Day 35 Safe in Elizabeth City after the Albemarle Sound pt 2

Made it across Albemarle Sound just before the afternoon storms. We dodged hundreds of crab trap bouys. John says he's definitely having crab cakes tonight.  We passed the TCOM blimp plant where they build blimps for companies like Fugi and Monster.com right near the Coast Guard Base. The base is the largest and most diverse command center in the nation. The blimp building is massive. As we were pulling into our free anchorage at the city docks called Mariner's Wharf, also known as the "Harbor of Hospitality", the radio announced a waterspout in the Sound. Whew! We were met on the dock by Gus and a friend who made our tie up a breeze. We talked to Gus for a good long time learning the hot spots of Elizabeth City. Gus is an amazing character, who has lived here for over 50 years. His family was one of the first to develop the Outer Banks and he even sold Andy Griffith the  land where he built his home - they were friends until his death. First stop, was a bookstore where we found more needed guide books, then we explored the city after a cooling rain. Some guy had a baby monkey on the docks that took a liking to John. He about crawled down his shirt - the owner had to pry him off of John after he started chewing on his shirt collar and wrapped himself around his arm.  It was quite a comical site...for me anyway. They have some interesting art centers and lots of restaurants - typical small town America. There's a Saturday morning market right next to our boat dockage tomorrow. Yippee - local fresh veggies and fruit. Then we are going to the Albemarle Museum which is huge, state museum and it's FREE. What is it with this town?!! More storms tonight and tomorrow so we are glad we are tied to a non-moveable dock. We are staying for a couple days - it's free for crying out loud!!