Three more hours of traversing the Dismal Swamp in rain and mist were made challenging in that it was difficult to distinguish foilage reflections from the real thing. A thunderstorm passed by causing limited visibility. The canal is hauntingly beautiful.
We met the nicest lockmaster at the lock. He told us if we had been there for the first opening we would have been able to enjoy coffee and donuts!
After the lock Jim carefully steered around shoaling in the river as we approached the next bridge. After that it was easy going until we passed under a bridge that was under construction. A grayish brown liquid splashed along the entire length of the boat, catching the bimini and the dinghy too. We thought it was mud until we pulled up to the fuel dock about twenty minutes later. Rod, the dockmaster at Ocean Marine Yacht Center, told us it was cement and he proceeded to get two hoses while Jim and I grabbed sponges, soap, and a brush. We scrubbed for an hour until most of the mess was cleaned off. It hardened quickly and would have permanently damaged the deck if we hadn't gotten it off right away.
We were exhausted as we waited for a strong thunderstorm to pass, but then walked to dinner and a movie at the Commodore Theatre in Portsmouth. It was a beautiful old theatre renovated with a state of the art sound system. Fun experience!