The Dismal Swamp Canal

We arrived in Elizabeth City and tied to the city docks. This city is known as the "City of Hospitality" because of the "Rose Buddies". Two men after church one Sunday decided to meet all of the boaters in the city and give a rose from one's rose garden to all of the ladies on the boats. They started this tradition many, many years ago and one of the gentlemen, Fred Fearing continues to greet each boat on arrival even though today is his 93rd birthday.

We spent one night here and then headed up the Pasquotank river to the Great Dismal Swamp Canal. Stacy had read about the Dismal Swamp 10 or 12 years ago and had always thought of traveling through. Well, we finally achieved that dream. We left early in the morning and entered a different world of solitude and stillness.

After locking through the southern lock we entered the canal and traveled to the Visitors Center about 5 miles up the canal. This is a straight cut canal originally surveyed and built by George Washington.

Stacy and I each took turns standing on the bow pulpit taking in the serenity of the setting. We saw a beaver, several snakes, a cow, and many different birds while transiting the canal.

This area is known for "deadheads" which are logs that have sunk and are either on the bottom or just floating under the surface. We keep a sharp lookout and we still bumped things on the bottom two or three times. Sometimes the logs are floating on the surface and we have to move them out of the way.

We crossed from North Carolina into Virginia while on the canal and there was a sign welcoming us to Virginia. We also noticed a house with a sign stating it was the Superintendant's house shortly afterward. We figure they must be paying them with titles.

We stopped just before the north lock of the canal and tied to a small bulwark where just across the road is a Food Lion, Advance Auto Parts, and a family run Mexican restaurant. Since we had to wait for the next locking in about two hours, we caught up on grocery shopping and had a late lunch/early dinner at the Mexican restaurant. After locking through we entered the Elizabeth river that takes us north to Norfolk, Virginia. A few miles from the Dismal Swamp Canal we left the pastoral setting of the canal for the largest Navy base and shipbuilding area in the country.

We have now entered a new part of the world and are entering the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay.