June 17 - C. O. D. Once Again

Once again, Mike got us up at 5:30 for an early start. I took advantage of the routine to run back to our favorite gas station/grill to buy some breakfast for us. Nothing better than eggs on homemade biscuits. And, for dessert, we had blueberry muffins fresh from the oven. Actually, the truth is that Jacob did not get a blueberry muffin. They only had four. So, not enough for everyone. And, I am getting better at staying up and working! I made two pots of hot water- one for right away and one for the thermos. I also thought ahead to put all the food in the large stew pot with the lid on to keep everything hot longer- an old trick of my mom's. As Mike promised, the Albemarle Sound was calmer today. We had just about one hour of bouncy bouncy, then it smoothed out. And, now the jib is up and we Re moving right Lang. The goal for the day is to first stop in Elizabeth City. Then, we will move up closer to the start of the Dismal Ditch Canal so that we can make the locks on time. Our plan is to try to do the Dismal Ditch Canal all in one day. That is possible - as long as we stay right on schedule. So, we'll see how that goes. At 10:00, we are moving right along. We are doing 7.2 knots with the jib up, and we are just passing the TCOM blimp construction company! It was a good day; they had a cute white blimp sitting outside on the riverside so that we could clearly see it. The interesting thing is that I thought it was a cute LITTLE blimp - until I saw a truck passing under it! The actual construction building is so gigantic that it makes everything around it look very, very small. This position is just five miles from Elizabeth City. That means we might be there in less than an hour. Since the free Mariners Wharf has free wifi, I wanted to get this done so I could post it. Meanwhile, we continue our dance of the crab pots. They are everywhere around here. Unlike the Chesapeake Bay, there do not appear to be any rules about keeping channels clear for boating. And, the watermen do not appear to put them down in any patterns, unlike home where once you see a pot you can then expect to see the line of them stretching in a pretty organized row. Not here, that is for sure. It is now 4:47, and we are at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center. No, we did not stop in Elizabeth City. We decided to skip that stop because we really did not need to go to town for anything. We have enough foodstuffs to make it through. And, I already got free books at the library in Belhaven. So, I really did not need to go to that bookstore, although there is probably some book I need desperately...... Anyway,the downside is that there is not free wifi. So, this blog posting will go up much later. So, we did head down the Dismal Swamp. It is an interesting place. It is just about wide enough for one boat, so when you see another boat heading your way, you really have to think about when and where you will meet and pass them. Mike and Carol did a splendid job. Even better, traffic was light today.  Our first big adventure was the saga of the dog. For those of you who do not know, the Dismal Ditch is a long stretch of very brown water. It is so dark and brown that it looks like thin oil or dark coffee. You really cannot see much, including brown logs in the water. We only missed one log. I was going to say that we only ran into one log, but that did not really sound like the perfect thing. Next, we rounded a corner, and I heard Carol yell, "Slow down. Back up. Don't hit the dog." I thought she was joking. No. Someone was tossing a ball into the water so that Jim's black lab could retrieve it. Good day for dog swimming, unless a large catamaran is coming around the corner. Yes, no dogs were harmed on this trip. We missed the lab. He made it back to the dock with his ball. Good dog. Bad owner. Our next adventure was our first lock. Yes, LUX for us was a newbie with locks. The gentleman at the lock was very helpful, and his little doggy was cute. It was an interesting experience for all of us. The wash from the water rushing in caused LUX to start trying to back away from the side of the lock. Peggy and Carol were charged with holding the ropes to keep us in place. Carol thought that Mike was doing something at the helm, but no. It was just the rushing water. We made it through the first lock, and then we proceeded slowly toward the bridge. BTW, we really did have to go slowly. No sense rushing. The gentleman who worked the lock had to get in his truck, drive to the bridge, and then open the bridge for us. And, yes, the doggy went for the ride. Good dog. Good owner. Tomorrow, we will see if we can make it to Norfolk. Long day, but getting closer to home makes it seem shorter each day.