Ocracoke Island, Belhaven, Alligator River, Dismal Swamp and Portsmouth. Aug 22-29

Monday the 22nd around 8:30 we cast off the lines from River Dunes (Oriental) and headed across Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke Island, about a 40 mile trip.  This chart plotter screenshot and map will cover the area of this post.



Forecast was for "seas around 2 feet"...OK so the weather service here is about the same as Lake Michigan...they were three foot or so with some cross wind waves thrown in for kicks.  And yes they were beam seas most of the way. Choppy as they say. So Julie used her "close the curtains" trick to ward off any seasickness.  Worked great!  Followed a ferry into the somewhat curvy and shoaled entrance to Ocracoke and berthed at the Anchor Inn Marina. 

An old facility, but solid docks and our side tie gave us a nice view of Silver Lake and sunset..

We had a fresh drum dinner with some local clam appetizers at Jolly Rogers, just a short walk away.  The food was good.  And the sunset would have been fantastic, but we ate early so didn't stay that long.

 

 

Before retiring we set up the folding bikes so we could get an early start in the morning to bike to the Outer Banks National Seashore to walk the shoreline.
Tuesday morning we got on the bikes and hit the seashore for a great walk. 

Had the beach pretty much to ourselves until 11 or so, but it was time to get out of the sun by then.

We biked back to the boat for lunch and to work on a blog update while we have some good wifi.  We should have posted pictures then but didn't so this posting is a little delayed. We watched the  ferries come and go as we wrote the blog entry.

Later in the afternoon we took another bike ride to the lighthouse (can't go in) and to the small museum near the visitor  center and ferry boats.

In the afternoon, two young boys were fishing off our dock and one caught a nice flounder.  We still had to go to the fish market though...he wasn't giving it up!

 



We bought fresh red snapper at the local dock.  It was great!  One more filet is still in the freezer.

 

Wednesday we headed back to the ICW and continued north with our next commitment being Crisfield, MD for Labor Day weekend with three other Looper couples. We will meet Jeff and Susan (Act III), Phyllis and Sonny (Corkscrew), Sandy and Rob (SandRobber) for the Hard Shell Crab Festival.  Yes, there are still other Loopers in the Chesapeake!! This festival also includes a "Cowboy Boat Docking Competition" which is for crab fisherman.  Should be interesting.
We stopped in Belhaven at River Forest Marina...and guess who was there to catch our lines?  Mike and Patsy (Gypsy) were there so we all went to dinner at the Spoon River restaurant.  We first cleaned the boat, Julie did many loads of laundry (free brand new washers and dryers) then we took a golf cart to the Food Lion and then to the restaurant.  Packed a lot into the start day after traveling across the somewhat bumpy Pamlico Sound! The restaurant.

The food was fantastic, at least 4 if not 5 stars!  This photo was early and the restaurant almost filled with diners on a Wednesday night....a testament to just how good it is!





 Great dessert and coffee!

On Thursday we travelled to Alligator River Marina.  We got a good photo of Mike and Patsy's boat on the way.  Nice smooth water!

Good fuel price there, $1.87, so we got 240 gallons to top off. Mike and Patsy joined us there later in the day and we enjoyed a sunset with them.
Here we are in the marina....note we are the only two boats there!!  It is strictly a transient marina we are told.  A good stop though.  And great ice cream......

Friday we departed for the Dismal Swamp route to Norfolk. Here is a large blimp manufacturing facility just before Elizabeth city along the way.

It was a really beautiful trip, taking us through Elizabeth City and then into the canal system.  The first lock.

 Just a view along the way....

It was a bit shallow in spots and we encountered a couple "bumps" on the props.  I really don't think it was bottom, more like submerged logs or something like it. No damage, we think.  Hard to tell as the entire route is no wake, 5 MPH suggested.  That speed for us is one engine idling. Anyway, we negotiated the South Mills lock and then we stopped for the evening at the Welcome Center which is adjacent to the Dismal Swamp State Park Visitor Center.  So we toured the center, took a walk through the swamp on the boardwalk, took a walk along a bike path on the canal and then cooked a nice dinner before retiring.
Another view of where we'd been....

 

 The Dismal Swamp was a pathway for the Underground Railway before the Civil War.

 

The Welcome Center is also right along a highway and is a rest area for travelers.

So we had a few people wander down by the dock.  We left the generator running all day and night as it was a "feels like" temperature of 105.  We even used the wifi there to stream some videos.  All in all a very nice stop along the way.

Saturday morning we travelled the 17 miles to the Deep Creek Lock where we were lucky to be the only boat so we got right in.  

Getting to Virginia!

Robert the lock master was quite the ambassador for the area as well as an accomplished conch shell musician.  We spent about 20 minutes chatting with him and as we were descending in the lock he showed us the fine art of conch shell blowing.  He is quite good at it even though he said his best tuned shells were at home, not at the lock.  Interesting and friendly guy.

We continued on to Portsmouth for Saturday and Sunday nights.
Entering "civilization" just after leaving the last lock on the Dismal Swamp.

Tidewater Yacht Marina was our choice and it was nice as we could walk to the historic Old Town district as well as to a Food Lion.

A couple views from our slip here.  Norfolk is across the river.

The pool was also nice as it was again quite warm...I guess is should be given we are in Virginia in August!  We met some nice folks from a local yacht club that had 4 or 5 boats at Tidewater for a little weekend excursion.  They invited us to join them for a pot luck but we just joined them for a cocktail after dinner instead. We exchanged boat cards with them and it is possible we may see some of them in the Bahamas this winter it appears.  A nice friendly stop.
On Monday we departed for Deltaville.  Along the way we have yet another small world story to share.  We see a beautiful 55' Fleming coming south as we are going north...and AIS identifies them as Otter....yes we again crossed paths with the former owners of our boat.  So we hailed them and chatted briefly.  There is a chance we may see them again as they are staging in southern South Carolina/ Georgia around November 1 due to insurance, just as we will be doing.  Safe travels to you Martha and Parker!
A shot of Otter from Sum Escape.

We went to the Deltaville library today to post this as the wifi at Dozier's Yacht Marina is VERY slow.
More after the Labor Day festivities.  Everyone have a great holiday....especially all our friends in Michigan seeing the "unofficial" end to summer.  We seem to have found endless summer with our cruising lifestyle and feel so blessed to be able to do this.  Thanks for following us!

Beaufort and River Dunes NC. August 16-22

We spent three days in Beaufort (again BO fort) as the  CAT technician could not get to us until Wednesday morning.  Long story short, it was a throttle sensor unit and they had one in stock.  So thankfully by early afternoon we were repaired.  Nothing major.
We took nice walks on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings....early to beat the heat....we were back from our hour long walks by 8:15 each morning. It is fun walking around all these small towns early in the morning seeing all the beautiful old homes.  I'm just glad I don't have to maintain them!

 Our marina was at the top of the map by the sailboat.

Lot's of history in Beaufort.  We'll have to stop on the way back south in the Fall and hit some museums and such.  It was just too hot to do much of anything during the day while we were here!
Tuesday night we went to dinner with some fellow Loopers, Mike and Patsy (Gypsy). There aren't too many Loopers around these parts at this time of year except those like us who are just doing some cruising before heading south for another winter season.

They are getting used to the boat they purchased recently in Florida and were headed to New Bern to visit.  We went to a restaurant that was recommended to us by some other boaters in Surf City.  It's name was Aqua and it was not on main street but on an alleyway behind it.  But boy was it ever good!  If you will be in Beaufort looking for a dining opportunity, consider this one!
We borrowed the courtesy car, OK so it was actually the marina owners nice pick up, on Wednesday afternoon to go get some groceries and other supplies.  It was an 8 mile or so one way trip into Morehead City and its a slow 35-45 MPH drive.  OK, so it's fast compared to 9 knots, just slow for a wheeled vehicle!  Got the vehicle back by 4 PM closing time so the owner could get home!  Homer Smith Marina certainly has the Southern hospitality thing going!  Thanks for a nice stay!
Julie found our next destination by reviewing other's blogs...thanks Ben and Jane (Jammin Jane) for the recommendation!  And congratulations in advance for completing the Loop....we know you are close to Door county by now!
River Dunes is a newer development still underway.  Here we are entering the channel.

The marina has a pool, hot tub, bicycles, restaurant (although only open on Friday and Saturday), kayaks and stand up paddle boards (OK so we didn't use the paddle boards) and courtesy car.

A short courtesy car ride away is a small Piggly Wiggly in Oriental that had a great selection for a small store.  Apparently they made national news this spring when the Wal Mart Express closed and they took over the facility.  Wal Mart had driven out the previous grocer so the locals are happy!  Anyways, I hope they survive, the owner is really working hard at it and the staff is very friendly and helpful.

On Friday we had a pretty rainy day so we had a Downton Abbey marathon aboard (thanks River Dunes for a great wifi!).  Saturday and Sunday mornings we took long walks around the whole development, checking out some of the new construction.  It is interesting to see all the lots that are sold as they post the name and the city of the owners.  NY, NJ, Virginia, Florida, etc are all represented even Dillon Colorado! Looks like some are building in phases as well.  Some have a garage with guest quarters above completed prior to the main home.  Others have a main home and one or even two guest cottages on the site.  Julie and I think we could be house sitters at any of them! Or maybe we could be adopted and live in a guest house...

 

A turtle along the way on our walk. 

 

Deer along our early morning walk too.

 

Lots of open space....

 

 

After our walk on Saturday, we borrowed the two person kayak and paddled around in the Broadwaters area.  This is a really nice spot out in the country side for sure.  Lots of open land around for development.

 

Saturday and Sunday afternoons we enjoyed the pool area.  There were only 10 or 12 people there at any time including us!  Here's a photo when we first arrived to get a cabana.

 Did I mention it was HOT!?

Saturday evening we had dinner at the restaurant.  Nice freshly prepared fish and pork, great fresh asparagus and generally first rate presentation.  I get the impression that the development is struggling a bit but the service was first rate both at the marina and the restaurant.  Sunset from our boat.

Monday we will head across Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke Island, about a 40 mile trip. The Outer Banks has always been on our bucket list so what better way to see them than on one's personal boat!   Thanks for following.....