Mother’s Day Weekend

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After the Great Loop Rendezvous, we rented a car and drove to meet Stephanie in Christiana, Delaware where she is now working.   She is still with Aramark but now she’s at a JP Morgan Chase Operations Center located there.   She is moving from New Jersey to  live in Philadelphia and will commute to Delaware.  She and Lynn were apartment hunting while Jonny drove on to Connecticut to see his Aunt Pearl and Aunt Roz (both of whom have been in poor health) and to spend part of Mother’s Day with his mom. What a good guy to drive a total of 24 hours over 3 days to see many of the important women in his life!
The drive through the eastern shore of the Chesapeake was very scenic, passing through peaceful countryside and quaint little towns.  We stopped for lunch at a little waterside restaurant in Onacock, VA.  What a charming town!  We want to come back here by boat.

 

Philadelphia is an exciting city with beautiful architecture, lots to do and a very cool center city area where Stephanie wants to live.  We looked at about 15 different apartments. Wouldn’t you know, the one she liked best won’t be ready until mid-June – so it’s temporary housing until then!  We celebrated our long day of trudging back and forth across the city with a nice glass of wine and a tapas dinner!

On Mother’s Day, we spent time packing Stephanie’s apartment and enjoyed a delicious Mother’s Day dinner in an outdoor patio – Italian food, of course!
 

Norfolk, VA

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Arriving in Norfolk on May 3 was a culture shock after spending three days in the “wilds” of the Dismal Swamp.  Norfolk is the biggest city we’ve been to since we left Jacksonville.  The channel is lined with large naval ships in various stages of readiness or repair.  The deep, well-marked harbor was easy to traverse and we made our way to the Waterside Marina where we would be docked for a week  We are in Norfolk to attend the Rendezvous, a semi-annual event sponsored by the American Great Loop Association.

 

 

Arriving a day early gave us a chance to explore the city to a small degree.  We took a walk through the historic district and had a pleasant brunch in a quaint restaurant in a neighborhood of cobblestoned streets and red brick townhouses.

 

From Monday through Thursday, we attended the Rendezvous and participated in an array of workshops on all aspects of traveling the Great Loop.  Workshops included Cruising the Chesapeake (which we are doing next), Cruising the Potomac River (also on our list), Personal Safety, Handling Locks, Government Red Tape and even separate workshops for men and women.  Comparing notes afterwards, we not unexpectedly discovered a huge difference in the topics of the latter two workshops with the men focusing exclusively on engine repair and maintenance issues while the women discussed their favorite on-board “gizmos,”  must see’s, lessons learned and boat sex (you’ll have to ask me about that one)! 

Each afternoon, there was a looper’s crawl, in which those who wished could open their boats for visitors.  Of course, Jonny was one of the first to sign up our boat so he could show it off!  It was great fun going aboard other boats, getting ideas and meeting other cruisers.  Although we saw some beautiful boats, we came away remaining perfectly satisfied with our own Zendo.

                              

The conference was a wonderful opportunity to meet many warm and friendly people who we’ll be likely to encounter throughout the next several months.  Many of them are currently in progress on the loop and  several have completed it one or more times and had lots to share.  And there were several couples who are in the planning stages and were even asking us for advice!   All in all, it was a great experience!

We’re leaving Norfolk and renting a car to visit Stephanie for the weekend.  Lynn will  help her with apartment hunting in Philadelphia while Jonny visits his Aunt Pearl who is quite ill in Connecticut.  When we return, we’ll be heading up the Chesapeake and the Potomac to visit Washington, D.C. and our friends there.

The Dismal Swamp

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We left Elizabeth City on April 30 on a wet and dreary day – a fitting start to our entry into The Dismal Swamp. It rained the entire route stopping briefly (and fortunately) when it was time to maneuver our first lock.  What an interesting experience – to see water rushing into an enclosed space (with 5  other boats) and lifting us all up 8 feet. Everything went very smoothly and just as we exited the lock, it began to pour again and it continued to do so until we arrived at the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center.  There we took advantage of yet another free dock.  We rewarded ourselves with a cozy lunch on board of  tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches and settled into an afternoon of reading.

Later on, we visited the Visitors Center and learned a bit more about the Dismal Swamp which had its beginnings during the Revolutionary War era with George Washington as one of the initial investors in creating a more convenient link between the North Carolina coast and the Norfolk area.  It also served as an important part of the Underground Railroad.  Many slaves hid in the swamp as they tried to make their way to freedom in the north. 

On Friday we were joined on the dock by our boating buddies – Corinne and Robert on Ariel and Duane and Diane aboard Diva Di.  We had our first “party” on board when they all squeezed into our salon for wine and cheese and crackers to  discuss the routes we were planning to take through the Chesapeake Bay and beyond.  What fun!

On Saturday morning, the weather cleared and made for a perfect day for the Paddle to the Border.  Scores of paddlers on kayaks and canoes of all sorts convened at the Visitors Center for a 7 mile paddle to the border of Virginia. The swamp was closed to all boat traffic that morning as the colorful and energetic paddlers made their way up the river.  Robert participated on his converted stand-up paddle board and was the first to finish!

  

Later that morning, we left with Ariel  for our next stop at the northern border of the Dismal Swamp just south of the Deep Creek Lock. There we stopped at yet another free dock and ordered pizza and salad from the local pizzeria that actually delivered it to our boat.  We enjoyed dinner on our aft deck with Corinne and Robert and a nice bottle of wine! 

On Sunday morning it was finally time to depart the swamp.  We entered the Deep Creek Lock where we were lowered 8 feet back down to the Elizabeth River.  It was there that we left Ariel (hoping to meet up again in the Chesapeake) and proceeded on our way to Norfolk.  We’ll be in Norfolk for several days attending the Rendezvous, a conference for boaters who are interested in learning more about The Great Loop. Stay tuned!

Elizabeth City, NC

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Elizabeth City is the southern staging point for boaters who want to traverse the Dismal Swamp Canal.  It’s an old (small) city that is working hard to attract boaters.  It has (count them) four free docking sites along its waterfront.  We stayed at the bulkhead at Mariner’s Wharf – a perfect location for exploring the area.  On the day we arrived, the former mayor stopped by the dock to welcome us to his town and to share his own experiences living and traveling aboard his trawler!

 
Directly across from our dockage was the very impressive Museum of the Albermarle.  It provided a great historical perspective of the area. Elizabeth City was an important link between coastal NC and Norfolk and became a major force after 1805 when the Dismal Swamp Canal was completed.  The canal served as a vital link in the Underground Railroad. Many slaves traversed the Dismal Swamp to catch vessels going north.

                   
We rode our bikes through the historic part of town and along the riverfront through some beautiful neighborhoods.  Throughout the city the azaleas continued blooming along with the addition of irises and even a few daffodils. Following spring up the east coast is such a treat!
   
We stayed in Elizabeth City for two nights and met up with our new friends, Corinne and Robert on Ariel.  We had dinner together at a local fish joint and met Duane and Diane on Diva Di who are traveling from Florida and also heading for the Down East loop. Jonny had corresponded with Duane by email and blog so we’ll be sharing information and adventures with them along our route as well. 

Oriental, NC

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Oriental, NC – one of our new favorite towns! What a charmer. It’s called the sailing capital of North Carolina.  We docked at the FREE docks for two nights as we decided to stay an extra night because we liked it so much and so Jonny could start to relax!

  

When we arrived on April 24, we were met by our two new sets of cruising couples who had arrived ahead of us – Ann and Roger on Third Reef and Corinne and Robert on Ariel.  Lynn brought us smoothly into our berth and they helped us to tie up.

While walking around the town, we found a great marina store with good prices. We bought a new boat hook since we had lost ours when it got stuck on a crab pot that we were trying to disentangle at our anchorage in Wrightsville .

For such a tiny town, the few shops were very impressive with a great collection of marine supplies, outdoor clothing and unique gifts.  There was a beautiful gallery featuring the work of local artists and artisans – it was hard to keep from buying something there but we are trying to simplify these days!

The local fish market was the source of our dinner both nights.  Jonny cooked a delicious flounder dinner the first night and Lynn whipped up a shrimp and pasta dish with pesto for our second night. We are getting used to cooking in a tiny galley and are none the worse for it. Dessert was the local coffee shop’s ice cream overlooking the town docks.

The next morning, Lynn had more docking practice because we had to go to a neighboring marina for an all essential pump-out (our holding tanks were full)!  Afterwards, we took a bike ride through Oriental and happened upon a Dog Parade and Best in Show contest taking place in a lovely waterfront park.  It was a great example of small town America – frisky dogs, adorable kids, friendly people  and even a brass band!  We loved it though we were reminded of how much we miss our dogs, Katie and Mocha, and our cats, Gracie and Georgio.

 
Oriental is a really wonderful little town and one we highly recommend for a relaxing step off of the grid.  The people are incredibly warm and friendly and very proud of their little spot of heaven. 

Beaufort, NC

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After a beautiful day of cruising, we tied up at the Beaufort Docks for the night of April 23.   Beaufort, NC  (Beau is pronounced with a long o) is as different from Beaufort, SC (Beau is pronounced with a long u) as Montauk is to Easthampton.  We were right in the center of town on Front St. What a lovely town – very quaint, clean and friendly! 

Beaufort is filled with well-kept homes - many with historical markers dating back to the mid 1800's.  We are following the azaleas up the coast and they were in full bloom today.

We visited a very old and beautiful cemetery with Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers and lots more brilliant azaleas. 

That night we had a great dinner at the Blue Moon Cafe  with Corinne and Robert who are traveling on their trawler Ariel and who we had met previously in Georgetown.

The next morning we got up early and rode our bikes all along the waterfront and throughout the town.  Beautiful!