The Dismal Swamp

We left Lamb's Marina on Friday morning at 8:00 to head North to Norfolk via the Dismal Swamp.  We had a great time here with a restaurant within walking distance and a courtesy car we could use any time.   We had to get to the first lock at 11:00 for the opening and were going to stay at the free dock before going into the second lock.  The free dock was a great place to spend the night with a park for Chloe to run free and enjoy.  The Dismal Swamp was an unbelievable beautiful cut to enter Norfolk.  The weather was perfect and the journey was fantastic.  This is why traveling on a boat is the only way you can experience what we have seen.  Coming into Norfolk brought many emotions because last year at this same time Jan and I flew into Norfolk to attend the rendezvous that we will now attend with our own boat.  Next time I blog I will put together some statistics.

This is where we stayed for four days

Nicest people we ever met,  They built the ramp for us to get across dock  that was underwater!

They had a courtesy car we used to go to Walmart

Only sunset we saw before we left in the morning

Average Looper, 47 Bayliner headed to the Dismal Swap

Going into the swamp

Super cool, one of our highlights

This is Annabelle captained by Tanya doing the loop by herself

Going through the Dismal Swamp

Attitude Changer in the first lock

Saw this meadow with all yellow

I guess the sign says it all

Smith Mills Lock

Sign to the Smith Mill Lock

Some of the older homes have their own family cemetery

Waiting for the lock to open

Yes, we are in Virginia

Town where we spent the night on a free dock

History of the Dismal Swamp

Gonig into Norfolk area

A crane on a crane

Looking out our back window in Portsmouth

Sneads Ferry to Elizabeth City NC

On our way to Sneads Ferry we passed a replica of the Pinta.  Not sure where the Nina or Santa Maria were.  The trip to Sneads Ferry was pretty boring and we pulled in to the Swan Point Marina that was run and owned by a mother and daughter.  The marina was pretty rustic but had electric and most amenities.  We got some laundry done and watched the Nina pass by after I passed it some time back.  Next morning we untied and we're off to Morehead City.  When you leave Sneads Ferry there is a swing bridge we needed opened, but only opens on the half hour.  It's part of the Marine base at Camp Lejeune.  There are also signs posted if the lights are flashing you can not continue any further because they are having live fire exercises.  Luckily not on the day we went thru.  We ended up at the Portside Marina in Morehead City on an outside tie exposed to boats passing by and the wind kicking up the water.  Glad to leave there the next day for Oriental, so we thought.  Arrived at a nice little marina called Whittaker Point Marina where we caught up with Attitude Changer.  That night we had tornado warnings, rain and  high winds that kicked up the water in the marina because of very little protection and it was as rough in the marina  as out in the sound.  We used the loaner car to go get our propane tanks filled and have lunch and then used it again to go into town to meet a couple other loopers at a very protected marina and later went to dinner.  There were 9 tornado's that touched down around us. The storms finally passed through about 11:00 that night and I was up the whole time making sure our lines held the boat in position.  We left next day for Belhaven to Dowry Creek Marina.  There were four other looper boats there when we pulled into the marina.  CJ (from San Diego who took their boat through the Panama Canal), Limelight, Summer Recess, and Attitude Changer.  We all got together for docktails that late afternoon.  Next stop was up the Alligator River / Canal to a layover marina at a Shell gas station in Columbia NC on Hwy 64.  Alligator River was a really beautiful section of the ICW where it says you could see deer and bears.  We didn't see anything except tree trunks along the shore.  In fact as a barge was going by Panacea found on of those tree trunks that was underwater and we now have a bent prop.  Sorry I can't tell you what came out of my mouth at the time but it was not good.  Now we can't run the starboard engine over an idle or the boat vibrates violently.  We got into Alligator River Marina with the other four boats and tried to figure out a plan to have the boat repaired.  The boat CJ invited us to have a potluck at the boaters lounge with spaghetti.  We provided the hor dourves  and garlic bread.  Next day was about crossing a very large sound called Albemarle Sound which is the largest fresh water sound in North America.  It is 50 miles long and about 18 miles wide with crab pots all along the route.  We had to cross the sound to Elizabeth City and did not want any wind.  When we left the forecast was for 10 mph winds and 1 foot waves.  Soon after leaving we had 3 to 4 footers directly from the East hitting us on the beam with about 15 mph winds.  I must say it was one of the most uncomforable boat rides we have ever experienced.  Even poor Chloe was sliding down the floor and everything that wasn't tied down was on the floor.  All this on one engine.  We all decided to go to a small marina called Lamb's.  I can't tell you how happy we were to be there.  I must say the people we have met in North Carolina are some of the nicest people we have ever met.  We have been here for three day now because of weather.  We have even had more tornadoe warnings and watches.  Since we were going to be here for a while I changed the oil and filters on both engines.   Our next goal is to head up the Dismal Swamp to Norfolk.  We have arranged with a boat repair facility to have the prop replaced and the air conditioner repaired once we get to Norfolk.

Passing the Pinta 

I don't know, something about pink houses

Swan Point Marina, Sneads Ferry

Swan Point Marina

Barb from Attitude Changer

Us with Don from Limelight

Here we all are gathered in Oriental NC

Panacea on the Alligator River

Tug we passed just after hitting a sumberged tree trunk

See those tree trunks?

Attitude Changer from Michigan 

Limelight from Wisconsin

CJ from San Diego

Gathered for potluck

Just passed Elizabeth City for Lamb;s Marina in Camden

Southport to Wrightsville Beach

While we were in Southport, Mike and Debbie arranged for a rental car so they would be able to leave and head to the Raleigh airport to fly home.  There was also two other looper boats in Southport and we all got together for dinner that night including Attitude Changer with Ross and Barb.  When we all ordered our food the waitress came back to inform us that their fryer went down and we couldn't order any fried food.  Now, that's hard to do in North Carolina.  Needless to say they closed the restaurant after our order.  Next day the plan was for Debbie and Jan to take the car to our next destination while Mike and I moved the boat to Wrightsville Beach.  We all left at 9:30 am and since it was only going to take 45 minutes by car and the boat 4 hours Jan and Debbie found lots of shopping to do before they met the boat.  Mike and I had a good trip especially on the Cape Fear River that can get pretty rough if the wind is blowing.  We pulled into Seapath Yacht Club and relaxed waiting for Jan and Debbie to show.  That night we barbecued up some steak and veggies for dinner and retired early for an early start tomorrow morning.  We walked Debbie and Mike out to the car in the morning and said our goodbyes.  It was so good having them with us, it was like a little of home coming to visit.  Back to the boat and off we went to Sneads Ferry.

Going by the opening to the Alantic

Palm tree all alone on this sand island

Georgetown to Southport

When we left Georgetown we had a group of four other boats all traveling together to Osprey Marina in Myrtle Beach.  It was a beautiful day and we went through the Cypress Swamp, which was fantastic with these tall pine trees and foliage growing along the banks.  I kept thinking how do these trees grow in salt water, when it dawned on me that we were in fresh water.  Osprey marina was a cool marina with a narrow inlet off the ICW.  We were told when we reserved our slip that a seven foot alligator was residing there and not to let your dog get close to the shore.  Jan made sure I carried Chloe from the boat to the top of the dock before I let her down.  The end of the day the four boaters got together up at the patio area and had enjoyed docktails.  The people there were super nice and we enjoyed staying.  Our other great thing that happen was our good friends Mike and Debbie were coming to spend five days traveling with us as we head North.  They came the following day and we had fun getting all caught up in what was going on in the hood.  The harbormaster went to the airport to pick us up so Mike could turn in the rental car, that's what I mean about super nice people.  It must be that Southern hospitality.   Attitude Changer also came the next day, (Ross and Barb),  and all of got together for conversation and more fun.  Myrtle Beach is a fairly large town that relies on tourists because they have more beach and miniature golf courses that I have ever seen.  We filled up with fuel and emptied the holding tank the next morning and headed for Little River, that is just past North Myrtle Beach.  We all had a great run to Little River and had to end up staying for three days because of bad weather.  When we got to Lightkeepers Marina the harbor master let us us his personal car to go to Costco that is twenty miles away.  Mike and Debbie went with us and we also stopped and had a late lunch.  We could't believe James let us use his car without any hesitation or form to fill out.  That night the storm came in and we had wind the next two days blowing about 30 mph.  Next day after Costco I turned my laptop on and it had serious issues I diagnosed to probably a bad mother board.  I asked James if we could borrow his car again to go to Best Buy so I could buy another laptop.  Again without hesitation he handed me the keys and off Mike and I go back to the Costco area where Best Buy is located.  I decided to buy a MacBook Pro and end my Windows mentality.  It has been a learning curve and I believe it delayed my blog.  Next stop after Little River was Southport.  We followed Attitude Changer to Southport and we stayed at the marina and they stayed next to us at the city docks.

Interesting things you see along the way

Like trees growing in the waterway

Cypress Swamp

Now in Myrtle Beach

Cool bridge to some resort

This is how the golfers get across the ICW to play the Waterway Golf Coarse