Georgia

We haven’t touched land since leaving Charleston!  Warm and sunny weather is just perfect for motoring on the ICW.  The best thing about the ICW in Georgia–only 2 bridge openings!!  After crossing the Savannah river, we joined a line of boats waiting for the first bridge to open.  It’s supposed to open on demand but the operator appeared much more sympathetic to motor traffic than boaters.  He kept yelling at the boats in front to approach the bridge before he even stopped the motor traffic.  With screaming currents pushing us into the bridge, no one is going to approach it until it actually starts opening (no matter what he says!)  The second bridge operator was a little kinder although the sound of emergency vehicle sirens made us a little nervous.  After the first lock in the Dismal Swamp, we were almost at the open bridge when the operator suddenly started screaming “All stop, reverse!!”  Skip slammed the boat into hard reverse as he dropped the bridge right in front of us to let an ambulance cross.  That was scary!

As we passed by Beaufort, we saw Joe (Onward) anchored in the harbor.  I chatted with him on the phone.  He’s waiting for a hot water heater to be delivered at Isle of Hope so he can’t travel down there too soon.  He promised to buy us some ‘real’ bagels in Beaufort.  We had some Thomas’ bagels the other day and they are just WRONG!

Dolphins swim by the boat

Larry and Suzi (Kanau) also stopped near Beaufort to visit friends.  The rest of the boats we followed all day turned off into Killkenny Creek.  It’s reputed to have a decent seafood restaurant.  Around midday, we both heard some splashing beside the boat and peered over to watch 2 dolphins swim alongside us.  So cool!!  I didn’t get a very good picture–just a fin.  After a long day of motoring, we anchored in Cattlepen creek.  It was chilly and windy when we stopped here last fall.  This year, it’s warm and calm.  We settled in for a nice meal and watched a movie (Indiana Jones — predictable, but entertaining.)

Today, we meandered through the marshes of Georgia.  The scenery is beautiful.  Many cruisers talk about how much they hate the ICW in Georgia because it’s a such winding route.  I love to watch for birds and dolphins.  If you see a large dead tree, it’s bound to have a eagle perched on top.  We saw 2 today.  The current either pushes us faster or slows us down…it all evens out.

Eagle eying us

By early afternoon we arrived in the Frederica river and anchored near the old fort.  We were disappointed to see that they haven’t rebuilt the dinghy dock yet so that we could go ashore.  Even so, it’s a beautiful anchorage.  Our quest for the day was to find a water leak.  We’ve seen some clues lately that indicate a problem.  Our bow tank emptied too quickly, the bilge pump was running too often and Skip heard the water pump running in the middle of the night—not good!  Starting from the forward tank, we traced the pipes looking for leaks.  Rummaging under the galley sink, I finally spotted the drips coming from a hot water hose.  Mission accomplished!

Moon over the marsh

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching football (Skip), reading (me) and sleeping (Bailey.)  Dinner was pizzas on the grill.  Tomorrow, we’re going a short distance to dock in Brunswick.  We haven’t been there before and want to check it out (and do some laundry.)  Weather looks good until Tuesday and Wednesday when it’s supposed to rain. 

We like warm weather

Charleston

Charleston is a hard place to leave.  We left the city marina this morning after excessive eating, shopping, sightseeing and walking for the past 3 days.   To recap, we left Isle of Palms on Sunday morning.  We were supposed to leave just in time to make the 9am opening of the Ben Sawyer bridge but our friend Joe was challenged by the daylight savings time change and called us early.  He was anchored north of us and we planned to head to Charleston city marina together.  We left and had to circle for a while before the bridge opened.  The fast running current makes it just a little challenging.

We arrived at the city marina (also known as the megadock) and were disappointed to hear that we couldn’t dock on the inside.  The outside of the dock is plagued by wakes from clueless powerboats.  Anyway, the weather was calm so we tied up outside while Joe got the last inside slip (darn him!!)  The megadock is an interesting place.  It’s probably 1/4 mile long and there seems to be an invisible line behind which they put all the sailboats–all at the very end of the dock.  To walk ashore, we need to allow at least 20 minutes!  It was fun to meet all of the other sailors in our own little ‘community’.

A huge (and I’m talking really huge) yacht named Turmoil was docked at the other end of the marina (the privileged motor yacht end).  I looked it up on the internet and found out that it’s included on the list of 100 largest privately owned yachts in the world.  It was built for the founder of Land’s End who passed away only 4 months after enjoying his 209 ft yacht.  Read this story, it’s really interesting… http://www.showboats.com/Purpose-Driven.  The boat left yesterday.  Wonder where they’re headed…

Turmoil leaves Charleston

For the benefit of  my (unnamed) friend who has been known to make snarky comments on ‘mooching cruisers’, I saw someone pull their dinghy up to the dock and open up their laptop to use the wifi.  Now that’s mooching!

It was a beautful warm sunny day so we worked on some boat chores.  Skip changed the oil while I did the first real deck scrubbing since we left Annapolis.  In the afternoon we took the marina shuttle into town and met Joe for dinner at Basil – a fabulous Thai restaurant that Justin recommended.

Monday started (and ended) chilly and dreary.  We had breakfast at the restaurant next to the marina (creamy grits and flaky biscuits).  We took the shuttle into town in the afternoon and met Joe for lunch at 82 Queen, a restaurant that specializes in low country cuisine.  If you want to try the best shrimp and grits or she-crab soup, this is the place!  Afterwards, we walked through the market and looked at all of the ‘crafty stuff’.  The most interesting items sold are the sweetgrass baskets.  They’re beautiful but expensive and not something I’d have room for on the boat.  We walked back to the marina (quite a hike!)  As soon as we got back to the boat we were invited for drinks by Bill and Carol on Interim.  They have a cute Westie named Simon on board.  He and Bailey got on well when they met earlier in the day.  It was fun meeting other cruisers and hearing their stories.  We also met Mike and Catherine on Falbala, a 49 ft boat they sailed over from England.  I later read their blog–they have had some experiences!!

Originally, we planned to leave on Tuesday but it was so warm and sunny, we decided to stay one more day.  I started polishing the topsides (now that the boat was clean.)    After lunch, we took the shuttle into town and bought tickets for a carriage tour.  While waiting for our tour, we visited the shops around the market.  Skip was in heaven at the Moonpie store.  The routes for carriage tours are decided by the city to control traffic congestion.  They pull up to a booth and a machine popping bingo balls around spits out a ball that determines your tour route.  Our tour was fascinating.  We learned about the historic homes and churches (most of which have burned down a few times.)  Did you know that Charleston sits on an earthquake fault line?  They’ve had some big ones here!

Historic Home

 

Skip is in heaven

 

 Our new friends Carol and Bill were heading into town with another couple for dinner.  We met them at Hank’s for yet another wonderful meal, seafood this time.  We all decided to get icecream after dinner.  I voted for a cab back to the marina since I had already walked it twice–that was enough for me!

We left Charleson this morning and followed the parade of boats down to the Wahoo Creek bridge where we waited for the 9am opening.  Fierce currents make it very challenging to wait for bridges to open.  After the bridge, we shot through the Elliott Cut at over 8 knots.   Clear blue skies and warm, calm winds made today’s travel very pleasant.  We passed through various cuts into different rivers with the current either pushing or pulling us.

Our friends Larry and Suzi also left today after resolving some engine problems.  After the bridge, they had to pull over and work out an air lock in their water system that was causing the engine to overheat.  We were sorry that they couldn’t make it to where we anchored, Wimbee Creek.  We enjoyed another beautiful calm night at anchor.  It would be absolutely perfect if there weren’t so many &^%# noseeums!

Wimbee Creek

Interim is anchored nearby and they joined us for drinks.  Skip braved the bugs to grill some fresh shrimp we bought in Charleston.  Tomorrow, we’ll head past Beaufort and in a few days, we’ll be in Georgia!

(You’ll have to look on my Flickr site for more pictures…this internet connection is toooo sloooow.)

Isle of Palms

Leaving Bucksport, we zigged and zagged on the Waccamaw river until emptying into the canals that lead through the marshes north of Charleston.  Early morning fog made the Waccamaw river seem more eerie than usual.  There’s nothing around except for cypress swamp. 

Waccamaw River

 

Fall Colors

We stopped about 26 miles north of the Isle of Palms and dropped the anchor in Graham creek.  On a calm, serene night we were surrounded by marshlands and clouds of no-see-ums.  We vetoed the grilling idea and had pasta instead.

Graham Creek

I love a nice, quiet night at anchor!  We didn’t need to leave too early on Thursday so I made cinnamon french toast for breakfast.  We arrived at the Isle of Palms marina a little before noon.  The marina was short-handed so we easily managed to dock on our own (we tipped each other;-)  I couldn’t wait to take a shower (a real one with lots of running water.)

Our niece Catherine (Cat) came to the marina and joined us for lunch.  Afterwards, we loaded up our dirty laundry and overnight bags to stay at her house for a few days.  She picked up baby James at school–he’s only 14 months old and loves it.  He’s such a sweet baby with loads of energy!  Our nephew Justin came home later from work and brought pizzas for dinner (I really miss getting pizza on the boat.)

On Friday Cat took us out to lunch at Taco Boy in Charleston – a really fun and funky place.  The tempura shrimp taco and the tuna taco were fresh and delicious.  After lunch, she drove us through downtown Charleston to see the beautiful homes that line the Battery. 

James likes his cheese quesadilla

Cat and James got into the Halloween spirit for a party at her office–she was Jungle Jane and James was a cute little monkey.  Too bad she couldn’t convince Justin to don a gorilla costume!

Jungle Jane and Monkey boy

Dinner was a grilled feast with steaks, sausage (from Bucksport), fried okra and baked potatoes.  I made a blueberry crumble (thanks to Donna for the blueberries!)

Today (Saturday) we loaded up the car with everyone (including dogs) so that their house could be shown to a potential buyer.  Justin showed us his impressive flooring showroom (http://www.precisionflooring.info/index2.htm).  We would like to get hardwood floors in our house someday –so many choices!  We drove to Folly Beach and had lunch at a spot that was dog-friendly as it was too warm and sunny to leave them in the car.  They dropped us off at the marina where we said our goodbyes.  Happily, we’ll see them in about a month in Chattanooga for Skip’s mother’s 90th birthday party.

Back on the boat, we napped and did some chores.  As the sun went down, we walked a few blocks to the beach and enjoyed a beer while watching the ocean.  Tomorrow morning we’ll move on to Charleston and stay in town for a few days.  Joe (Onward) will join us there.

Isle of Palms beach

Moonrise

Southport and Mrytle Beach

Crossing the Cape Fear river requires careful timing with the tide.  You definitely don’t want to go against the current there!  We came through Snow’s Cut with the current fiercely against us (but at least it’s a short distance) and entered the Cape Fear river.  Not too much excitement other than staying out of the way of the container ships on their way to and from Wilmington. 

 We decided to stay at a different marina in Southport, one that other cruisers recommended last trip called South Harbor Village.  I didn’t like as much as the Southport marina.  It was too far away from town to walk and, other than a few restaurants, there really wasn’t anything there.  Although they advertise as being ‘transient friendly’, they didn’t put us at the transient dock.  We were directed to a slip in outer slobovia–about as far from the bath houses as possible.  While approaching the slip, the dock guy hollered to me to cofirm that we were a 30 ft boat.  Obviously, we’re much bigger.  He got confused with our request for a 30amp hookup.  Anyway, he still wanted us to come into the short slip and we eventually made it in there with some difficulty as we were docking with the current.   We hit the piling coming in and the dock guy insisted we ‘broke it’ and wanted us to pay for a new piling.  What a jerk!  He had a diver come over and check the piling but the diver didn’t find any cracks–it was just leaning a little.  Lessons learned: (1) Don’t stay at that marina–not cruiser friendly!, (2) Always ask for a  face dock transient slip, (3) Always ask about the direction of the current and make sure we dock against the current.

Cathy and Callie

It's impossible to get both dogs to face forward

Our friend Cathy picked us up and drove us to her house to spend the night.  Cathy and Ken live nearby at Red Brick Landing.  It was soooo nice to have a home-cooked meal and sleep in a bed!  They had just adopted a new puppy – a 6 month old terrior mix named Callie.  She was adorable and after Bailey got used to her, they had fun chasing each other around the couch.  The next morning, Cathy took us back to the marina because we thought the dock master wanted to move us so he could fret more about the piling.  Well, he never came by and we didn’t look for him.  It poured down rain and the wind blew hard from the south so we weren’t real anxious to move anywhere.  Later in the evening, we had dinner at the Dead End Saloon.  The owner also had a restaurant by the same name in Fells Point.  I have a rule against ordering Maryland style crabcakes outside of Maryland but was assured that they were good.  They were!

Barefoot Landing

We were going to spend another day in Southport but Skip checked the weather and it looked like Sunday was a good day to move.  We left the marina (never did hear from that idiot again and I hope we never will.)  The warm weather was very enjoyable as we motored towards Mrytle Beach.  Three bridges and several inlets later, we tied up at Barefoot Landing Marina situated behind a nice shopping center (my kinda place!)  Larry and Suzi were already there and we quickly hooked up for dinner at TBonz.  When we returned to the boat and were watching TV I heard a loud motoring noise.  We looked outside and watched in awe as a tug passed towing dredging equipment.  It must have been at least 1/4 miles of barges with large hoses – amazing!

Bev and Al

We awoke to dreary rainy weather on Monday morning.  I perused the shops (mostly beachwear and tourist junk) until lunch time when Bev (former SSAer) and her husband Al came to meet us for lunch.  They live nearby in Calabash and Bev & I keep in touch on Facebook.  After lunch, they offered to take us to their house (along with Bailey) to spend the afternoon.  They have a beautiful home in a golf community.  It was so nice to spend the afternoon in a warm, dry place enjoying the company of friends.  After dinner, Al dropped by the Walmart so we could get a few fresh food items before taking us back to the boat.  They offered to put us up overnight but we didn’t feel comfortable leaving the boat unattended since the marina doesn’t have any security.

Danny, Judy and Skip

Today (Tuesday) started drizzly but cleared up a bit in the morning.  Judy and Danny came by at lunch time and took us to one of Skip’s all-time favorite restaurants, Hamburger Joe’s, for lunch.  We had a really nice time getting caught up with them.  After we returned to the marina we decided to head out and try to make Charleston before the weekend.  Tonight we’re docked at Bucksport marina–one of our favorite spots.  The young owner is very friendly, rates are cheap and they sell delicious frozen sausage!

BTW, I took a break from blogging when our friend Joe (Onward) showed up.  We heard him on the radio earlier and, sure enough, he caught up with us!  We snacked on appetizers and a light dinner while getting caught up on our respective travels.  (Of course there was red wine and rum involved too…)

We’ll be near Charleston on Thursday and are looking forward to seeing Justin, Cat and baby James (who surely is walking by now!)

Wrightsville Beach, NC

Here we are anchored near Wrightsville Beach enjoying the sunshine and warm, calm weather–finally!  We ended up staying 3 nights in Beaufort.  It was just too darned cold and nasty to leave.  Not much was open on Sunday so we slept in and ate a wonderful buffet breakfast at the Boardwalk restaurant.  In the afternoon, we visited the free museum and learned about local history and wildlife.  The most interesting exhibits were paintings of historic boats by a local artist and a map that showed all of the different types of sea beans and where they come from (I would love to get a copy!)  It was still gloomy and cold so a walk around the Old Burying Ground was just the thing to do.  There were markers dated back to the 1700’s and a guide told the story of the most interesting residents, including Confederate and Union soldiers, sea captains, children and a girl buried in a barrel of rum (she died at sea and her father had promised her mother that she would return to Beaufort.)

Old Burying Ground

On Monday we visited to laundromat and took care of some boat chores.  In the afternoon, Larry and Suzi picked us up in a courtesy car from the marina where they had pulled into dock after spending 2 very cold and windy nights at anchor.  We managed to find a liquor store and a grocery store before their time was up for the car.  They walked back into town and joined us for lunch at the Beaufort Grocery restaurant which, according to Dan and Donna, is the best restaurant in Beaufort.  They were right!!

Larry and Suzi from Kanau

Getting out of our slip on Tuesday was an adventure.  We got the dock hands to help us by holding some lines so that Skip could back the boat out against the swift current.  From now until we get to Florida we’ll need to contend with swift currents, not always in our favor.  Only one bridge today–not too bad.  We arrived about 44 miles further south in Mile Hammock bay inside of Camp LeJeune.  The anchorage is a dredged area that was used during WWII for marines to train safely away from German U-boats.  There is still a lot of activity there.  We heard distant booms along with other strange noises and saw smoke rising.  Noisey helicopters circled above well into the night.  Bailey was not amused.  He took a lot of coaxing to finally go potty on deck.  There was a beautiful sunset with a fingernail moon in the sky.

Circled by helicopters in Mile Hammock

 

Serene sunset in Mile Hammock

Leaving Mile Hammock yesterday, we encountered 3 bridges before arriving in Wrightsville Beach.  We made the first bridge at a good time to make the next 2.  Since some open on the half-hour and some only on the hour, you can end up spending 1 1/2 hours to go only 5 miles!  We also went through a mess of small fishing boats near Swansboro who must have thought all of the fish were hiding in the center of the channel!  There weren’t nearly as many boats anchored in Wrightsville Beach as we saw last year.  I guess we must still be pretty far ahead of the folks who left after the Annapolis boat show.

We dropped the dinghy for the first time since leaving the bay and ran the motor for a while to get the kinks out.  There’s a nice dinghy dock here that’s just 2 blocks from the beach.  Bailey got to run and chase his tennis ball–one of his favorite things!  This is such a friendly beach town…no excruciating lists of rules on the beach and access to the beach at every street.  There aren’t many businesses nearby but there are some places to walk a few miles away (if inclined.)

Enjoying the beach

Larry and Suzi joined us for dinner last night on Moondance where we enjoyed telling sea tales and drinking G&T’s.  We slept in this morning and were invited to Kanau for blueberry pancakes – yummy!  Bailey took us for another long walk on the beach and now we’re just relaxing…

Bailey loves his tennis ball

Tomorrow, we’ll cross the Cape Fear river and stay in Southport.  Hope this good weather lasts a few more days…

Beaufort, NC

We had planned to leave Belhaven on Thursday but the drizzly cold and windy weather kept us there one more day.  More relaxing PLUS we got to visit the Belhaven museum…a must see.  If you can imagine a collection of anything and everything old, dusty or weird–they’ve got it!  According to the curator, one of the early citizens of Belhaven started collecting stuff and pretty soon everyone just gave her all their old stuff.  They had musty old clothing, magazines (Nat’l Geographics back to 1907), rattlesnake skins, war relics, farm tools and really gross stuff like one-eyed piglets in jars and a 10 lb tumor that was removed from somebody–yuck!  Best of all, the ‘curator’ must have been pretty lonely because he followed us around and talked non-stop…not sure about what…

Our friends Elliott and Ina from New Bern were going to meet us in Belhaven for dinner but they were busy getting ready for travelling the next day and couldn’t make it.  We joined Gray and Betty from Gray Ghost for dinner at the local oyster bar.  They were on their way home to Cypress Landing in Chocowinity and knew Jim and Kay. 

We already knew she was a lady!

We left Belhaven eary Friday under cool, foggy skies.  Crossing the Pamlico River was not bad since the wind was behind us.  Once we got out into the Neuse River, the wind was still behind us so it was a comfortable trip–especially with our cockpit enclosure!  We arrived in Oriental and tied up at the marina.  Our friends Dan and Donna picked us up in the evening for dinner at their house.  What a pleasant change to actually be in a house!  After only 2 weeks living on the boat I forgot how nice it was! to be on solid ground.   We enjoyed catching up with Dan and Donna as we drank wine and ate an excellent meal.  They have a beautiful house in the woods off of a creek near Oriental and are living the good life in retirement.  We recounted our old stories about our days at SSA…they seem to be getting dimmer (but not exactly rosey;-)

Leaving Oriental

 

 

After breakfast at The Bean, we left Oriental (again, foggy and cool) crossed the Neuse River and entered Adam’s canal.  This is where the scenery starts to change from inland waters to coastal waters.  As we turned east we start seeing dolphins and greener water.  We passed a tug and barge close to Beaufort and I like using our AIS to call them on the radio by name.  The tug operators seem to appreciate the calls to confirm their intentions.

Sun shining in Beaufort, NC

There are 2 ways to enter Beaufort and we decided to go around rather than wait for a bridge opening.  It was a little bit longer but we avoided fighting the current while waiting for the bridge to open.  Making a smooth landing into the Beaufort docks we were pleased to see a bustling town with lots of people about–civilization!!  Better yet, the sun actually came out!

We walked around town to check out the shops and restaurants. Later in the afternoon, Pete and Mary Ann from MicMac came over to introduce themselves.  We saw them in both Belhaven and Oriental.  We invited ourselves to join them for dinner at the Blue Moon and enjoyed talking about our combined sailing experiences.  They were comtemplating staying an extra day but we saw that they left this morning.  It’s too cold and windy for us…we’re staying another night!

Belhaven, NC

We awoke to dreary cool weather.  It’s raining pretty good now…glad we’re staying at a marina so I can plug in the heater!  I did some laundry this morning and cleaned up the boat a bit.  Skip checked the raw water filter to make sure we didn’t suck up any mud from our grounding incident.  All looks good!  I love staying at the Belhaven Waterway marina.  The bathrooms are so clean and the laundry is very convenient.  We’re tied up next to a nice plot of grass where Bailey can run around and chase his tennis ball.  Owners Les and Brenda come out to help you tie up and they even have large fenders already lining the docks.  They also have a screened-in gazebo with comfy sofa and chairs where you sit out and enjoy the evening. 

We had a delicious lunch at the Back Bay Cafe.  We had dinner here last year.  They’re only open for dinner on the weekends so lunch was our only option.  The split pea soup was, dare I say, better than my grandmother’s.  I also had the special quiche–pumpkin with spinach and cheese.  It tasted like dessert but that didn’t stop me from having the turtle cheesecake..oh my was that good!

Short hair

Shorter hair

Since it’s a slow news day, I’ll post some pictures of us with our sleek new haircuts.  Skip’s hair is shorter than I’ve ever seen.  (Sorry Jen, no ponytail for a while.)  Not to worry…it will grow back!

 

 

 

 

Here are some pictures of our V-berth outfitted for both warm and cool weather.  On warm nights, I use the quilt I made with the fabrics I bought in the Bahamas.  On cool nights, I have a wonderfully warm wool blanket that was a gift from my aunt Dorothy.  She told us that she bought the blankets in Italy.  They are perfectly nautical for the boat!

Summer lookCooler weather

Cool weather blanket

If the weather is okay, we’ll head to Oriental tomorrow…

Alligator River/Belhaven, NC

The rest of the afternoon in Elizabeth City was spent grocery shopping and visiting the local museum.  Suzi (Kanau) called the Farm Fresh store and they sent someone over to pick us up – what a great service!  I didn’t need much…just some green things, milk and OJ. 

The Museum of the Albemarle is housed in a beautiful new building and, best of all, it’s free!  We learned all about the history of the area and about duck hunting.  Larry and Suzi visited our boat and vice-versa so we could show off our innovations.  They live aboard and their boat has tons of storage built into every nook and cranny.  Larry worked at Hartge’s for the past few years and knew a lot of our Sabre friends’ boats because he worked on them!  When he told me he did the varnishing on Pleiades, I was impressed!

Red sky morning in Elizabeth City, NC

We left Elizabeth City early Monday morning under a red-streaked sky.  I think it’s true about ‘red sky in the morning, sailors take warning’ because it did rain later in the afternoon.  We put the sails up as we entered the Albemarle Sound and quickly put in a reef as the wind built on our beam.  It was a lively sail across the sound.  We rolled up the headsail as we headed into the Alligator River.  Here’s where the story might sound different from a “he said, she said” perspective.  Skip would say “We went aground and we got off.” This is my version:

OMG, we were heading into the Alligator River and hit the bottom.  We were following a large power boat that also went aground at the same time.  The chart shows a bend in the course just past the entrance to miss a shoal.  Well, the shoal isn’t there any more and if you turn according to the chart—boom!  I rushed up to lower the mail sail as the wind and waves were pushing us further into the shallows.  The keel was pounding in the mud and shaking the entire rig.  Bailey was running around the deck so I threw him down below and tethered him out of the way.  Skip tried to back us out and we eventually turned into the wind but couldn’t get loose.  I called BoatUS to request a tow (we have unlimited towing with them) and they said it would take 2 hours for someone to get there – yikes!  We kept working our way around with the motor and put the sails back up once we were facing the right direction.  The boat was heeled over almost on its side and my eyes were glued to the depth gauge and a nearby crab float to see if we were moving.  We bounced in the waves an inch at a time and all the sudden we were free!  It felt like hours but I think it took about ½ hour.  I cancelled the call to the towboat and we motored towards the Alligator River Bridge.  I think my hands were still shaking an hour later.  We checked everything down below and nothing seemed to be damaged—no water coming in and no unusual noise from the prop or engine.  Nothing damaged but our egos!!

About 2 ½ hours later, we dropped the anchor off Deep Point near the entrance to the Alligator/Pungo canal.  Light rain was falling so we tucked in, fired up the grill and cooked our favorite comfort food – cheese burgers!

Alligator/Pungo River Canal

Today (Tuesday), we motored through the canal which is long, straight and lined with cypress swamp but not nearly as narrow as the Dismal Swamp canal.  Around noon, we tied up at the Belhaven Waterway marina for a few days.  We stayed here last year and enjoyed it.  Bailey liked seeing his girlfriend – a mini schnauzer named Marina.  Unfortunately, there’s no much left in the town of Belhaven.  Most of the stores are closed.  The restaurant we really liked is not open for dinner during the week…maybe we’ll have lunch there tomorrow.

Elizabeth City, NC

Bailey in the cockpit

Bailey liked doing a blog post last time but he thought it took a lot of time that would be better spent sleeping.

What a fun night at the Visitor’s Center!  We gathered on Suzi and Larry’s boat, Kanau along with Tom and Jane from Aurochs.  Larry happened to ask if anyone was musical.  That’s all it took for him and Skip to get out the guitars and entertain us!  After a while, Tom started asking about favorite musicians and we learned that he liked all the same people we did–Subdudes, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, Chris Smither and even Xavier Rudd!!

 

Dismal Swamp reflections

We were on the outside of the raft of 3 boats tied to the dock and luckily, no one was anxious to make the early lock opening.  We slept in and left around 10am for the 11am opening of the South Mills lock.  There were 2 large power boats also traveling the Dismal Swamp with us.  They were pretty clueless–conversing on channel 13 (which is a working channel for ship traffic), running their generators all night and generally annoying us.  One of their guests asked me how much power our solar panels generate.  When I responded, he asked if they run our air conditioning.  I replied that we’re cruisers–we don’t have or need air conditioning! 

South Mills lock

The South Mills lock brought us back down to the level of the Pasquotank river (about 11 feet.)  We motored along the winding river anxiously watching the sky as it turned dark and it started to rain.  We made it to the free docks in Elizabeth City just before the wind gusted and the downpour started.  Elizabeth City is know for their hospitality.  Older gentlemen volunteer to welcome visiting boaters and help them tied up in the free slips.  Being told which lines to toss doesn’t bother me but it sure does rankle some people.  A a guy on small sailboat that arrived after us got into a real spat with the WWII veteran trying to help.  He made it clear he didn’t want any help.  The old guy sat on a bench and watched, providing lots of commentary.  Afterwards, they ‘kissed and made up’.  Later, a power boat came in next to us and that guy didn’t appreciate any help either.  We later learned that he was a retired naval captain.  I guess I can understand where he’s coming from…

After a few nights on the boat, a dinner out was in order.  We joined Larry and Suzi for a meal at Grouper’s restuarant which is right here on the dock.  It was a good meal…especially the mango cheesecake!

After losing 3 straight games of dominoes, I was ready for bed!  I covered the hatches and was hoping to sleep in this morning.  Not so…I was awakened by “Forest Gump” having a lively conversation on the dock.

It’s a cloudy, cool day.  Nice day to hang out and relax since nothing is open here on Sunday’s.  Tomorrow, we leave early to cross the Albemarle Sound into the Alligator River.

Dismal Swamp

Bailey - Guest Blogger

Oh boy…Mom is letting me blog today!  Yesterday, Mom & Dad left early to do laundry before returning the rental car.  I don’t know why they fuss so much about clothes.  Why don’t they just have fur like me?  They came back and puttered around the boat.  Mom had to put some stuff away and she also washed off the deck.  I love it when she uses the garden hose.  I chase the water and try to catch it!  Sometimes she gives me a bath with the hose and that’s not fun at all.

After lunch, Mom & Dad went for a walk around Hampton.  It was a beautiful sunny warm day.  They didn’t take me because I really don’t like to walk around noisy traffic.  I’m also scared of places I don’t know.  When they take me to land for potty trips, I do my business right away.  They always want to keep walking and end up dragging me along.  I just don’t understand it…

In the evening, their friend Marty picked us up and took us to her house.  I got out of the car and was met by not 1, not 2 but 3 little barking white dogs!  I was scared since I’m the one who’s always barking the loudest.  I liked the female dog named Daisy–she was nice.  The one that looked like a big powder puff named Niko just barked at me.  The other dog named Lucky didn’t like me either.  I snarled at them and they left me alone.

Mom and Dad ate pizza and beer and had fun talking to Marty, Rocky and Emily.  They watched some TV shows before taking me back to the boat.  I did get to sit on the sofa with Mom…I really miss my sofa (sigh…)  Most of all, I prefer to stay on the boat at night…especially when, after Dad finishes washing the dishes, he gets out the flashlight and I chase the beam and bark at it.   It’s the best thing in the whole world!

We got up really early today to leave Hampton and make our way through the busy Norfolk harbor and down the Elizabeth river.  Dad drove the boat and kept clear of all the tugs, barges and big ships.  Mom called the first bridge and it opened for us just as we approached–neato!  We turned off into the Dismal Swamp and motored along to the lock at Deep Creek.  I saw mydog  friend U-turn who I met last year at the lock.  He helps the lock master round up the boats and open the gates.

Dismal Swamp

The Dismal Swamp wasn’t anything like it was last year when we came through.  Last year, we were bundled up and freezing cold.  Today, it was warm and sunny.  Mom and I sat on the bow and watched for floating sticks to avoid.  (I don’t know why because I really like sticks.)

We finally arrived at the North Carolina Visitor’s Center and rafted up with 2 other boats that were already tied to the dock.  I met Suzi and Larry on Kanau.  They like Shelties!  Larry even let me play with the hose while he cleaned his decks–awesome!!

I heard the plans and it looks like we can sleep in tomorrow.  No one is in a hurry to leave and we’re only going to Elizabeth City.  Mom will let you know all about it tomorrow.  Right now, it’s flashlight time!!!!!