Dismal Swamp Visitor Center ot Myrtle Beach, SC

Leaving the Visitor Center in the morning with three rows of rafted boats was like a choreographed dance. Each boat had to be ready to go, starting with the row closest to the bridge crossing the canal over to the museum. All boats were underway by 7:30 so that all could make it to the lock opening at the end of the canal at 8:30.

It was a pleasant cruise to Elizabeth City. We enjoyed our stay in Elizabeth City last year, so decided to make it a stop this year. You can either take the Virginia Cut south of Norfolk, for the Dismal Swamp route. It is a little farther going to Elizabeth City, but I love the beauty of the canal, so we decided to go that way. We'll come home via the Virginia Cut as we are always in a hurry to get home by then since it is shorter.

Elizabeth City is one of the friendliest stops along the ICW. A man called Fred Fering used to greet the boats each day and give all the women aboard a rose from the bushes in his yard. He became the one person welcoming committee to his city. As time went on, he was joined by others and they became known as the "Rose Buddies." When Fred died, a monument to him was placed by the city docks and several of the rose bushes from his yard were transplanted to an area by the docks.

Fred organized a get-together at 4:30 each day with the boaters and provided some local information. Now the social is managed by the remaining members of the Rose Buddies and the town Visitor Center, who provide wine and cheese. A local restaurant provides a tent by the docks so the event can happen rain or shine. It is also a time for the boaters to get to know each other (if they hadn't already met at the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center stop the night before).

Elizabeth City as a great free museum across the street from the dock, and my favorite, a small art gallery displaying local artists work. There is a nice bookstore across from the docks, a gourmet bakery, and a chocolate shop, besides several nice restaurants.

We met folks from three boats who have been cruising together for 3 years from South Africa! One had a teacher aboard for their daughter.

We left on Tuesday morning and headed down through the Albermarle Sound. It was calm except for a couple of hours in the middle of the Sound when the waves and wind picked up. We anchored for the night in Pongo Creek. In the morning, we awoke to fog and were a little later leaving as a result. There was fog most of the day, but at the speeds we were going, we could see as well as we needed.

We are seeing more boats on the ICW this year than last and wondering if that will translate to more cruisers in the Bahamas this year.


One sad boat - hate to see a boat on land.

We anchored for the night in Spooner Creek where even if the wind is strong, the anchorage is calm. It is surrounded by a small community of houses, each with its own dock. Another trawler was there and a whole gaggle of sailboats. This used to be a very quiet and unused anchorage, but more people seem to have found it and it is now pretty busy. We just got in before there were high winds and some strong rain showers - lucky for me since I do all the outside work!

The next night we docked at the marina at Camp Lejeune. Bob's daughter Krista and family are at Camp Lejeune in housing very close to the marina. We had a nice one day stop off the boat and a great chance to see the grandchildren and catch up on their activities. Our only problem was finding the right electrical connection to hook up to their antiquated electrical system. After two trips to West Marine, Bob had the right connection to at least connect us. At one point we were using a small portable heater, that we have used for a couple of years on the boat, and the socket it was connected to heated up. Luckily, we smelled it and Bob quickly turned off the power to the socket and I grabbed two fire extinguishers. My son-in-law Randy thought I acted really fast, just thought I could improve on the instructions I gave him when I handed it to him which was "here, figure out how to use it." Yeah, guess I have to work on that. Luckily, there was no fire. We'll carefully test the heater before using it again. (Has worked fine since - just won't plug into that socket again and will have that one checked by an electrician.)


Lighthouse is not a navigational aid, it is just a decoration.

Sunday we got underway in pretty cold temps. It was 40 degrees when we left the dock. We passed Wrightsville Beach and did the usual dance with the other boats waiting at this bridge. One went aground, the got off, then he really got stuck. We almost did that one year here too.


Barge we passed on the James River.


We've been watching the new bridge being built to replace the unique pontoon bridge for the last several years. The bridge tender says he is going to retire (for the 4th time) when the new bridge is open. We are happy that we won't have to wait for the bridge to open, but sad to see a unique old bridge meet its demise.

We arrived in Southport, NC at 4:30 a half hour before our reservation time for Southport marina for the night and found out when we called that they had lost our reservation. We even confirmed that the number we called was their number with our cell phone call log. It is forecasted to freeze tonight and anchoring our without power is not something I was looking forward to. Another close marina could not take us, but Deep Point Marina was able to put us on their fuel dock. Bless them! Our power line just made it to the connection on the dock too.

We left Deep Point Marina taking care to time it between ferry's. Visibility at the entrance of the marina is poor for incoming our outgoing traffic. It is another nice sunny day. We arrived at Barefoot Landing Marina mid-day. This particular marina is really just a long wall with tie-ups for boats along the ICW. They have water and electricity, but no other amenities like showers. What they do have is a large shopping and dining complex just up the ramps from the docks! Nice place to get off the boat and do some walking - and shopping (guess who likes to do that!).

Penny's son Mike and family drove from their home in SC to meet with us for dinner. It is always great to see them whenever we can. Granddaughter Casey, attends college in Myrtle Beach, so we will got to see her as well.

Our next stop is McClellanville, SC.


A golf course in Myrtle Beach has the parking area on one side of the ICW and the golf course on the other side. So they rigged up a ski lift that carries the golfers and their golf clubs to the other side of the ICW.

Interesting (and sometimes very strange) homes along the ICW






House has a model of life size giraffe in yard.