"BUGGED" Or how we survived the Dismal Swamp

When cruising to Norfolk Va from the south, the mariner has two options: Either you can go route 1, or the Virginia cut route, or you can take the Dismal Swamp canal. Tom and I, always the adventurers elected to take the swamp cut because it sounded romantic and interesting.
The Dismal swamp is a huge tract of land that lies in northern North Carolina and southern Virginia. It was an early business venture of our first President, George (wooden teeth) Washington and "lighthorse" Harry Lee (Robert E Lee's Father) to drain the swamp and harvest the timber. The venture was abandoned but Washington did supervise the cutting of the canal through the swamp...Today the whole area is a Naional Wildlife Refuge and the canal is open only to recreational boaters. The canal is 30 miles long, and at some points the canal is only 50 feet wide with tree branches overhanging the cut. There are two locks on the Dismal Swamp Canal (at the beginning and end). Before I go any further in our story, let me say that at most times of the year the Dismal Swamp canal is probably very beautiful...there's lots of wild life to be seen, and the water is almost black because of the tannins from leaves...it is peaceful and pristine. BUT, and this is a big BUT...DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS TRIP IN MID-JULY!!!!!! We were attacked by flying green bugs that bit us from ankle to hips...we swatted, sprayed and lathered on creams....we did this for about two hours in 100 degree heat when my brilliant husband looked at me and said "why are we piloting from outside when we have an inside steering wheel?....DUH! So we ran down below to our main cabin, turned on the generator and the airconditioning and finished the DISMAL swamp canal from the comfort of inside. The lock tender at the end of the swamp told us that these bugs are only present in July..meanwhile, I had an allergic reaction to the bugs and swelled up like the Goodyear Blimp!
The lesson here, of course, is that we DO have inside steering which we obviously do not use very often...But we probably won't forget we have it again...
P.S. Benedryl spray finally cured the bites

The King of the Post Office

Elizabeth City North Carolina is a small town located on the Pasquatank river of North Carolina...a pretty little town with two intersecting main streets, and a newly re-furbished waterfront with a very welcoming attitude to boaters. It also has a 1950-ish big ole government post office building with wide granite steps spaced narrowly apart..you know the kind where you feel you're walking up to meet God...
Inside this post office I walked into a sort of reverential hushed silence that made me feel like a 10 year old. Holding court over this last of its kind big government building was the postmaster.His name was Paul (I know this because I heard the people standing in the long line call him by name). Paul was a tall, good looking black man in his 50's, with a voice like the "cola-nut" man on television. No one in line talked, but everyone listened to Paul. As the line crept forward, the woman in front of me conversed lightly with Paul. She said "Paul, it's been so hot I just can't stand it...I even did a little rain dance but it didn't work...Paul looked at her and thought for a moment and then said in his best "cola-nut" voice "Maybe you're not doing the right steps"...
When it was my turn to mail my packages Paul asked me "how do you want these to go?" I said in a very thin, soft voice "just the way you think best". I know a pro when I meet one!

Ocracoke Pictures

Ocracoke Island...AKA Shangrila

Okay kids...remember the legend about Shangrila...the mountain hideaway where no one ever aged and everything is beautiful????Well, I think it might be Ocracoke Island on the outer banks of North Carolina. We had no intention of going there, but the wind was in the right direction on Pamlico sound and we thought "why not"? This place was just rated the number one beach in all of the USA, so we HAD to see it!
The anchorage for Ocracoke is in a little lake with the village of Ocracoke surronding it...the glorious beach is about 11/2 miles from town....the village itself is like going back to 1950...old family cottages dot the interior of the island...fun unique shops ocuppy some of the old cottages so you have to walk down the sand streets to find them....yes, there is a fudge shop but the great thing is 75% of Ocracoke Island is National park and the beach is 13 miles long with nothing but sand dunes on it. On the 4th of July we went to a sand castle building contest on the beach...as well as to a local parade. The island is accessed by ferry boats either from Hatteras or from the mainland 21/2 hours away by boat, which helps keep it from turning into Disneyland.
We met wonderful people here who took us under their wings and showed us what its like to be a local on Ocracoke...we clammed, sang and played with our friends Russ and Michelle, Jim-Bob (a real Local) and Tom...All of them were amazingly kind to us and once again taught us to be open to possibilities. Tom caught a pail of clams and we ate them right out of the water with a litlle hot sauce and vinegar...Yum!!! It was hard to say "goodbye" here, but we'll be in touch

Wilmington Pictures

"Wow-ed" by Wilmington

We've seen everything coming up the intra-coastal waterway. There have been areas of heavy development, and pristine stretches of natural beauty. As we approached Wilmington, North Carolina the scenery changed yet again. First we stopped in the quaint and historic town of Southport, which is the southport on the Cape Fear river.
The Cape Fear inlet is one of the major deep water inlets for ocean going vessels in North Carolina, and Wilmington is the major port city. We have friends in Wilmington, Carla and Gordon Whitwell, and our friends Cindi and Mike Neumann (who are loopers), so we knew they all had great taste, but, we were not prepared to fall in love with this city the way we did!
Historic downtown Wilmington has been restored and it has great restaurants, creative stores, lots of theatre, and gorgeous old homes all within walking distance of the river front downtown. There's always something going on..Wilmington is home to the University of North Carolina Wilmington, which has 12,000 students (and a very pretty campus) It is the largest port in North Carolina. It also has the largest movie studio east of Los Angeles (Screen Gems) and while there Richard Geer, and Diane Lane were all over town making a movie..I saw Stanley Tucci walking down the board walk. Isn't that wierd???Who knew Wilmington was called "Hollywood East???? Also, Wilmington is within one half hour of 5 beautiful beaches, and lots of water between the Cape Fear, its tributaries, the ICW, and the ocean!!!Add to this the fact that Wilmington was just named one of the best places to retire and you start to get the picture of what's happening here...lots of buzz and quite frankly well deserved...we stayed over a week and hated to leave when we did...but the boat must go on