Hampton, VA

This morning I called all over trying to find a place to get a haircut.  Every salon must be closed on Monday.  I left messages at the ones with voicemail and one called me back and I have an appointment  tomorrow at 3:00.  That makes me very happy.  I made Sue promise not to take my picture until after I get a haircut because I look like Hattie the Witch.

Sue and I walked to Walgreen's because our good camera has a San disk that is old technology and won't work with our computers.  The software to download from the camera isn't available for our newer computers either.  So, at the do it yourself photo machine, I was able to put them on a CD and I will share a couple with you today.  Here they are.

 Elizabeth City from April 26th.



 Abandoned boat we saw along the way.



Pusquotank River from April 27th

 This is the sign to the South Mills Lock.  Not very noticeable, is it?

Norm and Sue on "Runaround Sue" in the Dismal Swamp Canal.

Trina and Paul, whom we met at Whittaker Pointe Marina arrived here today and we all had Happy Hour together.  We also met Bob Collins who lives on his boat and also joined us for Happy Hour.  It is so much fun to hear everyone's stories.   These are the pictures taken today in Hampton.

 Virginia Air and Space Center

 Indoor old hand carved carousel.  Really cool, but it wasn't open.



 Sign outside of the Air and Space Center

Another sign outside the Air and Space Center

Sunday, April 29, 2012

We were tied to the free dock just before the Deep Creek Lock along with our friends in five other boats.  The lock opens at 8:30 A.M.  There was no southbound boat traffic.  George, today's bridge / lock tender, had to drive to the Deep Creek Bridge to let one north bound boat through.  Then he drove back to the lock and opened it for all of us (7 boats total).  The lock dropped us 9 feet.  Then, we hadn't cruised very far when we came to the Gilmerton Bridge.  Normally, on the weekends, it opens on demand.  However, they are working on the bridge and it only opens on the bottom of the hour.  So, we were there at 9:45 and the bridge didn't open until 10:30.  By the time it opened, there were 13 north bound boats and 1 south bound barge.  Shortly after that, we passed under 2 railroad bridges that are open unless a train is coming.  Fortunately, no trains were coming and we passed right through. 

 Naval Carrier Ship

Naval Destroyer Ship.

The closer boat is named "Ms Spent Funds".  That cracked me up! 

This looks like a bridge to nowhere. 

Portsmouth, Virginia.

Once we reached Portsmouth and Norfolk, we had large vessels of all kinds everywhere we looked.  A lot of Navy ships, but also commercial ships.  At one point, the Coast Guard came along side our boat and told us to stay on the wrong side of the green markers until we got passed this large ship that had 3 Coast Guard escorts.  They told us it was carrying dangerous cargo.  We ended up at the Downtown Hampton Public Piers.  The Dockmaster Kate is delightful.  This is the first marina we have ever been in that has its own herb garden that you can help yourself and take what you need.  This is an extremely accommodating place.  Free bicycles to use, restrooms, showers, laundry, swap library, an exercise room in the hotel you can use by showing your paid receipt.  Kate gave us a packet with tons of information about the town. We walked about 4 blocks to a restaurant called Marker20 for dinner tonight.  The food was good, bu we are all ready to just relax for the remainder of the evening.

Still in Dismal Swamp Canal

This morning all six of the boats left heading north in the Dismal Swamp Canal from the Welcome Center.  The entire canal is a no wake zone.  We were speeding along at between 4 and 6 mph.  The bridge tender, who is also the lock tender, opened the bridge 15 minutes early since we were the only boat traffic around.  All of us stayed at the free dock just before the Deep Creek Lock.  Originally, we had planned on going to Norfolk or Hampton today, but we had so much fun with this group of boaters that we decided to stay with them.  John and I walked into town with Norm and Sue.  We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant and then did a little shopping at the Food Lion Grocery Store.  We needed coffee, bread, charcoal, and they had a deal on soft drinks.  We brought our "milk crate on wheels with a handle" so we didn't have to carry the heavy stuff back. 

 That's "Runaround Sue" ahead of us in the canal.  It's so narrow and they keep the trees trimmed so the sailboats can make it through without their masts hitting the tree cover.

 Part of the canal is in North Carolina and part is in Virginia.

 This house is right on the shore and almost hidden by all of the trees.

We saw this little duck family while walking back from the grocery store.  Aren't they cute?

This picture was taken by Ken Christison whom we met while walking the boardwalk yesterday.

We grilled out again with all of the boaters:  Margaret, Bob, Jacques, Fred, Mark, Norm, Sue, John and myself.  The lock tender named Robert Peek spent a great deal of time with us sharing the history of the Dismal Swamp. We enjoyed his narration.  He showed us his conch shell collection and then blew one like a horn, making it sound more musical than any other one I've ever heard.  There is a family cemetery in the park.  The headstones are from the 1800s.  One man is buried closer to his concubine than he is to his wife.  Hmmm. Winters are pretty boring for Robert because not too many boats come down the canal in the cold weather.  So, he showed us a chess set he is making in his spare time.  He bought the ceramic molds and painted all of the pieces.  Now he is working on the board.  We are so glad that we decided to do the Dismal Swamp instead of the Virginia Cut.  It's been educational, beautiful, and fun.

Dismal Swamp

We untied lines this morning at Pelican Marina at 7:55 A.M., 5 minutes ahead of schedule.  The swing bridge opens at 8:30 and it took 5 minutes to get there.  So, we had to wait for 30 minutes..  We snaked around in the Pasquotank River until we reached the canal.  We locked through the South Mills Lock with Runaround Sue and five other boats that had gone through the swing bridge at 7:30 A.M. The lock has stationary bollards at the top of a wall.  The lock master came around to each boat with a boat hook to take our lines (one in the front and one in the back) around the bollard and then back to your boat.  We lifted 8 feet  As we rose up in the water, we pulled our lines in.  All but one of the boats stopped for the night at the North Carolina Welcome Center.  The dock is only 3 to 4 boats long, and so we had to raft some of the boats off each other.  There are pictures included of us at the Welcome Center Dock.





Here you can see five of the seven boats in the lock.



 These are the other two boats in the lock with us.

 Seas 2 Day on left.  Runaround Sue on right.

This is a picture of all of the boats at the Welcome Center Dock.

We took really cool pictures with our old Canon camera with the long lens, but the technology is so old that the Sandisk won't fit in our printer or either of our computers.  I found a cord I thought would work, but it wouldn't load the device.  So, I guess I have to wait until I go to a drug store or somewhere like that which can handle the Sandisk and put them on a CD.  Once that happens, I'll be able to share some of them with all of you.

Elizabeth City, NC

Paul and Trina.

We spent the night at Pelican Marina in Elizabeth City, NC.  We had rain and wind during the night.  It quit raining in the morning, and at 11:30, we had a cab pick up the four of us and drive us cross the river to the downtown area.  We ate lunch in town and walked over to the city marina where we ran into Paul and Trina, who we met at Whittaker Pointe Marina. There was also 2 FABRIC stores side by side, so I was in fabric heaven.  Just as the wind started to blow again, we called the cab and made it back to the boat right as the rain really started coming down.  We plan o leaving tomorrow morning and heading for the Dismal Swamp.  We have a swing bridge right away that opens on at 8:30 and 9:30 in the early part of the morning.  Then we have a lock 16 miles from the swing bridge that opens at 11:00.  We are planning on spending the night at the Welcome Center.  I hope there will be room for us there.

Tuesday and Wednesday

The Coast Guard following us.

Yesterday we had no Internet or cell service, so there was no post. Tuesday we left Whittaker Pointe Marina in the morning with Norm and Sue.  It was cold enough that I wore two pairs of slacks, a Tshirt, a long sleeved shirt, a jacket, gloves, and ear warmers.  Through one section, a Coast Guard boat followed  directly behind for several miles.  We were in an idle zone and kept watching for the blue lights or a call on the radio.  John had me dig out the boarding report from just a few days ago in case they wanted to board us.  Further along this idle zone, we came to a Coast Guard Facility where they turned.  They had us thinking we have a "Follow Me " Sign on our aft end.  We anchored out at Upper Dowry Creek for the evening.

Today we left our anchorage at 7:30 A.M.  The first thing we saw of interest, was this sailboat going under the bridge.  We honestly thought it was going to get stuck under the bridge.

Captain John.

 The sailboat we thought was not going to make it through.

 Some of the stuff that flew around during the ride through the rough ride.

These may not look like bad waves, but it was a rough ride.

 Right before the Alligator River Swing Bridge, we made the decision to keep going to Elizabeth City instead of anchoring near the bridge.  The weather is supposed to get worse tomorrow and we thought it would be a good thing to cross the Abermerle Sound today and get to a marina in case of really bad weather.  The wind today was 20 to 25 mph.   Crossing was a bit uncomfortable.  Things fell over all over the boat.  One drawer of my thread chest spilled into the floor and I am now missing one spool of thread.  Today we cruised 82.1 miles in 9 hours 38 minutes.  We were tied up by 5:00 and are having an early night tonight.  We are very near to the start of the Dismal Swamp.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Can you see our boat?
Norm and John in the boaters' lounge.

This is part of the floor in the boaters' lounge. Isn't it too cool?

I was cold and windy today, but we had a great day! John and I borrowed the courtesy car and drove into Oriental. We went to West Marine, Inland Waterway Provision Company, Brantley Village Restaurant, and the grocery store. We did all of this in 2 hours. We saved a lot of shipping expense.

We decided to have Happy Hour and play cards in the boaters' lounge tonight. We brought our coolers, shrimp and cocktail sauce, pepperoni, cheese, crackers, chips and salsa. We had a wonderful time.

We plan on leaving tomorrow and spending the nght at an anchorage. We hope to make the beginning of the Dismal Swamp the next day, where we hope to stay at a free dock in Elizabethtown. The Dismal Swamp Canal was begun by George Washington in an effort to harvest lumber in the Dismal Swamp. The last lumber harvester ceased operations in 1989. They have recently refurbished the canal by removing the snags and trimming the tree canopy. We are looking forward to this historical waterway and plan on staying overnight at the visitor's center about halfway through.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

We had pretty poor weather all day today. It's cold, rainy, and very gray. We borrowed the courtesy car this morning and went out to brunch with Norm and Sue. It was really good. They had a buffet for $9.99 each including drink. They had a guy making omelets and even Eggs Benedict. I was really hungry, so I got my money's worth. The rest of the afternoon we spent sitting on the boat. We did manage to have Happy Hour at 5:00 with Norm and Sue, even though it was pretty chilly on the aft deck. Then, I relearned how to download an ebook to my Kindle from the library. It took me awhile to figure it out again. My Kindle is one of the older ones that you download the book from the library to the computer and then transfer it with a USB cable to the Kindle. That last part was what I had trouble with, but finally figured it out. The book I downloaded is "The Litigators" by John Grisham. I have it for two weeks and then it goes back to the library automatically. Pretty cool, huh?

Saturday, April 21, 2012

The view from the porch of Whittaker Pointe Marina. Gorgeous!

The side of the marina building that faces the docks.


Some of the remote control sailboats in the race. Unfortunately, there was very little wind.

The setting at this marina is absolutely beautiful. It has extremely nice restrooms and showers, a well appointed boaters' lounge, laundry for $1 to wash and $1 to dry on the honor system, a huge back porch that faces the marina with rocking chairs, and even a swimming pool. Last night the dinghy club had a barbecue at the marina. Today a remote control sailboat club had sailboat races at the marina. We are meeting really nice people here. We are probably going to stay until Tuesday because we are supposed to get some bad weather tomorrow and Monday. There is a 100% chance of rain tomorrow, and the water is already getting a little rougher. It's good to be tied and prepared.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Theresa, Carol, and Doug at the Silos.

After fueling and pumping out, we left Jerrett Bay Boatworks and headed for Whittaker Pointe Marina in Oriental, NC. This marina is pretty new. It has beautiful facilities, including a swimming pool. What a shame it's not warm enough to swim. It only took us two hours to get here from Beaufort, NC. We were visited by Theresa and Doug Kaser, friends from Cincinnati, who now live in New Bern, NC. We had a nice Happy Hour visit on our back deck with them and Norm and Sue. Then we all went to a restaurant called the Silos. They have a pretty extensive menu and everyone's food was delicious. John and I are so glad that Theresa and Doug came to visit. It was so nice to see them again. Gina, I know you are jealous.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

The boat is back in the water without a hitch. The bill was just slightly less than the estimate had been. That never happens, so we were happy. We went out to lunch with Norm and Sue. Sue had to be careful of how she ate, but she is really doing well. After lunch we had ice cream. The rest of the day I worked on genealogy stuff. I am so far behind. There is so much to do. We grilled out brats after Happy Hour and we are just chillin' until bedtime.

We expect to leave here tomorrow and head to Oriental, NC. I am always afraid to say that before it happens. So many times things happen to change our plans.

Wednesday, April18, 2012

This morning after balancing the checkbook and John and I marking the anchor line with tags so we know how much line is out, I called Sue to go over to her boat and visit with her. I felt so sorry for her. She had gone to a dentist at 8:15 A.M. and had another dentist appointment at 2:30 for a root canal. I went with her to hold her hand and give her moral support. I hope that she feels okay after the Novocaine wears off. She did pick up some prescriptions just in case.

Our boat goes back in the water tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. That's sooner than they originally thought. It will be good to be in the water.

We went to Norm and Sue's for Happy Hour tonight and ordered pizza for dinner. I was so hungry for pizza. It was yummy!

Tuesday, April 17,2012

The bottom that needs to be painted

Thank you, Sue for running me all over Beaufort, NC today. We went to CVS, I tried to get a haircut, but couldn't get in, we went to the grocery store and to a car parts store for a tool for John. Then, she helped us manage to get everything into the boat which is no small chore since it is up on stands in the parking lot. The three of us, Sue, John, and I made a chain like a bucket brigade to get everything in. I took some pictures of the boat as it is. It looks so tall and unnatural the way it is. We were very happy with the condition of our props. Our zincs definitely needed replacing and the bottom, of course, needed to be painted. They have 2 coats of bottom paint applied already today.

Monday, April 16,2012

John got up around 5:00 A.M. to do his walk around check of the boat. I swear I heard a man's voice on a loudspeaker say "You will be used for target practice with live ammo." He said some other stuff I couldn't make out. John thinks I was dreaming it. I don't know, but we got out of there at 6:00.

John called Jerrett Marina and made arrangements to have our boat pulled and the bottom painted. They said it would take about a week. Norm and Sue are here for their Hatteras class. They are also having some work done to their boat while they are here. We arrived at noon and they had us pulled out by 2:00. Sue had dinner with us and Norm came over for Happy Hour after dinner (His was included with his class). It was so good to see both of them.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

I think this sculpture is Poseidon.

This is the Surf City Swing Bridge where we waited 35 minutes.

Pinky Tuscadero would love this house.

This morning we left Carolina Beach State Park heading north as usual. We were moving along for about 2 hours when the Coast Guard came up along side of us with their blue lights flashing. We didn't see them until they called us on the radio. They asked when we had last been inspected and it had been a couple of years, so two of them boarded our boat and inspected us. We had no violations and the men were very courteous and nice. When we reached the Surf City Swing Bridge, we had to wait 35 minutes because it only opens on the hour. We cruised in very shallow water in the middle of the channel for most of the day today. We had between 1.7 feet and 4.0 feet for a lot of the way. That made us both uncomfortable. We stopped for the night at the Mile Hammock Bay. This basin is dredged by the military for use with Camp LeJeune. We traveled 53 miles today and that leaves us about 50 miles for tomorrow to get to where Norm and Sue are docked right now. They plan on being there at least until Wednesday.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

We did decide to stay another day here at Carolina Beach State Park. The price is right and John fixed his float on the bilge pump. I stayed caught up with my chores. It makes me ecstatic that I still feel good after cleaning yesterday. I was afraid that maybe I'd done too much and would pay for it today. But, I feel good and rested and we are ready to move on again tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be nice, in the 70s and 10 mph winds. We are about 100 miles away from Norm and Sue at this point. They are in Beaufort, North Carolina where they are attending classes for older Hatteras boats starting on Monday til I think Wednesday. We should catch up with them while they are there providing no unforeseen circumstances get in our way.

Friday the 13th

This is one of three boats we saw today that had sunk.

We left Barefoot Marina in N. Myrtle Beach this morning and continued heading north. We traveled 57 miles and ended up at Carolina Beach State Park. Their fees are reasonable and we may even stay 2 days. This morning while John was busy driving the boat, I was busy down below cleaning the inside of the boat. You can't believe how wonderful it feels to feel like doing this. John had washed the outside of the boat the day before, so right now it looks great! I'm hoping that tomorrow I'm not sorry that I did this today. We are having a slight issue with a bilge pump switch. The pump works manually, but doesn't automatically come on. That is John's job tomorrow to look into this and fix it. I know he can. Today was also a lot warmer than yesterday and a lot more pleasant to be on the boat.

The swing bridge opening

Thursday, April 12, 2012

A tour boat at Myrtle Beach

We left our lovely anchorage early this morning, heading north. The scenery was more attractive than the past few days because there were no marshes. Instead the shores were lined with trees and beautiful homes. We only traveled 43 miles and ended up in North Myrtle Beach, SC. We are at a marina named Barefoot Marina where we fueled up, pumped out, and ate at the Dockside Grille. I expect tomorrow we will move along again.

Wednesday, April11,2012

The ferry

Being chased by seagulls

We pulled up anchor at 8:00 this morning and continued heading north on the ICW. The weather was a cool 60 degrees and sunny. It only got to 62 degrees today. I had on jeans, a T shirt, sweater, and a jacket and was still cold all day. For several miles we were followed by tons of seagulls. I don't know what they thought we had to eat on board, but they reminded me of the movie "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchkock. We also must have seen at least 200 dolphins playing in the water. When we get back to the Ohio River, the dolphins are the things I will miss the most. The other picture is of a rather small ferry. You could throw a rock across as far as the ferry travels. We ended up anchored out at Butler Creek which is just beyond Georgtown, SC.

This is the scenery at our anchorage at Butler Creek. We thought it was gorgeous and wanted to share it with you all.