Days 36-37, October 15-16: Dismal Swamp to Elizabeth City, North Carolina

I must be acclimating to the slower pace of life on board because I was impressed that in barely one month of sailing we have entered North Carolina! What a different way of thinking when I would have expected to get to North Carolina in one very long day of driving.  A month of sailing seems quite the right speed.

Here is a ‘do it yourself’ bridge that a local farmer installed in order to get his cattle from one side of the canal to the other.  The guide book asks boaters to be patient with the farmer moving his livestock if the bridge should be closed when approaching it.

The further south we went along the Dismal Swamp, the more duck weed we saw!  It looked like continents of duck weed!

Entering the second lock at South Mills, this time accompanied by quite a few more boats! Going down was even easier than going up.

We exited the canal into Posquotank River to arrive at Elizabeth City at noon on Tuesday.  There is a well established tradition here of boats being welcomed to a free night of dockage and a wine and cheese party by local volunteers who continue the tradition of the well known “Rose Buddies” started by Fred Fearing and Joe Kramer in the mid-1980s. While both Joe and Fred have passed on, I was very fortunate to meet Fred’s good friend Gus, who personally welcomed me to Elizabeth City.

Every evening that there are boats on the dock these volunteers host a wine and cheese reception for the sailors.  Here I am with Gus on the left (of the photo) and former mayor Carl on the right.  Can you see my rose? Fred grew roses until his death in the mid-2000s, and every evening at the reception he would give a rose to each woman present!  His rose bushes have now been transplanted to the harbor’s edge.

This is the dawn that greeted us this morning.  If I didn’t know the weather is supposed to be stunning today, I’d sure never venture out with this warning of both red and mackerel sky!

Today we plan to visit the Albemarle Museum and the local fish market.  Then off we go the rest of the way down the Posquotank River and across Albemarle Sound to the Alligator River.  It all sounds quite exotic, doesn’t it?

Days and days have gone by with lots of beautiful sights and miles under our keel.

Days 33-34, October 13-14: Williamsburg, Virginia
Day 35, October 15: Hampton to Newport News and Norfolk, then into the Dismal Swamp 

We left Pandora on her hook in Hampton, Virginia, in order to visit our dear friends, Harris and Barbara, in Williamsburg.  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.  We 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.  We had a terrific time!

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…

This is the buoy nun “RA36” which marks the beginning of the Intracoastal Waterway, mile 1.  We passed this on Monday, mid-morning, and I knew we were on to something completely different!

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. Just before entering the canal we had to lock through at Deep Creek Lock.  This is my first experience at locks, and I’m happy to say that it was not nearly as adventurous as I’d anticipated.  At this lock we went from the salt water of Norfolk up four feet into the fresh water of the swamp canal.

The Dismal Swamp is stunning and does not seem very much like a swamp and certainly is not dismal.

There just aren’t words to describe how beautiful this passage of water is.  It is a narrow channel of tea colored water, with verdant growth coming right down to the water on either side.  The woods are so lush it’s breathtaking.  All but the tallest trees are covered in vines.  There are very few ferns in the undergrowth, mostly vines.  The 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.  There were lots of leaves in the water already.  It was a beautiful fall day, bright sun and deep clouds which made dappled sunlight on the water for the whole trip.  The 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.  The 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.

We saw lots of painted turtles sunning themselves on  bits of logs and branches along the way, and at one point we were surprised by a wild turkey flying right across our bow!  This place is so serene….calm water, lush woodlands, the sound of birds (and unfortunately in some places the sounds of highway).  There were mallards on the water and Canada geese overhead.  If you’re not familiar with Dismal Swamp which is a national park, you might be surprised to learn that it was built under the direction of a group of men that included George Washington, starting in the 1760s.  Washington was president of the Dismal Swamp Company decades before he held the more memorable presidency.  The swamp was dug by slaves, and no doubt that was extremely dismal.

Dusk approaches, there is only a zephyr of wind as we sit on board Pandora gazing at the passing clouds mirrored in the still surface of the water.  It’s time for a Hendrick’s G&T!

Yesterday we did a bit of sightseeing in Hampton, starting with the Air and Space Museum.  It’s quite a well done museum, far smaller than the one near Dulles Airport, but therefore easier to manage.  There are planes and helicopters from almost every era of flight, as well as the actual Apollo 12 space capsule, and a full size model of the Mars Rover “Curiosity.” Bob has photos.  We had a great time there. (I did wish I could tell someone that all the planes need dusting!)

We walked some through of the older neighborhoods in Hampton, but there is nothing here older than the late 19th century.  I saw some wonderful bunglows!  It’s tragic that everything that dated before the Civil War (and this town was settled in 1604) was burned when the Union Army had stationed itself at one of the two forts in Hampton.  The Hamptonites decided to destroy their city rather than be taken by the Union Army.  A great loss…

Today we plan to visit Fort Monroe, as the “SSCA cruising station” volunteer Kate, who works at the Hampton City Marina, is loaning us her car for a few hours.  One of the benefits to membership!

Our friends from Williamsburg arrive this afternoon for lunch on board!

And speaking of SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) I’ll end with a photo from Monday when Bob and I were volunteering in the booth during the boat show.  As luck would have it, the Hendricks booth was just across from our booth.  We all had to have a little nip to keep warm!

Day 32, October 12: Sightseeing in Hampton, then off to Williamsburg