ICW - Intracoastal Waterway

5 days since the last blog update. See what I said in the last post about wifi. In Portsmouth we had nothing, we managed to do a quick facebook update from the mall in Norfolk, but that was it. Now at the visitors center in the Dismal Swamp, NC, where there is nothing, we have great wifi. It's actually kind of funny, because usually when I make a bold statement, I get made a liar for some time, this go-round, I win.... Or loose really, because we were in Portsmouth for three days, with no internet access. Oh well, if that's the worst thing that happens, were good.

When we left Horn Harbour Friday morning, the winds were quite strong, but coming from the west-northwest, which made for a great sail all the way to Norfolk. I had originally planned for a 6 hour trip, and it took us 4 1/2 hours. The only unfortunate part was that Serena was in bed the whole trip, trying to recover from blowing her back out in Deltaville. I am finding though that I really enjoy sailing by myself. I tweak, and play, and relax. I think I have found my "me time". I could be a solo sailor, but I don't think that I would want to spend much time at anchor alone. Plus, even when sailing by myself, Serena is always available if I need her, and that makes a difference.

Norfolk, Porstmouth, is awesome. Except for the whole wifi thing; I'm working on forgiving them. Our friends Joel and Lynette told us about the Commodore Theatre, which is a restaurant as well. So you go there, have dinner, and then watch a new release movie. The food was good, and the experience was great, the movie, not so much... Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips, is officially the worst movie I have ever watched, taking over from snakes on a plane. Not everyone agrees with me though, and several people loved it.

 Quaint little table for two. Absent was me, taking the picture from the balcony.

 Such a neat idea, and the prices were some of the best we've seen for a restaurant in a while.

So this is how it works. You decide what you want from the menu. Drinks, appetizers, main, dessert, everything, before the movie starts. You pick up the phone and dial 0, the kitchen staff takes your order, and then everything is delivered to your table in order. If you want to make a change, order something else, just pick up the phone and dial 0. So simple. However, once the movie starts, no more orders, just water or ice tea which is apparently unlimited. We drank beer of course, as they had it on tap, and we were afraid that it might go stale in the keg. And nobody wants that. We are prepared to do our civic/social duty.

Our first night we anchored behind hospital point. While sitting in the cockpit having a well deserved beverage, we were entertained by the Carnival Glory. When it pulled out it had to turn itself in its own length right beside us so that it could leave the harbour. According to the news, the cruise ship which has been based here for years is leaving permanently, and we got to see it depart. Neat.

The next two nights we tied up to the Portsmouth public warf, so that we could walk to everything without dinghying around. There are no good dinghy docks in the area, unless you want to pay to use them. We're cruisers, and too cheap. Portsmouth allows tie ups for three days, but we know of people who have stayed much longer.

I have to put in a pump for our new friend Bob, who owns and operates the Mile Marker "0", marine supplies store. Bob is a "godsend". He will get your propane tank filled, give you a ride to Walmart, or the grocery store, and back. He will take you to laundry, and give or get you anything you need, equipment or information. He is a cruisers saint. If you are ever travelling through Portsmouth, you have to go visit him on High Street. His prices are reasonable as well, so if you have a list of stuff you need to get, send him an email before you get there, and he'll have for you when you arrive. (milemarker0@cox.net) Guys like this need to be supported by the cruising community, because they are the people who make cruising effortless. Thanks Bob.

 We played tourist, on day two, taking the ferry over to Norfolk to see the USS Wisconsin, on display at the Nauticus Museam. Even with my military discount, it was still very expensive. And although some of it was fun, I am not sure that it was worth the $26. I guess maybe we just aren't museam people. The ship was neat though, and Serena go to pet some sharks. I took video of it, and sometime I'll get that on YouTube so we can freak out her Mom. Hi mom....

Sometimes lifting the anchor can be a real chore.

I the picture above, I am the spec in between the two right most guns. They is big.... In fact, the rounds are about the right size for riding. I had a flashback to Armaggedon with Bruce Willis, "get off of the nuclear warhead, now."

Serena's first visit to Navy ship. She really wanted to see a submarine, but there was none on display.

 The admiral, reviewing her ship.

We also walked around Norfolk, visiting the Japanese garden, and the MacAurthur centre.

Norfolk is ship mad. They are everywhere.

Little Vita at the warf in Porstmouth.

The ferry that travels between Portsmouth and Norfolk, across the Elizabeth River. $3 round trip.

But, winter is coming to Norfolk too, and we needed to keep moving south. So on Monday we untied and head down the ICW. We were chuckling when our friends Gil and Diana got caught by the train bridge that is never closed, and didn't it happen to us too. Honest guys, we're not trying to copy you. Luckily for us it wasn't a train, it was a pickup truck on the tracks, so we still managed to make the 9:30 Gilmerton bridge opening, and headed down the creek towards the Dismal Swamp.

Robert, the lockmaster at the start of the dismal was full of information, and even held up the boats in the lock while he bombarded us with historical information about the canal, and the USS Wisconsin. He was great. The lock above is covered in this green duck weed. Apparently it happens like this every year, and a couple of weeks ago it was really bad.

Morning deer, on our way up to the lock.

I've heard people say that the dismal swamp is not dismal, and that the ICW, nicknamed "the ditch", is not a ditch. But; the dismal swamp is definitely a "ditch". It is a neat place, but there are areas where it has grown in so much that two boats couldn't pass each other.

It was still neat to see. The oldest canal system in the Americas. Apparently there are so many tannins in the water that it can never go stale, or grow bacteria. Of course the water is the color of dark tea, so it looks a little freaky.

Our first raft up. We stopped for the night at the visitors center near the end of the canal, and in fact we have decided to stay two nights and get some boat maintenance done. The wall has room for 4 boats, and there was 7 of us, so we tied up to one another. It was kind of fun. Most of gathered together in Gail Force's cockpit for sundowners and chocolate. Thanks Gail and Jim, we had a blast. The dew is just starting to burn off, and Serena has just fed me the most wonderful bacon, eggs, and toast brunch, so I guess I should get some work done.