Smokey does the Dismal - Edited

Smoke loves the Dismal Swamp.  It's a slow ride, no wakes, no waves, no heeling with the wind.  It's gentle, with each side of the Dismal Swamp only 15 feet or so from Latitudes.  She is fascinated - eager to go on deck and watch the world go by slowly. This world is full of splashes in the water, birds, turtles, etc.

When she tires of watching outside, she helps us with the charts

or fill in our log book

Bored of all of that, she'll sleep - again helping us with the charts.

And finally, refreshed from a gentle sleep, she's ready to kill - preferable her mousie

Needless to say, she's become a boat cat.  Boy, is she in for a surprise in a few days when we return to the house...should be interesting!

Our "doing the Dismal" included a long run of about 80 miles to Elizabeth City.  Rather than dock there at evening, we decided to catch the bridge opening and anchor a little north of the bridge.  Elizabeth City has the east coast's largest Coast Guard Station. And guess what THEY have - a Blimp!  Spy stuff, we guess.  And apparently the allow the DirecTV guys to keep their blimp there too.

Sunsest on the Pasquatank!  Lovely.  My dad grew up here and still loves the area.  Wonder why!

 Our anchorage north of Elizabeth City gave us an early start towards the locks and bridges of the Dismal (we didn't have to wait for the EC bridge to open).  The morning on the Pasquotank River was absolutely beautiful.  Sunny, sunny showcasing the trees and their reflections in the still water.

To enter the Dismal, we passed through the more southern of the two locks, the South Mills Lock, in company with 2 other boats.

Then the South Mills bridge.

The Great Dismal Swamp Canal was serene and beautiful.

Spring has sprung - the lily pads are creeping into the channel of the waterway.

I like this picture of the tanic water - full of swirls, little eddies, and pollen... my "Dismal Monet"

Today we are tied up at the dock immediately south of the second lock, the Deep Creek Lock. 

The weather today includes that horrible storm that tore through the southern states, and is headed our way.  We're safe and sound here, along with 2 other boats.  Note the double mooring lines. Lockkeeper Robert is a friendly guy, full of stories and 8a.m. coffee and doughnuts...we like him!

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we'll take the 9 a.m. lock opening, complete our ICW portion of the trip, breeze through Norfolk, and MAY be in Deltaville for the night!  That's the plan. Saturday is the back up date.  Back to Roanoke by Monday, we hope.

OOPS!!! Forgot to add that sister-in-law Judy drove down to Deep Creek to visit and have dinner with us.  The grocery store clerk asked if we were twins... or at least sisters....what a compliment!  We had a good visit with her and appreciated her driving down to see us.