DAY 289-294: Elizabeth City NC to Dismal Swamp Dock - Portsmouth

Elizabeth City FREE Dock to Lamb’s Marina (Camden NC): 6.0 mph; 3.7 miles; 0:37 hours

Lamb’s Marina to South Hill Lock: 7.3 mph; 14.9 miles; 2:02 hours

South Hill Lock to Dismal Swamp Visitor Center Free Dock: 5.6 mph; 5 miles; 0:52 hours

Dismal Swamp Visitors Center to Deep Creek Bridge/Lock: 6.6 mph; 16.5 miles; 2:31 hours

Deep Creek Bridge/Lock to Portsmouth VA: 6.5 mph; 9.2 miles; 1:24 hours

The mannequin is back ...

MM 47.2 Lamb’s Marina (Camden)

So we wouldn’t need to work around the Elizabeth City US 158 Bridge schedule, we left the EC FREE Dock late afternoon and headed to Lamb’s Marina. The marina is owned and operated by a close network of family and friends. They are delightful people and very helpful pulling us into place. We stayed on the fuel dock and paid $35/night (electric included) with water, shower/bathroom, coin-operated laundry, and wifi.

The marina has a small convenient store and across the street is a restaurant, deli, and Family Dollar.

MM 32.7 South Mills Lock & Bridge

The Lock Master operates both the lock and the bridge; like on the Erie Canal, the Lock Master will travel by land alongside of you to the next lock/bridge.

The lock has a fixed bollard with a twist and it takes two people to lock through. I needed longer lines ready at the bow and stern to toss up to the Lock Master. He/She used a boat hook to lasso our line around the bollard then return the loose end back to us. Then we held the loose end of the line until the lock opened and we lock through.

The Dismal Swamp Locks are sourced out; the Lock Master is just gonna yell, or wave a hand, and might eventually turn on the green light to let you know when you can lock through; if there was a horn, he didn’t use it.

MM 28 Dismal Swamp Visitor’s Center

Fixed Dock, 150 ft bulkhead, 6 ft depth. Nice place to stop for the night with restrooms and a great wifi signal for our personal hotspots. The Visitor Center is welcoming and they encouraged us to walk the trails and explore the area - I almost tripped on a King Snake - YIKES! Jim saved my life ... again.

Another Looper is here with us, Out of the Blue, they began their Loop in St Augustine. Oh, how I miss the emerald waters of St Augustine …

The dismal swamp is a living waterway and there are so many birds, turtles, and snakes! A few hidden-hippos float just below the surface to bang your prop so remember the rule: Never travel faster than you are willing to hit something.

MM 10.5 Deep Creek Lock & Bridge

This is a Fixed Bollard Lock and works the same way as the South Mill Lock with the one Lock Master controlling the lock and bridge. There is a 24 hour FREE Dock on the south-side of the Deep Creek Lock on the west side of the canal; if you need the tie, talk to the Lock Master about the depth - all I saw were Mississippi-stump-mines to the north of the dock.

When leaving the lock you are in for a shocking change of scenery. One minute we are traveling between trees and surrounded by nature and the next minute we were immersed in a maritime industrial area and dwarfed by shipping vessels from around the world.

Norfolk Southern #V6.8 (Norfolk & Western) Railroad Lift Bridge:

Use Channel 13; If the bridge doesn’t respond, then ‘the old timer’ might be on duty and he will only respond to “Old Virginia Railroad Bridge” - seriously - and they really call him 'the old timer'.

Just call the Bridge if no one answers the radio: 757-446-5320 or 757-494-7371.

MM .08 High Street Landing FREE Dock Portsmouth

This U-shaped bulkhead is in a little basin between the Legend Brewing Depot and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum. Look for the directions to the kiosk to find and check-in with the Visitor Center two blocks away; the bulkhead is open for 36-hour FREE docking. The pilings have torn metal caps so be sure to use those fenders.

Read the signs and be a considerate boater when docking your vessel - only take the space you need ... yes, you have a nice boat and so does everyone else ... I’ll leave it at that.

MM 0 Waterside, Norfolk VA

$2/ft plus electric; shower/bathrooms and laundry are off-site at the Sheraton - so you should know that you’ll be walking through light crowds of people with your ‘stuff’. If there’s a festival, time your visits to the facilities. Who wants to walk through a heavy crowd with your laundry or shower bag? The marina sets up a taxi for a trip to Harris Teeter every morning at 10 AM; that’s a pretty cool perk. There are a ton of restaurants and bars just steps away; plus, Norfolk has some really cool places downtown.

Art in Norfolk

A quick Google search will show a pretty decent amount of Art Galleries to visit. In 1999, Mrs Decker returned from Chicago with an idea to place Mermaids around the city like Chicago did with its ‘Cows on Parade’. Uncle Pete pushed the idea at a breakfast business meeting, with about 300 attendees, and a year later, 130 life-size bronze statues were ready to go. Once created, artists from around the area were commissioned to bring the statues to life, decorating them with quirkiness, to be auctioned off in 2000. So when you see the mermaids, thank Bess Decker for making it happen.

Old Friends and Good Times

Grain, Hilton 5th Floor

The Grain has an excellent Saturday and Sunday Brunch for a reasonable price, strong Bloody Mary’s and tall Mimosas. What would Norfolk be without meeting up with old friends? It was Michele Gebler Hackworth’s birthday and we all met up at Grain to surprise her. What a great little reunion - so much fun!

Hilton, Downstairs Bar

Great Old Fashion, large bourbon selection.

D’egg

What can I say? Still my favorite place in Norfolk for breakfast. It's alway a little extra when I see Phillip Decker doing his thing at the restaurant - love that little cousin!

Meeting of the Taus

We had dinner with Royall and Elizabeth Ferguson; her house is designed for celebrations. It was so much fun seeing them and the rest of the taus: Wenners, Ischo, and Outlaw - OMG I have not laughed like that in forever. Those guys bring back great memories. I can’t wait to see them again.