What a difference a day makes. Today was on of those fall days that we started in fleece and ended in short sleeves swatting mosquitoes. We had a beautiful ride down the Pungo Canal, across the Pamlico and past Hobuken. With the northerly winds we even got to enjoy a brief but quiet sail.
We anchored in Bear Creek, which the guidebook cautions, can be deadly for mosquitoes on hot summer nights. We can attest that it is also bad on warm fall evenings. As soon as the sun started to dip, the mosquitoes came out with gusto and we were forced to retreat to the relative safety of the cabin. Jim has volunteered to grill the meat for dinner but is waiting a bit so that he won't be the main course. Murphy has been trying to help but can't quite figure out what the swatting is all about. He's a champ with Chesapeake Bay flies, but finds these NC mosquitoes a bit more stealthy.
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We stayed at Elizabeth City for a second day due to high winds on the Albemarle. The Alligator River Bridge was closed due to wind as well. So, we spend a lazy Sunday with Jim sleeping through some football games and me working on a little knitting. As the afternoon progressed, several boats arrived from the Dismal Swamp but there was no room at the inn and with the howling winds squishing us onto the bulkheads, no one volunteered for rafting. The new arrivals, circled a while and then found other places to stay for the night.
Monday, the wind backed down to 15-20 from the north so we headed out at first light. It was a sloppy crossing and a damp drizzly day but the crossing was uneventful and we arrived at the bridge just as it was opening. Perfect. There was quite a flotilla behind us as everyone took advantage of the "lighter" winds to beat feet across the sound.
We made it to the top of the Pungo Canal by 2:30, but with many miles to the next good anchorage we decided to drop the hook for the night at Tuckahoe Point. Unfortunately this means another muddy trip to shore for Murphy, a.k.a. Swamp Fox. We spent the remainder of the afternoon watching the rest of the fleet jockey for position in the anchorage.
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We finished locking through the Dismal Swamp canal first thing this morning in the company of about 10 boats. It was a full load, with some boats having to raft 3 across. Murphy enjoyed the rather unique experience of having another Irish Terrier in the lock with him. Our Lancaster neighbors were also in the lock with Puka, a little girl terrier. The two roo-rooed back and forth to each other in that ever distinctive IT yodel.
After motoring down the Pasquotank into increasing head winds, we arrived at Elizabeth City mid-day and were able to get one of the last open spots on the concrete bulkhead. Thank goodness for big fenders and for winds mostly blowing us off the dock.
Halloween evening brought out all the ghouls and goblins for trick-or-treating. The picture shows some well-dressed Canadian boat parents and their children. EC closes off Main Street and with homes decorated to the hilt, the locals and visitors alike enjoy the booty. Murphy even scored a few dog biscuits as we wandered along with the kids.
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