Wharf Creek – Anchorage
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” ―Confucius
We’re back in the Chesapeake. We left Portsmouth this morning in a light fog. The day was mostly damp and grey, but our ride up the bay was very comfortable. The only entertainment was watching a few tugs move a military ship away from the dock and into the channel as we passed Norfolk. By the time we passed Old Point Comfort and the inlet to the Atlantic the only thing we could see were other boats moving north…too hazy to see land.
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May 12 – Gwynn Island, VA
May 11 – Portsmouth, VA
High St. Ferry Dock
“At the end of the day your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling.” –Shanti
We decided to spend one more day in Portsmouth. We’re only a days run from Deltaville and our Monk Rendezvous doesn’t start until May 17. We’ve decided we’ll go into the marina on Friday and pay for a week. We have quite a few things we can do on the boat before the get together starts.
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May 10 – Portsmouth, VA
High St. Ferry Dock
“I’m not lost, I’m exploring” –Jana Stanfield
We spent any day at the free dock in Portsmouth. Stan noticed in Great Bridge that he needed some new bearings on his bike…it was still useable but he was worried at some point it would give out. We found a bike shop on High Street that could do the work today, so Stan took his bike in as soon as they opened. We then too the water taxi (ferry) over to Norfolk to take care of another issue Stan was having…his phone died a few days ago. Luckily we had an extra phone for him to use temporally. A visit to the Apple Store at the McArthur Center and he was back in business.
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May 9 – Portsmouth, VA
High St. Ferry Dock
“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list” –Susan Sontag
It’s only 12 miles from Great Bridge to Norfolk but it can take half a day to navigate. Most of the low bridges have been replaced with taller one, but the railroaded bridges seem to always be under construction. One in particular was closed from 9-1 today, so we left Great Bridge with the 11:00 opening. Which gave us plenty of time to stop of diesel at another marina called Top Rack. We filled our fuel tanks and water tanks and got a pump out…we’re good for quite a while.
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May 8 – Great Bridge, VA
Great Bridge Historical Park Free Dock
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” —Dalai Lama
Great Bridge is one of my favorite places to sit and relax. I love to watch the show of boat on the river…the bridge opens on the hour so you know exactly when each performance is going to take place. The bridge blows a horn to warn all that it is about to open then it lowers the barrier arms to stop traffic and the show begins. Everything from small fishing boats to huge yachts, tugs and barges parade by. Through the years we’ve spent a lot of time here and the show never gets old.
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May 7 – Great Bridge, VA
Great Bridge Historical Park Free Dock
“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.” —St. Francis of Assisi
We’ve spent the last two days moving through the ICW in a remote section of northern North Carolina. There isn’t a lot to see or do between Oriental on the Neuse River and Great Bridge, Virginia. It’s more than 150 miles through man-made cuts and open sounds and bays. Even on a sunny, nice day there really isn’t much to look at, but this time it was wet, cold and dreary. Stan drove from the lower helm most of the time.
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May 5 – Hobuckin, NC
Campbell Creek – Anchorage
“God promises a safe landing not a calm passage.” —Author Unknown
We woke up to a fairly nice day…it was a little cool and the sun was out. The day deteriorated from there…the clouds got thicker and the wind pick up, making it feel more like a Texas day in March than the first week in May. We had a bumpy ride up the Pamlico Sound and by the time we anchored in Campbell Creek it was beginning to rain.
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May 4 – New Bern, NC
New Bern Grand Marina
“My favorite thing to do is to go where I’ve never been.” —Diane Arbus
We only had three miles to travel this morning from our anchorage to the New Bern Grand Marina, so we weren’t in a big hurry, which ended up being a good thing since we had two thunderstorms passed over dumping a lot more water. Even with the rain we were docked by 10:00 and had all day to explore the historic town on New Bern.
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May 3 – New Bern, NC
Neuse River – Anchorage
“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.” – Roger Miller
There was no sunrise on the horizon this morning…only storm clouds. We enjoyed a second cup of coffee as we waited for the thunderstorms to pass. When the thunder and lightening stopped and the rain had let up slightly we released the lines. We don’t mind traveling in the rain as long as it’s not too windy. Things were really wet on the flybridge so Stan drove from below this morning.
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May 2 – Swansboro, NC
Dudley’s Marina
“The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others.” ― Norman Vincent Peale
We left the little marina at Carolina Beach State Park this morning with cloudy skies and traveled north along the ICW. The weather the next week or so doesn’t look promising. The ICW along this section of North Carolina is close to the ocean and lined with large homes. It also runs through the Marine base Camp Lejeune. We’ve used an anchorage there many times, but today the weather had cleared and it was too early in the day to anchor, so we moved on to Swansboro. Our plan was to anchor there, but with the threat of thunderstorms we decided to go into a marina. We enjoyed a nice dinner and quiet night onboard…I didn’t even get off the boat.
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