We awoke the next morning with a big decision....which route should we take? The options: (1) the very familiar Dismal Swamp route or (2) the faster but never tried (by us) Virginia Cut route. In the end weather and our taste buds would make us choose the Dismal Swamp route. The weather because we anticipated the swamp would offer us more protection from the southerly winds and our taste buds because we knew exactly where to find soft shell crab and blizzards in Elizabeth City.
So through the lock we went and off towards North Carolina. We had hopes of seeing Lockmaster Robert at the Deep Creek lock and we did. However he wasn't working the lock. Instead he was doing a dismal swamp tour in his pontoon boat. It was a great day for a swamp tour. The colors were in the early stage of their fall change - not yet brillant but certainly not green.
By early afternoon, we crossed the border into North Carolina and reached the South Mills lock at the end of the 22 mile swamp. From there we continued the trek finally reaching the Elizabeth City bridge. It was here that we would quickly realize that our grand visions of seafood and ice cream would not be realized. Unfortunately the city docks at Elizabeth City were all full - no room at the inn!
What to do?! While we would have loved to have stayed, the forecast called for the weather to worsen over the next several days and we decided it would not be prudent to remain in Elizabeth City at anchor. Instead we opted to begin the journey south on the Pasquotank river. We motorsailed a few more miles before a falling sun forced us to drop the hook near shore.
Tomorrow would be another day.
The Admiral
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