Update from Oriental, NC, plus pictures and comments from the last several days

Since we have a really good signal here in Oriental, North Carolina, I thought it would be a good idea to catch up on some of the stuff we've done while Internet coverage was so bad.  First, here is the path we've taken to get here:

We started out by leaving Willoughby Bay and passed right back the gigantic Navy base(s) in Norfolk.  Rebecca took a bunch of pictures, but made me promise not to put too many on the blog.  As many of you know, I am a military nut, so I was in heaven as went passed by all these ships.  Here is just a taste:

A visiting French frigate

The USS Eisenhower

The battleship USS Wisconsin, now a museum

An old transport ship that I can't identify, plus the brand-new George H.W. Bush carrier in the background

After passing through downtown Norfolk, we made the turn into the Dismal Swamp Canal.  This canal is over 200 years old (George Washington was involved in constructing it) and is a very neat way to travel by boat.  Before you can get into the canal, you first have to rise about 6 feet.  To do this, you go through a lock!  Here as some pictures from that experience:

Waiting for the lock to open

Virginia pelicans are rather strange

Into the lock

We have a long way to go, lol

Hang on tight!

Rising up!

The door opens

Bye, bye, Deep Creek Lock!

The Dismal Swamp Canal is very narrow and nearly perfectly straight, with just one turn.  It is a very weird experience to pilot a sailboat through the woods, but that is what we are doing:

In the woods

It really is a swamp

Not too exciting, just don't hit any trees!  :)

After crossing the North Carolina border, we arrived at the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center, which is unique in that it has facilities for both cars AND boats!  We spent the night tied up to the dock:

Really nice dock, far from the ocean

Reece enjoying the boardwalk at the Visitor Center

At first he was scared of the granddaddy-longlegs, then he couldn't stop playing with it!

A beautiful place

Straight as an arrow

The next morning, we resumed our trip, which means we had to descend down to sea level once again.  Mill Creek lock, performs that function when heading South:

Now we go down 6 feet, everybody grab a line!

The welcoming committee

The door behind us closes

Ed makes a friend

The other member of the committee comes to inspect

Down we go!

And now at the bottom

Next we traveled on to Belhaven, otherwise known as the land the Internet forgot!  We had varying degrees of connectivity, usually between none and bad.  Belhaven is a sad little town - nothing but empty store fronts, with just a few businesses.  We did find a nice place to eat, which was good, 'cause I think it was the ONLY place to eat!  Just before we dropped anchor in Belhaven, we stopped at Dowry Creek Marina to refuel, top off the water tanks, and pump out the holding tank.  Very nice marina and great people!  On the way, we had an interesting bug join us for the ride:

We let him go on the shore at Belhaven.  Very neat creature!

The next day, we made for Oriental.  There are two free slips maintained by the town, but they are usually occupied.  As we went, we watched the Harbor webcam and saw one side was empty.  We crossed our fingers and made it before anybody else got it!  If you hit that link right now, you'll see us there!  We intended on making for Beaufort this morning, but Oriental is truly a neat place for boaters, so we decided to hang out another day.  The boat next to us on the dock is SeaSpan, a Valiant 40 owned by Jeff and Elise, who are also bloggers!  We spent the day with them and had a great time!!!  It was great to meet them, and since they are from St Petersburg, Florida, we hope to see them again!

Well, I guess this is enough of a mega-post.  I think we'll walk over to Toucan's and some chocolate cake and some drinks!  See ya!