watering holes...good and bad

Shawn and I survived our first near sinking on Friday. Apparently, the last person to take out the Sunfish had a run-in with an alligator or something capable of leaving a very large hole in the hull, but we probably should have noticed that before we put it in the water. Oops. Another lesson learned.
Once we were sufficiently tired out, we drove north to Oriental, the "Sailing Capital of North Carolina". Somehow, in all our coastal exploring we have missed this little gem. We had a great dinner outdoors by the Marina and drove around gawking at the beautiful, historic, waterfront homes. It was dark when we came upon one particular house, a dream house, wrap-around porch, giant hydrangeas and all. I didn't want to look like a stalker pointing my zoom lens at it but then I noticed the historical marker on a nearby tree and quickly snapped a photo...

My camera continues to surprise me. I was in a hurry, in a car, it was very dark and I hate flash so I quickly spun the ISO setting up to see if I could get something to register clearly. Maybe you had to be there to see just how dark it was to really appreciate the bright, weirdness of this picture. That little concrete bench is perched over an artesian well under a hundred year old Willow Oak. Zoomed in, you can even read the marker...

Pretty cool! I have a feeling there are a lot more of these in Oriental and I'm looking forward to going back for more exploring. Maybe next time we'll even get there in a boat...that we will first carefully inspect for holes.