\nDay 35, October 15: Hampton to Newport News and Norfolk, then into the Dismal Swamp\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n
We left Pandora<\/em> on her hook in Hampton, Virginia, in order to visit our dear friends, Harris and Barbara, in Williamsburg.\u00a0 As Bob predicted, we all regressed to the age when we met and became friends, roughly our mid-20s. There is no therapy like laughter, and we did a lot of that over the weekend. \u00a0We were spoiled with Harris and Barbara’s wonderful home cooked meals, visits with some of their local friends, and catching up on lots of family news. \u00a0We had a terrific time!<\/p>\n The contrasts in sights we’ve seen from the overwhelming display of naval power along the shores of Newport News and the commercial shipping of Norfolk to the tranquil, unspoiled sights of the Dismal Swamp are about as shockingly different as I can imagine any two days could be…<\/p>\n This is the buoy nun “RA36” which marks the beginning of the Intracoastal Waterway, mile 1. \u00a0We passed this on Monday, mid-morning, and I knew we were on to something completely different!<\/p>\n We entered the Dismal Swamp through my first lock on Tuesday morning, and what a complete contrast this is from the channel that runs through Norfolk.\u00a0Just before entering the canal we had to lock through at Deep Creek Lock. \u00a0This is my first experience at locks, and I’m happy to say that it was not nearly as adventurous as I’d anticipated. \u00a0At this lock we went from the salt water of Norfolk up four feet into the fresh water of the swamp canal.<\/p>\n The Dismal Swamp is stunning and does not seem very much like a swamp and certainly is not<\/em> dismal.<\/p>\n There just aren’t words to describe how beautiful this passage of water is. \u00a0It is a narrow channel of tea colored water, with verdant growth coming right down to the water on either side. \u00a0The woods are so lush it’s breathtaking. \u00a0All but the tallest trees are covered in vines. \u00a0There are very few ferns in the undergrowth, mostly vines. \u00a0The fall color is just beginning so we saw patches of red and yellow, and leaves were floating down on us as we motored south down the canal. \u00a0There were lots of leaves in the water already. \u00a0It was a beautiful fall day, bright sun and deep clouds which made dappled sunlight on the water for the whole trip. \u00a0The wind alternated from light breezes to fairly strong breezes, and this was reflected by the changing look of the water, from mirror surface dotted with leaves that reflected a perfect image of the clouds above and the trees overhanging both banks, alternating with ruffled water from the stronger breezes. \u00a0The canal is so straight that I could see a long distance down the way, and I could see the mirror surface changing to ruffled and back to mirror again a long way before we got to those bits of water.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/10-15-12-041-768x1024.jpg\" "\\"OLYMPUS")
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