Day 298 – Hampstead, NC to Dudley’s Marina, Swansboro, NC - April 29, 2012

We planned our departure this morning to arrive at our first swing bridge of the day just before it opens.  Like yesterday, we have two swing bridges to go through today.  However we know that both of them will need to open for us as they each have a clearance of just twelve feet, which is considerably less than we need.  Our timing works well and once we arrive at the Surf City Swing Bridge we don’t have to wait very long for its next opening.

A portion of the intercoastal we travel today goes through Camp Lejeune a marine base near the town of Jacksonville, NC.  From the Camp Lejeune website come the following statistics.  Camp Lejeune covers 156,000 acres with 11 miles of beach.  There are tactical landing zones, state-of-the-art training facilities and live fire ranges.  The base generates almost $3 billion in commerce each year, coming from payrolls and contracts to support the structure required to train and equip Marines.  Check out the pictures below for the kinds of things a boater sees when traveling through Camp Lejeune.    

            Miles: 33.6      Bridges: 3        Locks: 0

we never get tired of seeing the osprey in their nests

nearly every channel mark has a nest

one of the more "interesting" homes along the ICW

the Onslow Beach Swing Bridge - this bridge in inside Camp Lejeune

a warning sign in Camp Lejeune - fortunately the lights were not flashing

part of the eleven miles of beach in Camp Lejeune

for target practice

another target to practice on

this is an easy sign to obey