North Carolina - April/May 2006
The first thing we came across as we passed into North Carolina is a pontoon bridge. This is the last pontoon bridge left on the Intra-Coastal Waterway. It's a bit tricky to get through because it only opens on the hour and it sometimes does not open at or near low tide since the bridge can be aground at that time! We timed it to get through at high tide, so that wasn't a problem for us.
This is a picture of the bridge closed - the little building is actually the part that swings out of the way for the bridge opening. We were following our friends Carol and Palmer on their sailboat 'Cheers' shown to the right in this picture.
This is a picture of the bridge open as we were coming through. You need to wait for it to open all the way - and for the cables to drop clear before you can go through.
This is a picture of the bridge closing behind us - so you can have a better idea of what it looks like. They need to raise the roadway slightly first and then pull the floating part of the bridge out of the way for you to get through. You can just about see the cable from the floating part of the bridge to the fixed part as the bridge tender is pulling the slack out to move the bridge back into place.
Most of the older bridges are being replaced by new 65 foot high fixed bridges like the one shown below. I'm sure that will be the fate of this bridge one day as well. Of course it does make it easier for boats and traffic. Unless, of course, you have a mast taller than 65 feet. In that case, you need to run up the outside - since 65 feet is the designated clearance for the Intra-Coastal Waterway - as our good friends David and Kate know with their sailboat 'Troubadour' that has a 72' mast. (There's a picture of 'Troubadour' in the Seattle to San Francisco page.)
We're seeing more and more shrimp boats as we head farther north. Shrimp season opens in May - so we should soon be able to get lots and lots of that wonderful fresh shrimp. We remember the last time we were here being able to buy shrimp directly off some of the boats as they came in at the end of the day. YUMM!
We saw this
guy perched at the top of a piling as we were came past on our boat. I
think he was drying his wings. The pelicans on the east coast are about
twice the size of the pelicans we had in California. I know when we first
moved there, I though I was just seeing lots of baby pelicans - and was
wondering where all of the adults had got to!
A Pelican Limerick!
A marvelous bird is the Pelican
It's mouth can hold more than its belly can
It can hold in its beak
Food enough for a week
But I'm dammed if I see how the hell-it-can.
We were walking on the beach in Wrightsville Beach and saw this Osprey flying
overhead. It's a cross between a helicopter and an airplane. Looks
for all the world like a little plane that got fitted with REALLY big
props!
Saw this very interesting pink house complete with its own lighthouse on the way up from Wrightsville Beach to Mile Hammock Bay.
Mile Hammock Bay is a small anchorage that sits right in the middle of Camp LeJeune. The Intra-Coastal Waterway runs through the middle of Camp LeJeune, and the military dug out this great anchorage area for their use. It's also open to the public to use, which is very convenient since there really isn't anywhere else to anchor in this stretch of the waterway. We took advantage of the improved weather and did some laundry. We don't have lifelines to hang the laundry on (like on our sailboat) - but we do have the railings around the deck on top!
There is an area just beyond the anchorage where they sometimes do 'live fire' practices across the waterway. They close the waterway when that is going on by stationing boats on either end to prevent folks from entering plus lighting up some warning signs like the one shown below. Believe me, we gave the sign a good look to make sure we didn't see any flashing lights!!
We made it though there, when our day got even more interesting. We were coming through a very narrow and tricky part of the waterway when we heard on the radio that a large tug and barge had just turned onto the waterway and was heading toward us from the other direction. We turned a corner - and there he was. A big guy pushing a barge with a very large and ugly looking dredge drill (about 5 ft in diameter) sticking out of the front. We called him and arranged a port-to-port pass - which was fine except for the fact that there was a little Bay Liner between us and the barge. There was one point where I though he might become a fender between us - but we all slid past each other and were all OK.
We headed into Morehead City and the marina we had booked for night. When I called to confirm our slip assignment, the dock master said that there was a Navy ship in the port near the marina with lots of big guns on board - so come in slow and steady and don't make any sudden moves. Now, we usually come in very slowly to docks anyway (they are big and hard and things can go badly wrong if you come at them too fast) - but I had never heard a dock master tell us to 'not make any sudden moves' . Sure enough, after we got in and tied up - I looked up and saw a line of guys up on the top of the boat all carrying machine guns and keeping an eye on us. There was also a little boat in the water - with a big gun mounted on the bow - also keeping an eye on us.
After we were tied up and settled in for the evening - we noticed that a couple pf tugs show up in preparation for the departure of the navy ship. We were not quite prepared for what happened next. One of the tugs put his nose to the back end of the ship and gunned it to hold the ship's stern to the dock while they untied. Unfortunately, we were pretty close to this and it was like we were all of the sudden riding down white water rapids while sitting at the dock. I snapped a couple of pictures when this first started. It got a little worse after this, when they really gunned it and the end of the dock sort of went under water. No pictures of that, since I was busy adding extra lines to our boat to make sure that we stayed firmly attached.
This is a picture of the ship leaving port after our little 'wash down'.
Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted after all of that... Poor Jeremy just sort of pooped out in the deck house...
The next day, we walked from Morehead City over to Beaufort (pronounced 'bow-fort' to distinguish it from Beaufort SC - pronounced 'bew-fort). It's a neat little town with lots of beautiful old houses. We also spotted this interesting looking boat. Wouldn't want to see that coming toward us at speed on the waterway! Wonder if the blood from the jaws if from some poor hapless boaters out there just slowly chugging along minding their own business.
Beaufort has a wonderful Maritime Museum. They offer courtesy cars to transient boaters to help with runs to the grocery and marine stores. All they ask in exchange is to put a few gallons of gas in before your bring it back. We had the blue jeep on the end - a bit long in the tooth, but it got us to the store and back - and the price was right!!
We found this statue of Neptune when wandering around the docks in Morehead City. He does not look amused at Jeremy's feeble attempt to give him horns.
The town of Oriental is about 25 miles north of Morehead City and it's considered the sailing capital of North Carolina. We wandered around town and met many nice people who retired here after coming through on their boat and deciding to stay put. We've added it to our list of possible places for us to land when we finally decide to 'swallow the anchor'. The town got its name from the postmaster's wife at the time the city was incorporated. She had found a nameplate from a boat named the 'Oriental' that was wrecked off of the coast of North Carolina - and suggested the name for the city.
There are LOTS of dogs roaming around town. One assigned himself to us as our unofficial tour guide the day we arrived. He stayed with us all afternoon as we wandered around - guess he wanted to make sure we didn't get lost!
Saw lots of lovely houses in Oriental. The house in the last picture has a sign on the porch that says 'Oriental - Life is good at the end of the road'. Can't argue with that!
The dragon is the symbol of Oriental. There are dragons everywhere - including this dragon floating in a lake near the local coffee shop across the street from the town marina.
We also spotted several dragon nests around town. These are the ones we found - something tells me there are more. All of the nests were carefully marked with signs from the North Carolina Department of Wildlife Conservation.
We stayed at the Oriental Marina. Very nice marina complete with a Tiki bar with happy hour every evening where we got to catch up with the other cruisers. The marina had wonderful facilities - including really nice showers complete with fresh fluffy towels, soap and shampoo.
We took a spin in the dink up some of the creeks in the area -
We left to visit the city of New Bern located east of Oriental up the Neuse River about 25 miles. New Bern was founded primarily by Swiss and German immigrants. The area reminded some of Bern Switzerland, which is how it was named New Bern.
We found this lovely outdoors church in town not far from the marina. It was created on the foundations of the first church of worship in colonial Craven parish which was established 1715. A brick church was constructed on the site in 1750 and continued in use until the early 1820s. Presidents George Washington and James Monroe both worshiped here during their visits to New Bern.
We found this interesting graveyard not far from the church which contained remains of many of the soldiers that fought in both the revolutionary and civil wars. There were also many headstones for families that were devastated by the yellow fever outbreak in the early 1800s. This is the monument to the Confederate Soldiers of America. It marks a mass grave for many of the confederate soldiers that were killed during the civil war battles fought in New Bern.
We visited Tryon Palace which was originally built between 1767 and 1770 as the home for the Royal Governor and his family during pre-revolutionary time in North Carolina. John Hawks, an English architect who came to North Carolina with Governor William Tryon in 1764, designed the Georgian styled palace in the manner of contemporary architectural style of his day.
Governor Tryon and his family only lived in the house for only one year - they left in 1771 when he was appointed Royal Governor to New York. Josiah Martin, the second Royal Governor to live in the Palace, but fled in May of 1775 at the beginning of the American Revolution. His furnishings were later auctioned off by the newly formed state government. Patriots made the Palace their capitol and the fist sessions of the General Assembly met there to begin designing a free and independent state. Four state governors used the Palace: Richard Caswell, Abner Nash, Alexander Martin, and Richard Dobbs Spaight.
The building was converted to private use in 1794 when Raleigh became the state capital of North Carolina and was destroyed by fire in 1798. In the 19th century a road was built through the middle of the site and several private houses and buildings were constructed in the area.
In the 1930s a movement began to restore North Carolina’s first capitol which gained strength when volunteers tracked down John Hawks' original architectural plans. In 1944, Mrs. James Edwin Latham, a Greensboro resident and native of New Bern, challenged the State of North Carolina to join her in restoring the Palace. She guaranteed her commitment through establishment of a trust fund dedicated solely to the Palace restoration. In 1945, the legislature created the Tryon Palace Commission, and charged it with the reconstruction of the original Palace from its original plans on its original foundation. As part its commitment, the state further agreed to maintain and operate the restoration when it opened to the public which occurred in April 1959 - eight years after the death of Mrs. Latham.
We were only permitted to take photos of the outside of the palace and
gardens, but the link above include photos of the interior.
I confess that I cheated and surreptitiously snapped this picture of a bed while we were upstairs in one of the houses. Bed mattresses in those days were supported in their frames by hemp rope which was loosely woven through through the frame. The saying 'Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite' came from the need to tighten up the rope under the mattress every few weeks - since the hemp rope would stretch over time. The bed bugs part was due to the fact that the 'tick' or mattress would be a wonderful warm home for the little buggers. Something like a colonial 'Bed and Breakfast' for them!
We saw lots of homes and buildings constructed from either wood or brick - including this one which was half wood and half brick. The sign says that it is the James Bryan House and was constructed between 1803 and 1806. The 'office' was added in 1820. We're pretty sure the 'office' is the white wooden part of the building - but we're not sure.
One building that struck us as a bit odd was this Law office that looks for all the world like a toy gingerbread house. Somehow it doesn't quite fit the image of a serious law firm!
As well as being the first capital of North Carolina, New Bern is also famous for being the birthplace of Pepsi Cola. Jeremy stepped right in and said 'Gimme a Coke!' They just laughed. What was really funny is that you can't get a coke anywhere in town (we asked at a couple of restaurants in the area). Seems like they take this Pepsi thing pretty seriously in New Bern!
We visited a wonderful Fire house museum in town which housed many of the original fire New Bern fire trucks - many of which were horse drawn and steam operated. Ted is the docent and was a wealth of information. We spent the day with my brother and sister in law who drove down from Raleigh to visit. That's a picture of my brother Fred looking at the head of the firehouse horse - also named Fred. Fred (the horse) was apparently so smart that he could tell by the sound of the different alarms where the fire was and could pretty much find his own way there.
Jeremy snapped this photo of a boat near us at the marina. Looks like the boat dog is getting ready to take his master's boat out for a spin up the river. What DO they feed their animals in these parts??
We had a huge family of little ducklings that kept coming around our boat in the marina. Sure, they're cute now - but just wait until they all grow up! Seemed like an awful lot of little ducklings for one Mom. We were wondering if this was some sort of 'Ducky Day Care'.
We spotted this sign near a park in New Bern. Not sure how they gathered these stats - or what the record of 68% is supposed to mean??? We're tourists - we'll take pictures of anything!
After leaving New Bern, we made our way back down to Oriental for a few days before heading north again. The weather pattern over the last few weeks has been one or two fairly good days followed by two or three not-so-good days - either a lot of wind resulting in rough water in the bays or thunderstorms. In either case - since we don't have a definitive schedule - we're opting to stay in port when the weather is not so great and travel when it looks good.
After a couple of days in Oriental, we took a detour up the Neuse River to the town of Washington, NC. We had heard that it was a really nice little town - very welcoming to boaters - plus they have a free town dock. What more can you ask for?? We were amazed to discover that, not only was the dock free - but the dock master comes out to assist with your lines when you come in. The docks were put in in 2002 - and were much nicer than many had paid money to stay at in marinas.
Washington, North Carolina was founded in the 1770s as a small town on the confluence of the Tar and Pamlico rivers. It was renamed in honor of General George Washington in 1776 and is the first city in the country to be named after the man who would become our nation's first president.
The town has put a lot of money into renovating their waterfront area in the last few years - and it really shows. The second picture below is of the town Chamber of Commerce - which sits across the parking lot on the waterfront.
The town has also invested in an 'Estuarium' - which is a museum dedicated to the estuary at the confluence of the Neuse and Tar rivers. They have set aside land at the edge of the river and built a natural filtration system to prevent run-off from the land from draining directly into the river. It also serves as a wildlife and bird sanctuary.
Heading back down the Neuse river to the east, is the tiny town of Bath - which was founded in 1705 and was the first town in North Carolina. It was the home to Edward Teach - better known as Blackbeard the Pirate before he was killed in a naval battle near Ocracoke in 1718.
The town also has the oldest church in the state, St. Thomas Church, which was built in 1734. It is a beautiful little church that is still used for Sunday services.
Even though this was the first town in North Carolina, it has never really grown. It had 12 houses and 50 residents back in 1708 and it has about 50 houses and no more than couple of hundred residents today. According to town history, one of the first ministers at St. Thomas was not happy with the township, left in a huff and cursed the town to remain small forever.
There is something to be said for a town where the corner of King and Front streets (two of the town's main streets) run along a lovely waterfront.
Farther along Front street we found the towns oldest surviving house. It was built in 1751 by Captain Michael Cou-tanch, a merchant, legislator, and commissioner for Bath and Portsmouth. Col. Robert Palmer, surveyor general and member of the Governor's Council, later owned the house. The second picture is the view out over the bay from the front of the house.
There was a park across Front Street on the waterfront with a comfy swing for us to take a rest after the strenuous walk around this huge metropolis.
Farther along in town we passed this interesting house owned by the 'Sparrow' family. They seem to take their name pretty seriously.
As many towns in this part of North Carolina, Bath has a free town dock for any cruisers that happen to come through town.
We stopped over in Belhaven on our way north on our way to Elizabeth City. Not much in town - but there is a wonderful marina (Dowry Creek) who has one of the best dock masters we've met. We also met Chuck and Ann who were cruising on an Albin 36 'Annie' out of Hilton Head. The left VERY early in the morning to get to Elizabeth City - this is a picture of their departure at 'first light'. It's about an 85 mile trip up to Elizabeth City from Belhaven - so we had a similar early morning departure the next day.
I have been looking forward to coming back to Elizabeth City since we first started to plan this trip. We first visited in 1992 and then, as now, we found it to be perhaps the most welcoming town along the Intracoastal Waterway. This is thanks in a very large part to one man - Fred Fearing, the co-founder of the Elizabeth City Rose Buddies. Fred and his friend Joe Kramer founded the Rose Buddies in 1983. The had both recently lost their wives, and decided that they needed something to occupy their time and minds. They decided to host a wine and cheese party for boaters visiting the town and staying at the town docks. Joe, an avid gardener who raised roses as a hobby, decided to clip a single rose for each first mate on the arriving boats. Fred organized the wine and cheese. The tradition has grown steadily by word of mouth along the Intracoastal Waterway - and is now very popular.
After Joe passed away, his rose bushes were transplanted to the waterfront - so that all first mates are still given a rose. Fred gets around town in a Rose Buddies golf cart - a gift from Willard Scott when he visited the Rose Buddies years ago to do a television piece on them. Fred now whisks the first mates away in his golf cart over to the rose garden, where you are given a pair of rose clippers so that you can select your own rose. He then carries you and your rose back in style to the ongoing wine and cheese party.
This is the Rose Buddies Rose garden by the city docks.
Fred has recruited some younger folks into his Rose Buddies brigade (he's now 92) - in the hopes of keeping it going. This is a picture of us with Fred and one of his Rose Buddies. He really has started something.
They even have a full time volunteer dock master, Sam, who was very helpful at getting us tied up at the city docks. This is especially appreciated as the town docks were re-built with different size slips (widths varying from 10 to 18 ft) to accommodate various sized boats. He yells out to you as you come in to get your boat's beam, and then he directs you to a slip that will fit. There are also few long sea walls nearby that are used for overflow or for larger vessels. I've heard that they try not to ever turn anyone away - and at one point had 35 boats tied up at the town docks. Quite a feat when you consider that there are only 17 slips.
Shortly after leaving Elizabeth City traveling north, you enter the Dismal Swamp canal. Despite it's name, this is a lovely and quiet waterway. I suppose it was dismal before the waterway was cut through - and the work of cutting the waterway must have been horrible. But for those of us lucky enough to come through it today, it is a beautiful place.
The Dismal Swamp Canal is the oldest operating artificial waterway in the United States. Work on digging the canal started in 1793 and was not completed until 1805. George Washington was an early investor in the canal as well as an architect in the planning of the canal. While the original canal had 7 locks - the current canal has only 2 - one at the beginning of the canal which raises boats up approximately 13 feet and one at the end which lowers them down again to sea level.
Once you are in the lock, the lock master helps you to secure fore and aft lines to the bollards along the top of the lock walls and closes the gates in preparation for raising the lock level. You need to keep a good hand on the lines as the lock is filling, as the water can become a bit turbulent as you can see in the picture below.
Once the lock is full, the lock master opens the gates at the opposite end and off you go onto the Dismal Swamp canal. There was a sign at the lock indicating how far we'd come on our trip - 715 miles from Jacksonville. We've been on our trip almost 2 months now and in some ways it seems like we've been doing it much longer. Our little boat is a very comfortable home and capable cruiser.
Once you are past the turbulence of the lock, the swamp is very calm and peaceful. There is, of course, no current on the canal and with very little wind it was like cruising down the middle of a long reflecting pond.
About 4 miles or so after coming through the lock, you come to the Dismal Swamp visitor's center - which has a free dock at which you can tie up over night. Never one to pass up on a free dock, we stayed the night. You can make the trip through the canal into Norfolk in one day - but it is a VERY long day and tends to put you info Norfolk harbor in the late afternoon - right at rush hour when all of the bridges are on restricted openings. Much better to spend the night here, get an early start in the morning and get into Norfolk around noon the next day. The picture on the right is of the trail at the visitor's center.
A few miles after leaving the Visitor's Center, we left North Carolina and entered Virginia. Shortly after entering Virginia we can past an old house with a sign that it was the Superintendent's House. Looks like it needs a bit of work!
We had a note in our charts that there was a manually operated 'Cattle Crossing' bridge located along the canal. It belongs to a farmer whose land straddles the canal. He pulls it across on a pontoon when he needs to get his cattle from one side to the other and pulls it back when he's done. The moving 'bridge' portion is on the left bank in this photo. The photo on the right is a picture of one of the original granite mile markers from when the canal was dug. These were lost over time, but one was discovered a few years ago and there was an effort by several volunteers and the Army Corps of Engineers (who maintains the canal) to locate all of the original markers. All but about 5 have been found and have been set on the banks of the canal in their original locations.
We saw lots of Canadian Geese along the canal slowly making their way north as well. These four were happily paddling along in the canal in front of us as we came along. The decided it was time to take flight as we got closer. We also saw this little family of ducks making their way across the canal from one side to the other.
Updated May 22, 2006