Back on the Road

When The Fuzz last posted, he left a sort of artillery hint on where he was headed next.  But really this time, he was more interested in this lighthouse.

The next destination was Edenton NC.

It seems to be a nice little place to spend a bit of time.

But The Fuzz was only planning to be there for an overnight stop on his way up to Virginia.

He got into town around 14:00 and checked in to his hotel.

There, he found that there was some kind of problem with his reservation.

But it turned out that there was a room available after all.

After getting this straightened out, The Fuzz decided to head down to the waterfront to see that Lighthouse.

Alas, it was closed!

Well, there were other things to see.

He got to tour one of the old houses, and at least read about that lighthouse.

And the Battle of Albemarle Sound!

And while we are on the subject, This guy has to be the twin brother to the one in The Fuzz's own fair city.

But all that is history now.

There were a lot of these old houses there.

The Fuzz enjoyed a cold one in this courtyard.  There was a pool with a couple of  fish fountains.

That reminded him of the latest project waiting at home-

but we'll get into that in another post.

Wandering around town The Fuzz found a Used Book Store.

And there he saw a complete set of Winston Churchill's The Second World War, for only $9 !

Somehow he found room for this in his saddlebags.

Then it was back to the hotel, where he was forced to face the reality, that there was nothing worth watching on TV.

Ft Fisher

The Fuzz had enjoyed his visit in Wilmington.

It was a series of rainy days alternating with pleasant ones.

When it rained, he laid low, and when it was nice he got out on his Bike.

There was one trip up to Topsail.

And another down to Ft. Fisher.

He had been here once before, but it was a good excuse to take his bike down along the beach.

Ft. Fisher might not be what you normally think of when you think of a "Fort".

The "Walls" were built up with piles of sand.
But the point was to be able to absorb the fire of the Yankee ships blockading the Cape Fear River-
and port of Wilmington.
Ft. Fisher was there to protect this vital, and last, port open to the blockade runners.
There are a few guns there.

The Fuzz does have a bit of interest in this sort of thing having served in the artillery in the now, distant past.

And there is this guy.
It was "state of the art" at the time.

Of course the real gun was captured by the Yankees when the fort fell.  It is now a "war Trophy" of the Yankees at West Point.
But the area is really quite beautiful.

And windy.

You can see how these trees have been effected by it.

Well eventually it was time to move on to the next stop on this exciting Motorcycle Tour.
Here's a sneak peek at the next stop.

Street Festival

It wasn't planned that way, but it turned out that The Fuzz's visit to Wilmington coincided with the annual Azalea Festival.

His previous excursion to the riverfront had been thwarted by a major traffic situation.

But he was determined to give it another go.

This time he made it...

...and even found a place to park!

It was a busy place.

There was even music.

Among the many sights was this Monster Truck...

...and this strange car without a engine.

After walking around for a while, The Fuzz grabbed a bite to eat and went down to the River Walk.

That's a nice place.

The Fuzz spent most of the afternoon there.
But tomorrow it's back on the road...
...time to move on once again.

Tiny Visitor

While the Fuzz is visiting family here in Wilmington they sometimes spend spend time out on the balcony.

The other night they were joined by a little friend.

A very little friend.

This little guy seems to have had no problem getting up there to join the party.

So here's a little better look at this nocturnal visitor.

On the Island

Well it turned out that the weather was not permitting.

(" hoping to cruise up to Topsail Island tomorrow...

...weather permitting.")

So that turned into a hanging out day.

But the next day...

...the weather was permitting!

So after a quick breakfast at a nearby coffee shop, The Fuzz strapped on the saddlebags and headed up the coast to Topsail Island.

He crossed the drawbridge into Surf City and turned south toward Topsail Beach.

The Family had spent several summer Beach Trips here before having to move to larger quarters on the other end of the island.

But The Fuzz wanted to see the place again.

First he rode out to where the road ended.

There he found these work boats tied up.  Not sure what they were up to- maybe dredging the channel?

Next he parked the bike and went out to the beach.

It was pretty deserted compared to the summertime.

It was hard to resist, so The Fuzz did pull off the boots and get his feet wet.  The water was a bit cold.

There were a lot of Pelicans out.  The Fuzz always enjoys watching them fly over in a line like they do.

Then it was time for a beer at the Quarter Moon in Topsail Beach.

He had some fish & chips in Surf City, and continued north to the other end of the island.

Then it was back to Wilmington.

He got there right after one of those "Gully Washer" storms.

That was good timing!

And today...

...more rain.

Motorcycle Tour

Yes, Spring is finally here.

And The Fuzz is taking advantage of this to have a Motorcycle Tour, and visit Family.

It's always nice to be able to combine these things.

The first destination was Wilmington NC, with an overnight stop in Durham on the way.

Thanks (you know who you are) for a great meal and putting The Fuzz up for the night!

Then it was time to pack up...

...and continue on his way.

The Fuzz has an aversion to the Interstate.

There is something disquieting about being passed by transfer trucks at 70+mph on a relatively small bike.

So he worked out a route involving NC 55, US 401, and US 421 into Wilmington.

It was a good ride.

He made a couple of stops to top off the gas, have some coffee, and get a bite to eat...

...and made it into Wilmington a little after 3:00.

He made his first stop down at the River Front and dropped a layer of now, too hot clothing.

That's the battleship North Carolina across the river.

The Fuzz saw this fellow taking advantage of the fine weather to do a bit of painting.

Today, they were calling for a bit of rain, so The Fuzz is laying low.

But he's hoping to cruise up to Topsail Island tomorrow...

...weather permitting.

Not So Lazy Day

It was another nice Spring day here in the woods.

But there was work to do.

All that wood still had to be split!

The Fuzz had considered splitting it before hauling it out of the woods.

It would have been easier to move that way.

But he did make the right choice in bringing it out first.

Because of this guy!

It was a bit hard to get cranked, but eventually it fired up.

The thing's not too fond of cold mornings, and we still have them, kinda.

That wood was pretty tough, and it would have been an ordeal splitting it in the old school manner.

There's nothing like Power Equipment in a situation like that.

The Fuzz and His Sweetie also took advantage of the nice weather to clean out the wood stove and smoke pipe.

That should take care of these things till they're not needed anymore.

Spring is here and Summer is on the way.

Lazy Spring Day

Well, we did have a couple of cold days here.

But then it is still March.

Some of the critters were just lazing around in this nice Spring weather.

This one fell asleep in the dinner bowl.

Nobbie is the "Grande Dame" of our little dog pack here in the woods.

However,  this is not her dinner bowl-

or her dog house.

These belong to Lucy, the youngest and littlest member of the pack.

So she is holed up on the porch.

Nobbie has few teeth left, and is def as a post.

But she still seems to be able to get her way.

But it was too nice a day to spend inside anyway.

It was the kind of day to just lay around and enjoy life.

However, The Fuzz had to cut a bit more firewood... 

just to make sure.

He found another nice dead oak in the woods down near the creek.

So he got out the old chainsaw.

He had to roll the wood back in the wheelbarrow, and it was a lot of work.

But then,

It was a good day for that too!

To Cut or Not

The Fuzz was out in the yard and noticed that the wood pile was getting a little low again.

This is the sort of thing that happens this time of year of course.

This raises the question wether to cut more, or not.

How much longer till warm weather?

Well, there have been some signs of Spring.

There's been the Daffodils  and crocus.

And now...

Peaches !

We haven't had a particularly hard winter around here,

but it will be good to see the Springtime.

Just a Word

Well, once again it's been a while.

The Fuzz has been busy,

but that's not really blogging material.

As for today, it is a rainy day here in the woods.

But thankfully not freezing cold.

Still, a gloomy day.

But...

Spring is on the way!

And The Fuzz and His Sweetie are ready for it!

The Kitchen Project is still not quite finished of course.

The window trim remains.

But That Lazy Fuzz has at least made a start.

He did manage to cut out a window sill.

The rest will come eventually.

Then, it should be time for some outside projects.

And His Sweetie has a great one in the queue.

But we'll get to that when we get to it!

So at least for now...

Everything's Cool.

The Kitchen Project (5)

The Fuzz realizes that this has been dragging out a bit.

But the fact is, that it did drag out a bit.

In fact, there is still more for The Fuzz to finish up on this project.

But at least the kitchen can be used once again.

When we left The Fuzz, he and His Sweetie had finally managed to get all the tiles, cut and set.

The next step was to grout them.

The mastic had to have a little time to set up, so there was a short break.  Then it was back on the job.  It is really inconvenient to not have a usable kitchen sink.

As Our Fuzz worked on into the night, he made quite a mess.

(it's funny how these things always take longer than expected)

But it actually went rather well.

Then there was another delay before the grout could be sealed.

The Fuzz sealed the grout lines, (which was a little tedious on the back splash) and then on the counter top.

Now it was time to get that sink back in there!

It was then that a previous problem came back to haunt him.

It was mentioned in a previous post how The Frustrated Fuzz had sorta "half assed" cutting the smaller tiles around the hole for the sink.

Now he found out that at the back side, some of the uneven tiles made it just a little too tight to get the sink back in!

First he tried to trim them a bit with his Dremel diamond wheel.  But it was soon obvious that this was not going to work.

(That stuff is hard!)

After examining the situation, The Fuzz thought that he might be able to "micky mouse" things enough to get it in.

On the bottom of the sink, there are rails that hold small bolts and clips that fasten the sink down into the counter.

The Fuzz's theory was, that by carefully cutting as little as needed of said rails, he would be able to fit the sink snugly in position.  There would still be enough of the rails to stiffen the edges of the sink, and hold it in position.

So he took a deep breath, and had at it.

And it worked!

He sealed around it all with some clear silicone...

...and hooked everything back up.

And after tightening up a couple of minor leaks...

...it was time to celebrate!

The Stove and hood vent were no problem.

Now all that remains is to add a new window sill and trim around the window.

But it is good to have the kitchen back.

It was a big change...

...but The Fuzz and His Sweetie think it looks great!