"DSK" wrote in message

I'm surprised to see so many shrimp boats in the harbor this morning. I
wonder if most of the fleet is idle.


Admiral Halsey wrote:
It varies from day to day. I know absolutely nothing about shrimping.

But you're going to tell us about it anyway.

... But I assume there are good days for it, and bad ones.

Those are the big boys... they go from Mexico to New England, often out
hauling for a week. Check the web cam archive to see when they arrive
leave. The shrimpers that have to wait for a good day are much much
smaller.

See, you know more about it than I do. But I must admit I'm surprised they
only go out for a week. The sword boats go out for a month or more at a
time.



... After we live there a while we'll no doubt learn more about it. By
the way, one can buy fresh shrimp at the docks there, when the boats come
in.

Really? Who'd a thunk it?

That's not the case as many places. Here in the GLs we can't generally buy
fish off the boats. Some of the boats are owned by the wholesaler/retailer,
and some have contracts with them. Either way, the boat owners are
prohibited from selling directly.



The small building in the foreground on the left is a coffee shop. Looks
like business is pretty good.


That little place used to be the Oriental Trading Co. prior to Isabel

I didn't say what it *used* to be, I said what it is now. You want the
history of most of the town buildings? I go to Oriental fairly often,
starting in about 1968. Nowadays I have family there.

My, but you're testy tonight. I wasn't challenging your knowledge--only
updating what you said. Take a Prozac and call me in the morning.



The anchorage is out beyond the sterns of the row of shrimpers on the
right. There is a new marina that takes up most of the old anchorage
around the corner. You can see the loom of the open Neuse River in the
distance to the left.


I believe that's right.

Good.




Incidentally, I've assumed that four-lane headed into Oriental was
primarily to provide faster access to the Minnesott ferry. Am I off-base
on that?


Yep. It's for the blue-hairs who want to shop at the Wal-Mart in New Bern
and can't be bothered to wait behind the tractors that are often on the
road between New Bern & Oriental. Not many people use the Minnesott ferry,
I've rarely seen it more than half full.

I don't buy that for a moment. That sounds like a typical "I hate anyone
who wasn't born here" sort of mentality. It's highly unlikely that NC would
go to the tremendous expense to put four lanes in for the convenience of the
relatively few residents in the greater Oriental area. For increased
tourism? Perhaps. To accommodate the ferry traffic? Maybe. To gratify a
few transplanted New Yorkers who want rapid transit to New Bern? Not
likely.

We were there in December '03, and both boats were full, or almost, every
trip, even at the end of the day. On two occasions we had to wait for the
second boat. NC is to be commended for its free ferries, and even the ones
that charge are reasonable.

Bull