Debi and Jack sailing on SV Iroquois

I seem to have lost a blog post or two.  I clearly remember writing and posting but don't see it now--will try to re create what I can remember. ..
We traveled with Barracuda through the Pamlico Sound and Alligator River without ever seeing an alligator. Oh, we looked. We did see dolphins, deer, eagles, vultures, osprey and lots of birds. We stayed a night at Coinjock Marina and restaurant and all enjoyed the hot showers after so many days in the buggy backwaters. We also found the prime rib to be as good as everyone said it would be. The marina is a face dock along the waterfront and there are lots of barges in this stretch of the ICW. I was wakened a few times when barges went by. They take up most of the channel and are even more intimidating at night. Most of them are one barge pushed by a tug, but Jack daringly passed a tug pushing two barges. As we were passing the force of its wake began to pull us backward. It was not easy to get by but we used everything we had and made it. Barracuda was also able to get by it. There are also a few opening bridges in this area and at one of them we had to wait for an oncoming barge to pass before we could go through. We arrived at the Great Bridge just before an opening. Barracuda pressed on, but we decided to stop at the free dock. There was a space between two sailboats and it looked like we might be able to squeeze in. We could see that the boat behind was a boat that had been traveling with us for a couple of days and even though we had only met over the radio we thought they would help.  As we got closer we could see that the boat in front was Max. We had met Chuck and Karen on Max in Brunswick then again in Charleston and they kindly shared their itinerary for traveling north to Massachusetts with no overnights. Chuck came out and took our lines and helped us tie up. So as we waved goodbye to Kate and Graham we said hello to Chuck and Karen. Then we met Carol and Steve from Moondance  (the boat behind) face to face and we all went aboard Max to get out of the sun and have a beer. Cruisers have a strange way of meeting and parting. We might see each other several times over a short period then after months meet up again like we did with Graham and Kate.  We met them at the beginning of their trip in A Coruna, Spain. Since they were part of the ARC we didn't see them after Portugal, until we met up again in North Carolina. Now they're gone again. Who knows when we'll meet again. When you come into a port you just never know what you might find. You might be met by a friend with a freshly baked loaf of bread or you might find the beginning of a transatlantic rowboat race. There might be free laundry and free beer or the showers might be under construction. You just have to take what you find and run with it.
After leaving Max at the Great Bridge we followed Moondance and went through Norfolk Virginia, passing mile 0 of the Intracoastal Waterway. It was an interesting adventure and I am glad we did it but doubt if we would do it again. We're in Hampton Virginia and will wait a few days for the wind to shift before sailing up the Chesapeake Bay. I know Virginia is pretty southern but there's real grass here and the pelicans have been replaced by geese. It feels like we are almost home.