit salt water. Perhaps they're preparing to spawn an even nastier by-product than homo sapiens. I trundled off to the ER at Caterat Hospital in Morehead City--20 minutes away by Uber. An exam, x-rays to ensure there was no wire in there, and an initial dose of doxycycline later they sent me off to CVS to retrieve a 10 day course of this antibiotic known to be effective against saltwater vermin. The thumb is still aggressively making itself known today but Advil is cooling the pain a bit. Dr. Elizabeth says it takes about 48 hours for the doxycycline to show some benefit. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Amazing What a Little Prick Can Do to You

We took advantage of another day of near gale force winds to explore Beaufort more fully. I'm not sure what the fascination is but we started our walk about Beaufort at the Old Burying Ground. Dating back at least to 1709, it holds the remains of the fallen from numerous wars including the war with Coree and Neusiok Native Americans in 1711, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. Among other oddities, one soldier who wanted to be buried with his boots on is buried vertically in full uniform facing east. A young girl who died on a return sail from London is buried in a rum barrel. And the sailors who died when the ship Chrissie Wright went ashore on a cold winter night are buried together in a common grave. People in this area still use the expression "Cold as the night the Chrissie Wright went ashore." Of course there are dozens if not a larger number of babies, children, and teenagers buried here. We are so lucky to have antibiotics and vaccines today, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and your cronies take note. Interestingly, the Old Burying Ground has a church on each corner.

The Old Burying Ground--Spring in Bloom

A Sad Story Yields a Long Remembered Saying.

We followed our walk about in the Old Burying Ground with a walk through the Beaufort Visitor Center and some light shopping for the Admiral. We marveled at the large number of well-preserved historic homes that date, in some cases, to the mid 1700's with many more somewhat later that century and the early 1800s.

One of Dozens of Historic Homes in Beaufort Village.

Then came lunch at a locals' hangout called Beaufort Grocery. As the folks at the visitor center put it: "Locals don't need to eat on the water." At this point in our journey, neither do we. Food was great!

Beaufort Grocery--the Locals Go-To for Lunch

After lunch, we walked to the highlight of the day--the North Carolina Maritime Museum/Beaufort. Newly reopened after a long renovation, it now features a large exhibit of pirate, Blackbeard's, capture of the privateer LaConcorde and its conversion to the pirate ship, Queen Anne's Revenge. Queen Anne's Revenge would ultimately sink in 25 feet of water just off Beaufort Inlet and the museum hosts many artifacts that archaeologists and others have recovered.

Model of the Queen Anne's Revenge

Ballast Stones from the Queen Anne's Revenge

The museum offered insights into numerous other bits of North Carolina maritime history. Boat building, fishing, oystering, shrimping, clamming, trading, transportation, etc. And, it hosted a number of boats preserved in their original working condition.

One of Many Exhibits

The museum also hosted a small exhibit of the role of African Americans, both enslaved and free, in North Carolina's maritime lore.

Brief Stories of African Americans in North Carolina's Maritime History

Perhaps the best part of the museum though was its working boat building shop across the street. I felt like I was walking into a 1900 boat building shop on the Maine coast. My Dad and his grandfather would have loved it. I sure did.

Boat Building Shop at NC Maritime Museum