Taking in the Lowcountry Scenery

Charleston to Church Creek  |  2.9 Hours  |  20 Miles 

It was a slow and relaxed morning leading up to our departure. A final topping off of the water tank and taking out the trash were done before the slack tide occurred at 10:30. Dock neighbors tossed us our lines and we exited the inside lane of the Megadock. The 48-foot Selene Sabbatical and 90-foot Horizon Skyline, were dwarfed by the beautiful 100-foot Nautor Swan Red Sky. We had admired this sailboat since our arrival. The freshly painted red hull and white decks were show-stoppers. The 140-foot air draft was a jaw-dropper. We had thoughts of anchoring in Charleston Harbor for the evening, but at the last minute turned and headed down the ICW. We eased under the 30-foot Wappoo Creek Bridge, thankful that we didn't have to wait for its very limited scheduled openings. Of course, it would take a nice long bridge delay to read everything posted on the signs.

It was high tide and there were very few other boats on the water. That allowed ample opportunity for sightseeing. Stately largely homes with lengthy docks, modern houses with interesting roof deck insets, and derelict boats lined the way. It was a busy day at The Links at Stono Ferry with several foursomes visible along the waterfront holes. Our destination for the day was the Church Creek anchorage, which our friends from Flip Flop had pointed out. At Green 77 we made a sharp turn to the left and into our own private basin.

A relaxing afternoon was spent in the pilothouse, looking out over the scenic Lowcountry marsh grasses with ducks swimming in the still water. I did a little more Christmas shopping and have now completed about all I can before we get back to Richmond in three weeks. For now, we will get a few miles a day in until our arrival in Savannah on Wednesday. Barry called Thunderbolt Marina today and asked about arriving earlier, but they don't have room for us. So, a slow go it will be.

We were treated to another great sunset, fixed dinner, and watched some football. Not a bad day at all. A change of scenery does the mind good.

The Streak is Over, and How Sweet the Sound

Charleston 

Trying to avoiding a post-Thanksgiving hangover, we were up early. After a little yoga, breakfast, and a shower I started checking off chores and projects. None of them were glamorous, but all needed to be done. The rug in the pilothouse was removed and the sole received a good cleaning. Knowing that rain is around the corner, I cleaned the windshield and reapplied Rain-X. We also cleaned and polished some stainless steel on the bow. That led perfectly to noon and the start of the UVA-Virginia Tech football game. Could this be the year that the Hoos would finally pull one out? Recent history had not been kind with the Hokies taking 15 straight and 23 of 29 contests since I left Grounds. I was on the edge of the settee until the final horn, then celebrated the ACC Coastal Division Championship and the end of The Streak.

We walked back into town and had dinner prior to attending The Sound of Charleston at the Circular Congregational Church. Although the sanctuary was still decorated in the colors of autumn, the evening's set list included several Christmas songs. The sounds that helped define Charleston musical past were featured -- gospel spirituals, Civil War, George Gershwin, and light classics. The evening closed with the story of John Newton worshipping on site in 1749 just prior to penning Amazing Grace. A rousing sing-along of the classic sent everyone off in good spirit. How sweet the sound. We took one final walk down Broad Street, past the illuminated St. Michael's Church, and back to the marina. The stroll down the Megadock is always interesting. Luxurious yachts come and go daily and most of the brands have been represented: Selene, Nordhavn, Fleming, Ocean Alexander, Hatteras, Carver, Marlow, Krogen, Benneteau, Shannon. Our own little boatshow. The blue-hulled Skyline is just as impressive at night as during the day.

We will push away from the dock in the morning and hang out in the anchorage across the way while the rain passes through. No sense paying for dockage if you're not going to leave the boat. I'm anxious to get moving again. We must get a bit further south (Savannah) before we can head north (Winston-Salem).

Be Grateful and Give Thanks

Charleston 

After breakfast and a few Thanksgiving texts with family and friends, we left for a nice long walk. My goal was to do at least a 10k (6.2 miles) at a nice, leisurely pace before we settled down for our Thanksgiving supper. We only got about 100 yards when we stopped to visit with Jim and Darlene on Sabbatical, a 48-foot Selene out of Washington, DC. While Barry and Jim jumped right in to systems comparisons and boat similarities, Darlene and I covered a much wider range of topics, including our husbands' knowledge of and passion for our homes on the water. Meeting super-nice folks along the way is one of the best parts of cruising. Morning passed and we returned to Crossroads for lunch before setting out once more on our trek across the peninsula via Broad Street. It was good to see a few Thanksgiving decorations and messages along the way. The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist soared into a deep blue sky. Beautiful white houses with bright red doors glowed in the afternoon sun.

St. Michael's Episcopal Church was open and we went in for a look. The large stained glass window initially grabbed our attention, but the high-sided pew boxes, and shiny organ pipes also stood out. We are familiar with Charleston's history with natural disasters and usually think of hurricanes. Turns out the city is on an active fault line and the original church vestibule was destroyed in the Quake of 1886. We continued on to Waterfront Park, located at the end of Broad Street and along the Cooper River. This park is home to the Pineapple Fountain, the most photographed spot in Charleston. We waited in line for our turn, took a few shots, and then moved on. The red wax mallow caught my eye outside of a playground bustling with kids on this warm afternoon.

We criss-crossed East Bay Street lined with palmetto palms and large homes with gas lights. Concord Street was lined with highly contorted oaks. Picturesque alleyways connected the two main roads. We worked our way back to Rainbow Row, a stretch of 13 colorful historic Georgian row houses along the waterfront. This spot is on every must-see list, but as the multiple passing carriage tour guides stated, it is also the most overrated spot in the city.

Several houses are already decorated for Christmas with garland, wreathes, and poinsettias. Looping back to the marina, we passed the same sign board with a different message on the reverse side. "Be grateful and give thanks" pretty much sums up the day. Onboard, we had our little dinner of turkey, potato, Uncle Bennett's canned green beans, and cranberry sauce. Snoopy even fixed us some popcorn.

We have a few more boat projects on the list for tomorrow before heading out for dinner and the Sound of Charleston performance tomorrow evening. The weather will deteriorate for our departure on Saturday, but we are very grateful to have had beautiful days during our stay.

A Walk Around Charleston

Charleston 

The weather changed overnight and the morning began breezy and chilly. We did a few boat chores and some laundry before grabbing our jackets and heading to the historic district. Walking down Meeting Street, the grand steeple from neighboring St. Philip's Episcopal church first caught our eye through the grounds of the Circular Congregational Church. Circular Church was founded around 1681 and its burial grounds are the oldest in the city with monuments dating to 1695. The present circular sanctuary was designed by Robert Mills (also designed the Washington Monument in DC), completed in 1892, and is designated as a National Historic landmark. We strolled through the grounds and marveled at some of the stones. Many read like obituaries and are even more incredible when realizing every letter was hand-carved. A large oak with Spanish moss sprawled over the back corner of the property.

We continued walking down Meeting Street and came to a several ladies selling their sweetgrass baskets. Basket sewing is an art that has been handed down through generations. We spoke with Ruth Wright who told us even small baskets can take three days to complete. She was working on a new basket today, pulling dried sweetgrass from a large container at her side. These merchants were set up outside the historic post office and across the street from St. Michael's Episcopal Church. The post office dates to 1896 and both its exterior and interior are still very opulent. The marble floors and stairs, brass rails and columns, and rich mahogany woodwork speak to the importance of this building in its heyday. An active Federal Courthouse remains upstairs. Off to the side was a small postal museum. Carrier and window clerk displays featured stylish period uniforms (far from today's government-issued polyester).

After leaving the post office we popped into Washington Park. Yes, it had a proper statue of George. I was interested in all the gas lamps and flower boxes we passed along residential streets. I never would have thought I see snapdragons blooming in November. Retracing our steps from May, we took a quick stroll through The Market, but didn't buy anything this time either. Around the corner was the Old South Carriage depot. Our guide horse, Jim, awaited our arrival. We were a bit early and got to learn more about the horses. Jim is a 13-year old Percheron draft horse and a gentle veteran of the city tour route. 

Inside we got to meet Brian. He is new to the program and still in training. Brian is an impressively large Belgian draft horse. Most of the company's horses are acquired from working Amish farms in Ohio. We loaded into the carbon fiber carriage with 14 other folks, received our route assignment from the lottery (No. 5 this time) and were on our way down Church Street and back toward St. Philip's. Our hour-long tour led us through 300 years of history. We saw Charleston Single Houses, bright flowers, wrought iron gates from the1800s, and even one colorful Victorian home.

We passed by a few very large single family homes including Villa de la Fontaine. Jim made the turn for the home stretch at the old Charleston jail, reported to be the most haunted spot in the city. Back at the depot, Jim was rewarded with a feed bucket. I found out these horses eat 40,000 calories a day. With the sky darkening the street lights came on. Many storefronts and buildings are decorated for Christmas. We stopped for an early dinner and got back to Crossroads as the final bit of color was fading beyond the bridge over the Ashley River.

An important part of our holiday tradition is watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving together. Earlier, I received pictures from my North Carolina family of them making toast and decorating the tablecloths for tomorrow's lunch where 37 will gather. We'll stay onboard tomorrow and wait to hear all about it. We won't have toast, but Snoopy will make popcorn (as per tradition). Happy Thanksgiving to you and thank you for following along.

A Perfect Night Offshore

Camp Lejeune to Charleston  |  29.3 Hours  |  194 Miles 

All the planning was complete. We had reviewed the times for two required bridge openings, and then the tide cycle for both leaving Wrightsville Beach and arriving in Charleston. I went out at 7:30, began raising the anchor, and quickly realized the entire 100-foot length of chain was caked with thick, black, stinky mud. It took a while to clean the chain, the deck, and me, but then we were on our way. The ICW was glassy smooth and yielded great reflections along the way. We had seen reports of a huge dredge heading north and we soon passed port-to-port. One lead tug pulled the large barge Rockbridge, two smaller helper tugs followed alongside multiple smaller barges to keep them in line, and finally the tug Rikki S steered the long stretch of dredge pipe from the rear. The first and last tugs are shown in blue on the map below. I connected them with dashed line to show how long this thing was. They totally bridged New River Inlet.

Dolphins were spotted ahead of us. Since the water was so still I guessed that they'd want to play in our bow wave and went out to take a look. Sure enough, all three picked up in front of us and had a great time breaching and doing barrel rolls. The tide continued to fall as we made our four hour trek to the Wrightsville Beach inlet. Crab pots were left high and dry in the short marsh grasses and mud flats. We passed Surf City and broke out the obligatory Beach Boys references. They say they never roll the streets up ’cause there's always somethin' goin' -- but the main drag was recently relocated when the low swing bridge was replaced with a new 65-foot span and bypassed a once hotspot of retail.

We passed large groups of waterfowl in the more remote areas. As we moved south, residential development increased. Houses of all shapes and sizes could be seen. Our arrival at the Figure Eight Island swing bridge was perfectly timed, but there was a work crew on the span that had to remove their lift before it opened. After a little delay, it rotated and we passed through. One hour later, we arrived at the Wrightsville Beach Bridge, just after low tide. We were checking out all the megayachts at the marinas lining the ICW and were excited that we were almost ready to exit into the Atlantic. Only a short distance to go.

We made a sharp left turn. Actually it was a too sharp left turn. Crossroads slowed to a stop. We had an opportunity to speak with a few locals in small runabouts. Two crows even came and claimed a spot on the bow rail. After 15 minutes or so, Barry wriggled us off the hump. He then tells me that in August of 2016, Crossroads found the same little hump. I guess its now a rite of passage. Oh well, there are only two types of cruisers: those who have run aground and those who lie about it. As it turns out, that was our only excitement of the trip. We moved on by the large houses, hotels, and the safe water buoy. The Atlantic was flat with only small rollers, the sea state you dream of.

We settled in and were treated to a nice sunset with cool swirly clouds. At 6:00 we began our three-hour watches. The night sky was amazing and I wish I could have captured it and done it justice. Deep black backdrop was dotted with brilliant points of light. Orion and the Big Dipper were easily spotted. My final watch ended at 6:00 am and I went below and zonked out. Barry caught the sun rise over the cloud bank. When I emerged, the Atlantic was still placid, the sun was bright, and it was warm. We had made really good time overnight and were actually early on our approach to Charleston. The city marina asked that we not arrive before 1:00 which was also slack tide on the Ashley River.

We slowed down and took in all the sights of Charleston. Large cargo carriers passed us going in and out of the channel. Tour boats darted to Fort Sumter. The Revenel Bridge glistened in the sunshine as did the large waterfront houses and church steeples of historic downtown. We came into the marina with no wind or current which made docking drama-free. For the first time since we left Deltaville, I was down to one layer. Tidying up the docklines isn't such a chore when its warm.

We went for a delightful walk and then returned for dinner onboard. We will explore Charleston over the next few days, revisiting some of our favorite places (from our May visit) and checking out a few new ones. I'm looking forward to both the carriage ride and the Sound of Charleston performance.

A Blustery Day

Camp Lejeune   

Even before we finished watching The Greatest Showman last night, we had made the decision to stay put today in Mile Hammock Bay. The wind arrived around 1:00 am and whistled through the rigging at 20-plus knots for the remainder of the night. Crossroads repositioned herself nicely as the wind clocked around and we had a restful evening. The other boats all exited the anchorage by 10:00 and for a few hours it was just us and a few pelicans floating around. The wind continued to be strong and created small whitecaps in the anchorage. On a positive note, it also blew away all the cloud cover. It was a bright morning under a Carolina blue sky. The sun was warming up the pilot house nicely and I relocated to my little greenhouse for some reading. Warm was great, but the view wasn't too bad either. Thoughts turned to a couple of classics from my youth. Not having Winnie the Pooh with me, I pulled out Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims and began to read my traditional Thanksgiving classic.  

We checked off a few tasks and chores, and a little football was watched. I spoke several times with my chief elf as we worked together to get a little Christmas shopping done. As the day ended two sailboats arrived in the anchorage, rafted together. One was having engine trouble and received a tow to safe waters. By the time the sun set, the wind had died down to light and variable and we were still sitting comfortably in the same arc we had traveled all day. A few dolphins circled in front of us in the gentle ripples as daylight transitioned to darkness.

We will depart in the morning and head south toward Wrightsville Beach. If weather conditions stay as favorable as predicted, we will hop offshore and do a quick overnight cruise to Charleston and arrive Tuesday afternoon. 

Giving Ourselves A Short Day

Morehead City to Camp Lejeune  |  5 Hours  |  35 Miles 

We slept well in the open anchorage in Morehead City. The wind died down as predicted and Crossroads swung nicely through the overnight change in tidal current. Our big Rokna anchor and a lot of chain held us tight and even came up clean this morning as day broke with heavy cloud cover. (True to my earlier hypothesis, I'm sure the 54 degrees helped all the mud fall off before coming onboard.) We scooted under the Atlantic Beach Bridge and past white sand dunes. Fishermen of all shapes and sizes were out and moving. We had a good push from the current and even saw a boat speed of 9.2 knots. That quickly changed when we crossed Bogue Inlet and began running into the current. Boat speed dropped to 6.2 knots in a matter of minutes.

We needed one bridge to open for us today. The Onslow Beach Bridge is located in the Marine Corp base at Camp Lejeune. Camp Lejeune is the largest concentration of Marines and Sailors in the world, is a major area for amphibious assault training, and "Home of Expeditionary Forces in Readiness." We used our high school Algebra skills to perfectly time the bridge opening. If a trawler needs to go 1.24 miles in 10 minutes, how heavy should we be on the throttle? Along the way we saw multiple signs of training activity.

We led two other boats through the opened swing bridge. The barrier island in this area is surprisingly thin and the breaking waves of the Atlantic Ocean could be seen about 100 yards to port.

The channel is also quite narrow. The green marker sat in VERY shallow water and we found it best to favor the red. Shore birds gathered along the sandbar to watch us pass by. With rain forecast for the afternoon, we decided to cut the day short and pulled into Mile Hammock Bay. With no other boats in the anchorage we had our choice of spots to ride out overnight gusts that will clock around almost 180 degrees before morning. The clouds opened with perfect timing as I went to the bow to lower the anchor. Back inside, we settled in for an afternoon of football watching and naps. From the pilothouse we watched the waves breaking on the beach and two dolphins touring the anchorage. After a week of pushing hard, a short day was a nice reward to ourselves.

Five other boats had joined us in the anchorage by the time a deep darkness settled over us. Salmon, broccoli and rice for dinner, followed by a movie made for a nice relaxing day. Tomorrow we will head to Wrightsville Beach.

An Unexpected Passenger

Belhaven to Morehead City  |  8.7 Hours  |  61 Miles 

Once again, our day began at first light. I have concluded that the amount of mud that comes up on the anchor is directly tied to the windchill factor. I had on five layers, top and bottom, with foul weather pants and boots to protect from the blowing spray as I washed off all the mud. We exited the Belhaven breakwater as the sun peeked over the horizon just before 7:00. We settled into a line of five boats heading down the Pungo River, knowing it would be a voyage without much scenery. Just after 8:00 Barry noticed that we had a passenger, and we had fun watching the juvenile herring gull that had landed on our upper deck. We didn't anticipate him staying very long, and were surprised every time we turned to look out the window and he was still there. After an hour or so we had named him "Pungo" and wondered if he'd ever leave. Maybe he'd just take our ferry south instead of flying. He was quite curious, walking around the deck, looking in at us and then peering out at our wake.

At times Pungo would find himself pointing in the wrong direction and his feathers ruffled comically. Its always best to put the pointy end into the wind. We arrived at Hobucken around 10:15 and wondered if he would choose to depart. Both the Coast Guard station and R.E. Mayo Seafood are located here. The three shrimp boats along the bulkhead had already been emptied so Pungo retreated to the lee of the flybridge ...

... and took a nap while we cruised down the Neuse River. He stood with his beak tucked in his wings until 1:00 when we turned into Adams Creek. We had originally intended to drop anchor in this area, but we were making good time and decided to continue on. We passed six shrimp boats as they headed back to dock. Pungo seemed to perk up when seeing all the other gulls following the shrimpers. He finally flew off just before 2:00, after a six hour passage with us. All that was left was the cleanup. He had truly transformed our upper deck into the Poop Deck. Moments after Pungo's departure we began seeing both residential and commercial development along the ICW. We recognized this distinctive yacht as one we had anchored next to last March in George Town, Bahamas. Milepost 200 appeared just before the bridge connecting Beaufort and Morehead City.

It was good to see the railroad span in the open position. Five dolphins escorted us to the bridge while jumping through our bow wave. Once under the bridge, we turned south and dropped the anchor off of Fort Macon at 3:30. We cleaned up and I gathered all my discarded layers of clothing. The clouds from a passing front created a dramatic sky and I was on the lookout for what promised to be a nice sunset.

As dusk progressed, the sky turned deep shades of red and orange. Whether viewed with the telephoto or wide angle lens, it was quite a show.

The plan for tomorrow is to leave early and see how far we can get before weather moves in. Rain and wind are in the forecast for late Saturday and Sunday.

Sunrise to Sunset

Camden Point to Belhaven  |  9.1 Hours  |  67 Miles 

We awoke at 6:00 in our North River anchorage to an interior cabin temperature of 54 degrees. Barry quickly turned on the generator (thankful for the new impeller) to warm us up as we prepared for an early departure. Four layers of clothing later, I emerged from the pilothouse to raise the anchor. The sky was glowing orange as we entered the Albemarle Sound. This body of water is notorious for its chop and waves. Today it was calm with only a small amount of beam sea. Crossroads gave us a smooth ride and we reached the Alligator River Swing Bridge at 9:30. The super-nice bridge tender opened it for us as we approached and we barely had to slow down. Back in business we headed up the Alligator River. The presence of crab pots, and the watermen working those pots, required our attention.

Just prior to entering the Alligtor-Pungo canal, we caught up to a sailboat. A look through the binoculars revealed a familiar name: Siné. A quick call to first ask for a pass, led to a nice talk with Charlie who had purchased this boat from our friends Jake and Kay, long-time marina neighbors back home. He told us of modifications he had made to the Freedom, including the addition of a hard bimini. Another example of the small world in which we travel. Just before noon we entered the canal and lost our cell service. Twenty miles long and arrow-straight, easy navigation is made by lining the flagstaff up in the converging shores on the horizon. With stumps lining the shores it is best to stay in the middle and not veer. The day warmed up enough for a few walks around the exterior decks. Interesting scenery consisted of the ripples of our wake and reflections of tree trunks in calmer waters.

We did encounter one tow heading north, all pleasure craft were southbound. The sign about nothing and the Highway 94 bridge provided talking points. We had the canal to ourselves.

Two surprising sights were a section of trees still wearing their autumn colors, and a very nice house in the middle of nowhere. The Wilkerson Bridge at the end of the canal used to stress us out when traveling by sailboat. Unlike most other fixed bridges on the ICW that maintain a 65-foot vertical clearance, this one is only 64-feet. I'm sure it has claimed several radio antennae and wind instruments over the years. We exited the canal and headed down the Pungo River. At this point the daymarks changed to red triangles to port, green squares to starboard. The smaller gold ICW stickers remained constant, resulting in strange square on triangle and triangle on square combinations.

We cruised in behind the breakwater in Belhaven right on schedule. The anchor was set at 3:40, and it seemed to be only a short amount of time before the sun began to set. It started out nicely and then turned even more dramatic as dusk progressed. A perfect end to the day.

We'll get our showers tonight (while the cabin is still warm) and again leave at dawn tomorrow. Our destination will be an anchorage off Adams Creek, just shy of Beaufort. We're trying to make the most of our fair weather travel days. 

Gone to Carolina

Great Bridge to Camden Point  |  6.5 Hours  |  43 Miles 

The sun shining through the trees was a most welcome start to the day. Our departure time was 8:00 which would get us to the North Landing Bridge just before its 9:00 scheduled opening. We brought our lines onboard and eased out of our space along the facedock, gladly putting Great Bridge behind us. Four extra nights there, first because of weather and then waiting for the impeller, was more than we bargained for. For a few moments we were even heading due south. Yes! Several more boats followed in behind us as we passed the first Great Bridge-Albemarle Sound marker.

With great timing, we arrived at the bridge and only had eight minutes to wait. Once it swung open, we led the parade of boats through and then past a tow waiting on the other side. It wasn't long before some of the go-fast boats overtook us. Most called on the radio for a slow pass. Others, like the moron pictured below, just sped by and rocked our world with his wake. Other than that, it was a great ride. The sun was heating up the pilot house nicely and we even opened a door on several occasions to regulate the temperature. There wasn't much in the way of scenery. Passing under the Pungo Ferry Bridge was interesting, but passing daymarker 61 was the highlight. This meant that we had crossed into North Carolina.

Crossing the border always brings a smile to my face. Back inside, I checked the status of our cactus to see who won the bet. Although not fully opened, the bloom was showing pink. Barry and I called it a draw and went back to watching for stumps and deadheads. Some were easier to spot than others. At 12:30 we passed through Coinjock.

Most of the large boats that had passed us earlier in the day had tied up at Coinjock Marina to take on fuel and/or call it a day. We passed Kingsland, a 53-foot Selene, once more and got a good look at our younger and larger sister ship. The miles clicked off quickly and soon we had passed ICW Milepost 50. Only 533 more to go to reach Savannah. Birds basked in the warm afternoon sunshine while sitting atop daymarkers.

We were making great time and would have loved to made more miles. Daylight was in short supply though, so we ducked into an anchorage just off Camden Point. We enjoyed the warmth of the sun in the pilot house and watched it set beyond the tree line.

We hope to leave at first light tomorrow morning and make our way across Albemarle Sound. We have one bridge that will need to swing open for us, but that occurs upon request. The plan is to anchor in Belhaven tomorrow night.

Ready To Go ... Again

Great Bridge 

Another day in Great Bridge. Believe me, we're anxious to get moving. With our part expected to arrive around noon, we spent the morning working on route planning. We have lost several of our cushion days and are looking at all options for getting to Savannah by December 4. As we waited, the parade of boats heading south continued. A few megayachts gathered extra looks while passing by. We even spotted two 53-foot Selenes (our sister ships). A few tows headed east today and staged beside us for passage under the bridge. The maintenance yard was busy moving boats out to the transient docks. We met the couple on this Grand Banks and look forward to seeing them along the route to Ortega Landing in Jacksonville, FL. At noon Barry went up to the ships store to await delivery. By 12:45, he was back onboard with two correct impellers, one for now and one for a spare.

Upon further review, the impellers we had in stock were for the original water pump on the generator. When Barry went to change it as part of scheduled maintenance, he discovered that at some time in Crossroads' prior-owner history, the water pump had been changed. That was the reason we were without the proper spare. Shown below is the old impeller on the left, with a missing fin and others that were stiff and misshapen. It took only a few minutes to install the new one, then a few more to reinstall the covers and close up the floor. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough daylight to make leaving the dock a feasible option.

So we are all set to cast off tomorrow morning and get this show back on the road. Our destination will be an anchorage off Camden Point. Finally, we'll cross into North Carolina. 

Almost Everyone Loves A Parade

Great Bridge 

We got our showers and had an early breakfast so that Barry could be to the ship's store at 8:00 am to pick up a new generator impeller. I had the boat prepared for departure. A quick installation and we'd be off. The best laid plans were quickly dispatched. The part was out of stock and would have to be overnighted. We would stay in Great Bridge yet another day. The bascule bridge just west of us opens on the hour, letting out a wave of cruisers eager to make their way south. Today, we were resigned to watching the parade go by.

After lunch we bundled up and went for a walk. Several camellias at the dockmaster's office are in full bloom. Their pink blossoms were bright spots against another dreary day. We walked across the bridge to the park and visitor's center, which was closed. We checked out the displays around the grounds before following a well-maintained trail into the woods. We passed along the "beach" I mentioned yesterday. The water level in the canal is still lower than normal, but not low enough to hinder navigation. Most of the colorful autumn foliage has faded to brown so seeing color was a treat. A few bright red leaves on the forest floor and some gold leaves framing Crossroads in the distance were highlights.

The walk was flat, easy, and just what we needed. We haven't really been off the boat for close to four days. My knees and back are getting achy. We watched as the bridge opened and yet another motoryacht passed through. More historical signs took our minds off the parade. Great Bridge is the site of the first land battle of the American Revolution in Virginia and America's first victory. On December 9, 1775 Virginia riflemen defended passage across the swamp against Lord Dunmore's British troops. The defeat forced Dunmore to evacuate Norfolk.

So the impeller is supposed to arrive tomorrow by 10:30. Hopefully all goes well and we can join in the next parade heading south.

Where Has All The Water Gone?

Great Bridge 

The Nor'easter continued to spin off the coast of North Carolina today with high winds churning up the very fickle Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. We spent another day in Great Bridge hoping that the weather system would move on out of the area and we can get back on our journey south. Overall, this is not a bad place to be camping out. We have a strong wifi signal, which Barry used to stream a Netflix series. We also get all the over-the-air television stations, which I used to watch a full line-up of NFL games. After the first game was over, we bundled up to go for a walk. Kroger is less than a mile away and the trek would be a nice break from sitting.

When we opened the back door we were shocked at how far the water level had fallen -- almost three feet. Barnacles were exposed on the pilings and a nice beach had emerged on the opposite shore. The wind had blown all the water out of the canal. Not what we wanted to see, but nothing we can do about it. We picked up some fresh salmon for dinner along with a few other things that fit easily in my backpack and the one small bag Barry carried. We returned to Crossroads as darkness began to fall. Hopefully we'll have some more water in the morning and be able to cast off. As of right now we're taking bets as to whether we'll get out of Virginia before the cactus blooms. Our hearty travel companion (and Gold Looper too) is loaded with buds. It's pink flowers will be a welcome shot of color after enduring all of these recent gray days.

Waiting Out the Weather

Great Bridge 

Rainy, cold, and breezy. Unfortunately for all the cruisers itching to get south, the weather forecast was correct. Everyone at Atlantic Yacht Basin stayed put and cozy inside their boats. Luckily college football began at noon. Barry watched the entire game between Indiana and his Penn State Nittany Lions with me. Once the game was over, we bundled up and ventured outside to walk the dock and stretch our legs. I was more than ready to get back inside after 15 minutes. My Virginia Cavaliers had a bye week, so I watched Clemson and Wake Forest. Too bad the Demon Deacons didn't put up much of a fight. Barry used the afternoon to do some service on our generator. That means all the floor boards came up in the salon and all my sense of order was disturbed. He checked the belt and changed both the zinc and impeller. Knowing we'll be counting on the generator to keep us warm while at anchor was good reason to tolerate the mess for a few hours.

I spent the afternoon putting together a photo collage of highlights from our Great Loop journey. I managed to get about 80 shots on a 24x36 print that will hang over the steps down to the staterooms and heads. It will get shipped to Aunt B's and we'll pick it up the first week of December. I spoke with her for a quick hour and covered all the news and plans leading up to our visit. I'm anxious to see how the metal print turns out. I also can't wait to get this trip going again. We'll be here again tomorrow while the wind continues to howl and the raindrops keep falling on our heads.