Early Morning on the Inlet. . .
I enjoyed walking to Moore’s and looking at the early morning sun on the inlet, the boats in their slips and the Captains talking to prospective customers. The sounds of the engines being run up, the expectations for the coming day, water lapping on the hulls, the gulls in their sky. . . all these, and more, added up to the beginning of another God-given summer day. There were many advantages of going out on a boat from Moore’s. It was the end of the trolley line. It had a large parking lot. There were fifteen party boats at the pier that included half-day, full day and a charter boat in addition to the Nellie Bly. Besides Moore’s Inlet Cafe, there was a luncheonette and a pavilion on the pier. There was also a water fountain in the pavilion. Boys and girls cleaned fish for 2 cents each. But the biggest advantage was that from the pier you could see the ocean, the bar and the beach.

The Nellie Bly was an excursion boat owned by Capt. Rock that took passengers from Anglesea to downtown Stone Harbor for .25¢ each way. She had scheduled sailings making a number of runs each day, also making moonlit cruises in the evening. The Nellie Bly’s homeport was Hereford Inlet, Anglesea. She was tied up at the end of the pier nearest the Coast Guard Station which was the lowest part of the pier. There were three steps down to board her.