Photo: Semper V on the Elizabeth City waterfront

Having learned during our passage up the Alligator-Pungo River Canal that the Dismal Swamp Route of the ICW is open, we decided to head for Elizabeth City, which marks the entry point of the route at Mile 51. The Dismal Swamp Route was closed last fall due to low water levels, but the water is up and the US Army Corps of Engineers received funding to clear the route, so off we go!

Elizabeth City is a pretty, historic town. Founded by the English in 1793, it was a major fishing port in the Albemarle Sound region, was part of the Underground Railway network during the Civil War, and was a provisioning stop for the Wright Brothers on their way to the Kill Devil Hills and their first flights on the Kitty Hawk. The area also hosts the USCG's largest air station, and we have seen numerous USCG helicopters and C-130 aircraft heading out on thier missions.

We stopped into a local bookstore, where they had an interesting give-away: recite a poem and get a free book. So Steph went in and recited "In Flanders' Fields", and walked out with yet another book to read (more to follow on the girls'readings during the voyage).

We strolled about the surrounding streets, and saw a few of the thirty-odd houses and buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, some truly wonderful houses and commercial buildings. We also noted that approximately one in twenty houses was for sale, a trend that we have remarked upon during several stops on our northward leg, i.e. the number of foreclosures. A recent USA Today article stated that one in 527 homes in the US has recieved at least one notice of foreclosure, and we have noticed an unusually high percentage of higher price-range waterfront homes on the market.
The issue has generated quite a bit of newspaper discussion down here...