Triangle Loop – Week 26 (We Survive Dismal Swamp)

Oct 19th to Oct 25th, 2025

A Note About Map Colors:
We have been asked about the route colors on the blog maps. The Red line is the route we took that day. The Orange lines are prior days’ routes, from our trip north and in Canada. The Purple lines are our routes heading home after we completed the “Triangle Loop”. The circles with a star are nightly stops, matching either orange or purple for the day’s route. The Frog pointer is our ending stop for that day. Remember that you can click the maps to enlarge them, or view the entire map by clicking “Our Trip Map” above.

Day 175 – Sunday, October 19th, 2025 – To: South Mills, NC
Dismal Swamp Welcome Center

When we got up on Sunday, there was already a steady stream of sailboats leaving Hampton, joining the parade south. We left the dock in Hampton at 8:15 and went to the end of the harbor and filled up with fuel at Bluewater. Fueling up took until around 8:50, then headed out into Norfolk Harbor and turned south. The winds were running around 10 mph from the south, so the first 5 miles were a bit bumpy, but as soon as we got into the wind shadow of the aircraft carriers and destroyers in the navy yard, it calmed right down. We had to play dodgem with a few sailboats, a tug, and a ship heading out, but we were able to keep up 20 mph most of the way to the Norfolk marina area and the no-wake zone.

When we reached the marinas, three larger yachts pulled out in front of us, so we joined the parade. The railroad bridges in Norfolk are notorious for being closed for extended periods. Fortunately, it was Sunday, so rail traffic was light, and there was a commercial barge headed North. We made it under all the bridges without having to wait!

Right after our last bridge, we made the turn into the Dismal Swamp Canal. We had sworn that we wouldn’t take the Dismal route again, but with so much traffic heading south, we counted over 50 boats ahead of us for the Great Bridge Lock & Bridge, so we decided to take our chances. There was a sailboat ahead of us that was just puttering along. We didn’t think we could quite make the 11:00 locking, but wished he would hurry up a bit, as it was close. When we got near, it was after 11:15, and they had closed the lock doors. The sailboat called the lock and said they wanted the 11:30 locking. 11:30 is the time for the bridge on the other side of the lock! Ooops!

For readers who may be new, we put a hole in our boat going through the Dismal Swamp on our way North. We almost sank, and were stuck in Hampton for a month getting the boat fixed. You can read the story starting in Week 3.

The next locking was at 1:00. The sailboat turned around and went back to kill time, and we pulled up to the lock and dropped anchor to wait. About 12:00, a large catamaran showed up, and the sailboat, New Waves, returned, along with the sailboat that had been docked next to us in Hampton. At 1:00, the lockmaster came on the radio and gave us instructions, opened the lock gates, and the four of us went into the lock. The lockmaster said that there was one more sailboat coming, and by the time we were settled, they pulled in.

The locking went smoothly. The Dismal Swamp and Great Bridge locks are many boaters’ first locking experience. This was the first lock for three of the boats with us. Once the lock opened, we moved up slowly to the bridge about a half-mile away. The lockkeeper is also the bridge tender, so we had to wait for him to drive up and open the bridge for us. Two of the boats decided to stay at the mooring wall right after the lock, so there were only three of us who moved on.

The Dismal Swamp is the dismal swamp. Long, straight, narrow, and lots of trees overhanging the channel. The water is the color of Root Beer. I asked Brenda if she wanted to bottle some, but she said no. On our first trip through, we had the occasional “bump” as the bottom of the boat hit some submerged object. We counted ourselves lucky to have a 3.5-foot draft (the part of the boat underwater). The sailboat behind us had a 5-foot draft! We counted five bumps, none of them very hard. We met one boat, a small trawler headed north. We pulled over and let them pass, then continued. We heard later that a boat had hit something and damaged its propeller, turned around, and was heading back to Norfolk for repairs. We assume that was the boat.

The only real hazard we encountered was a large floating grass mat blocking the waterway. I sped up and put the engines in neutral so that we could drift through it and either split it or push it out of the way. Unfortunately, the grass mat decided to go under the boat, and it got hung up on the propellers and rudders. We could see that there were no large sticks or logs in it, so when it didn’t pop out, I cautiously put the propellers in gear. Brenda watched, and we got a chopped salad out of the back. When we started back up again, I could feel that there were still weeds stuck, as we had a lot of drag. I revved up the engines, and we got some more out, then I stopped and backed up to flush more out. The water is so dark that you can’t see more than 6″ down, so I couldn’t check if we got it all, but the boat felt better. A few minutes later, our generator shut down. It seems that we sucked up a bunch of debris from the grass mat. That’s easily fixed!

It was just starting to get dark when we reached the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center, about 3/4 of the way through. The dock at the visitor center only holds three boats, so you have to tie up to a boat on the dock. There was already one boat rafted. As we pulled up, we looked to see if anyone was aboard the two boats on the dock. The sailboat at the end of the dock came out and offered to let us raft up to them. So we spun around to make tying up easier, and rafted up. We were just getting settled and introducing ourselves to them when New Waves, the sailboat behind us, pulled up. They are a long sailboat, and there wasn’t enough room next to the small sailboat tied to the dock for them to fit, so we had them raft to us, making it three deep! The third sailboat never showed up, so they must have stopped at one of the other small docks along the way.

There is no power or water at the visitor center. Since we were sandwiched between two other boats, I didn’t want to run the generator, so we got to try out our new battery bank for the first time. It worked great, except for not being able to run the heat; otherwise, it was fine. I cleaned out our strainers, which were full. However, there was still no water coming through to the generator. We’ve had this issue before. The intake is in the middle of the boat in the engine room. When it enters the boat, there is a valve, and it makes a hard right-angle turn. Sticks and pine needles get stuck in the corner of the turn. To fix it, you have to remove the hose from the fitting and poke something down the pipe to dislodge it. When it clears, water gushes in, and then you have to pump it out. It’s a messy job. This is the second time on the trip that I’ve had to clear it. Once the hose clamps were off, it was pretty easy to get the hose off the fitting. We cut up a flyswatter with a wire handle to use as a hook to poke out the junk. It was a pretty good-sized wad! While I cleaned up, Brenda made up a mac and cheese dinner with kielbasa (our emergency rations).

We chatted to the other boaters there, and three of us wanted to make the 9:00 locking at South Mills, which is about five miles away on the other end of the Canal. New Waves said that they would move out of the way and let us take off, as they planned to stay for a bit and do the 11:00 locking.

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Day 176 – Monday, October 20th, 2025 – To: Elizabeth City, NC
Jennette Brothers Bulkhead

At 7:30, we all started our engines, shuffled around, and headed south toward the lock. Like the bridge and lock on the north end, the south end is also a bridge and lock, with the bridge first, then the lock. We went first and took our time. We only had one small bump along the way.

We reached the bridge at 8:30 and called the lock keeper. He said that he had a northbound boat that he was locking through, and we would be at the bridge to let us pass around 9:00. Right in front of the bridge, there was another large grass mat. This time, we moved up beside it and, using the thrusters, pushed it a bit out of the way.

The other three boats pulled up behind us, and we waited for the bridge to open. Just before 9:00, New Waves radioed that they were joining us. I guess they thought that there was something to see at the visitor center. After 15 minutes, they realized they had seen it all and took off to join us.

At the dock just after the bridge, two power boats had spent the night there. They were going through as well, so that made six of us in total. The northbound boat pulled to the side to let us pass, and we all proceeded into the lock. THIS would be the last lock of the trip!

We all got tied up, the doors closed, and we dropped 7 feet. The rest of the way to Elizabeth City follows creeks and a river. The water is deeper, and it gets steadily wider. After the lock, we were third in line behind the two cruisers. It was good to have someone else breaking the path as it were. In this section, the duckweed was covering the water from shore to shore! Duckweed floats on the surface and has tiny lily pads, no larger than a pea. It is almost fluorescent green! Very pretty, but it clogs strainers, making engines overheat. The two boats in front of us were doing a good job of pushing most of it to the sides, but they were also stirring it up, suspending it in the water, which made it more likely to get sucked into the water intakes.

Both boats in front of us were slow, averaging only 7 mph. Once we reached a wide part of the river, we called them to let them know we would be passing. When we were clear of them, I opened up the throttles and we ran at 25mph for the last 5 miles to Elizabeth City.

There are three free docks in town. The first two are on the upstream side of the lift bridge in town, one at a Christian college, and the other along a bulkhead at a food distributor. The third is the town docks on the far side of the lift bridge. The folks on the sailboat we rafted to mentioned they wanted to stay at the college, as they knew the people there. There was only one space available, so we left that for them. The bulkhead at Jennette Brothers’ food distributor was wide open. We thought about going through the bridge to the downtown docks, but they aren’t very protected from the wind, which was picking up, so we chose the bulkhead instead.

The bulkhead is free as long as you eat at one of the restaurants in town. It’s the distributor’s way of promoting business, great idea! There are no services (water, power, or restrooms) at any of the free spots in the city. We pulled up to the end of the bulkhead, leaving as much space as possible for other boats, and tied off. We hadn’t noticed, but oak trees were overhanging the wall, and as we pulled in, we were greeted with a shower of small acorns as we brushed up against the branches.

We got settled in and tied up. Shortly after, New Waves pulled up, and we helped them get docked. A few minutes later, the third sailboat, Tides Inn, arrived. We mentioned that we’d left the dock open for them at the college, and they spun around and went there, just as Sapphire, the third sailboat from the dock last night, pulled in. Sapphire stayed a few minutes, then took off back up the river to get some fuel, then joined Tides Inn at the college dock.

Once we were settled, we walked into town and checked out what had changed. We stayed in town on our first Loop, but went to a marina up the river a few miles when we came through this spring. Things were pretty much the same. There are a few more restaurants and a few fewer shops. After making a circuit of town ( about four blocks by two blocks), we spotted a bakery and stopped for some breakfast goodies before returning to the boat.

At dinner time, we stopped at the Ghost Harbor Brewing Company to try one of the local brews, then went down the street to Cypress Creek Grill for dinner and to make good on the free dockage deal!

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Day 177 – Tuesday, October 21st, 2025 – In: Elizabeth City, NC

The bridge in Elizabeth City opens at 7:30, 8:30, and then after 9:00, on demand. Our friends on New Waves had planned to leave with the 7:30 opening. We were planning on the 8:30 opening. Just before 7:30, a catamaran showed up and called the bridge. “We are closed for the day for maintenance,” the bridgetender told them. Apparently, every two years, the state of North Carolina inspects the bridge. Today was the day! There was supposed to be an announcement by the Coast Guard over the last week about the closure, but it never happened. They said that when they finished inspecting one side, they would open to let boats through, probably around noon. Our run today was 100 miles, and we estimated it would take us about 8 hours due to the heavy traffic. Leaving after noon would have us arriving in the dark. So, we decided to stay in Elizabeth City for another day. We had just finished changing our reservations when the highway department announced they would open it at 10:30. The other boats weren’t going as far, so they took off. We decided to stay anyway since we had already changed our reservations.

We helped the other boats get untied and on their way. We then started picking up the 100s of acorns on the boat. I got out a small saw I keep on the boat, climbed up on the flybridge, and trimmed a couple of branches to keep at least some of the acorns off the boat.

We spent the rest of the day working on the blog. At 3:30, we went into town to check out the other brewery. Unfortunately, they were not open, even though their website and door sign said they were supposed to be. We weren’t the only ones who were confused; even locals said they are usually open on Tuesday.

We walked across the street and went back to Ghost Harbor. They were happy to pour beer! Then we went to the restaurant next door, Hoppin’ Johnz, for dinner. Both Brenda and I had the Fried chicken with gravy, which was quite good. Dessert was a pecan praline cheesecake. That was excellent!

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Day 178 – Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025 – To: Belhaven, NC
Dowry Creek Marina

We had a bit of a fitful night between rain and acorns bouncing off the deck above our bed. We decided to get the 7:30 am opening of the bridge before they changed their minds again. At 7:15, I radioed the bridge and let them know we wanted to go through. They said everything was set, so be here for 7:30. We dropped our lines and moved in front of the bridge to wait, and right at 7:30, the bells went off, the gates went down, and the bridge went up! Just like it’s supposed to!

As we rounded the bend and headed out into the Albemarle Sound, we were treated to a spectacular sunrise! The first 10 miles were smooth and easy, with just ripples from the wind. We went past the Coast Guard Station and airbase, then past the giant airship hangar at the former US Navy Dirigible Air Station. It is now used by TCOM, a company that builds and tests airships. (If you look at the photo below, you can just see the tail of one to the right of the hangar.)

Once we reached the open water of the Albarmale Sound, the west wind had plenty of space to whip up the waves. We were headed south, so they were right on the beam (side) of the boat. We had 1-2 foot waves, with the occasional 3-footer. It made for a rocky hour or so, until we got into the Alligator River and had some land to block the wind.

We made really good time, running at 20 mph for most of the way to the Alligator River Bridge. They are building a new fixed bridge to replace the old swing bridge. The bridge opened for us just as we got to it. No waiting! From there, we were in sheltered waters down the Alligator River to the Pungo Canal, a 20-mile-long canal that goes straight for 10 miles, makes a slight dogleg, then runs straight for another 10 miles. Just before we got to the canal, we met a tow, the Island Explorer. No problem here, as there was plenty of room to pass.

Once we entered the canal, we slowed down to about 10 mph. The canal is pretty wide and has good depth, but you must stay in the main channel because there are many stumps sticking up along the sides. Also, we had caught up with the sailboats doing under 5 mph, so there was lots of slow passing to get around them.

Halfway through the canal, we met the Island Fox, another tug pushing a barge. We had to move over to the side of the channel because he was sticking to his ground in the middle. We had a small bump as we touched something with the keel, but we were fine.

After exiting the canal, we were only a couple of miles from Dowry Creek Marina. We saw two of the boats that had been with us at Jennette Brothers yesterday and left at the 11:00 opening. Catty Shack and New Waves.

New Waves was heading to the same marina we were, and we joked that we would wave as we passed them today. They JUST beat us into a slip by about 10 minutes!

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Day 179 – Thursday, October 23rd, 2025 – To: Beaufort, NC
Homer Smith’s Docks

Today we had a run through two open stretches of water. Leaving Belhaven, the route follows the Pamlico River, which widens into a large Bay, then goes through a Canal called Goose Creek, past a large Seafood House, RE Mayo. After exiting the canal, we crossed the Neuse River, another wide body of water, before entering Adams Creek, which brings you out in the harbor at Beaufort, NC.

The winds were predicted to be 12-18 mph from the west, which means that they would have lots of open water to build up the waves on both crossings. The morning looked better, so we planned to leave around 8:00. At first light, there was a steady stream of sailboats and slower boats heading out of the marina. It looks like everyone had the same idea.

As soon as we pulled out, we had to deal with traffic. Fortunately, the river is quite wide and has good depth, so we were able to get around the slower boats by just taking a wide path around them. Once we reached the open waters, we sped up to our 18mph fast cruise and made good time. The wind was whipping up the waves a bit, but it was just choppy, and we were able to skip over the tops.

As we reached Goose Creek, we slowed down and had to fall in behind a line of slower sailboats. Just as we reached the narrowest part, we saw a towboat heading toward us on AIS, as well as two Coast Guard boats doing towing training in the middle of the creek. The Coast Guard called us on the radio and asked us to switch to Channel 13. We did as instructed, but when we called them, they didn’t answer. We had heard them advise a sailboat ahead of us that they were training and to go past slowly, so we figured it was just the same thing. A few seconds later, we saw them take off at full speed down the creek. I guess they were done playing. We continued down the creek following a boat called Tangent, past the R.E. Mayo Seafood docks. Just past the docks, we met the tow coming in the opposite direction, and had to squeak past in the narrow channel.

Once we were out of Goose Creek and into the Neuse River (which leads to New Bern, NC, where Pepsi was invented), we zipped past Tangent and had a pretty clear run to the entrance to Adams Creek. The route here follows the western shore for most of the way, which blocked the wind, and we had a smooth ride.

As we approached Adams Creek, a large 130-foot yacht, Antares, was wandering around in the river. They sped up, slowed down, turned left, and right. Headed toward the channel leading to Oriental, then made a U-turn. It looked like they were lost! We skirted around them and popped into Adams Creek, heading toward Beaufort.

Once in the creek, the water was relatively calm. We made good time down the first part of the creek, passing a few sailboats along the way. Then, when the creek narrowed into a dug canal, we had to slow down because it was a no-wake zone. We were watching the yacht to see where they were going, and they followed us down the creek. We didn’t see them, but that large a boat in the creek must have been a sight for the locals!

At the end of the canal, Adams Creek splits at Town Creek, which leads into Beaufort, North Carolina. We followed Town Creek to Homer Smith’s Docks, where we stayed on our trip north. We stopped at the fuel dock to fill up our fuel tanks and get a pump out, then moved to our slip for the night. I haven’t rinsed off the boat in a while, and with the wind and waves we’ve been going through, it was coated in salt. Anytime we touched something on the outside of the boat, we would have salt crystals on our hands. If we brushed up against the sides, our clothes would have white salt stains. So, I pulled out my Salt Away solution and gave the boat a good rinsing.

After I finished and cleaned up, we got ready to walk into town for a snack and dinner. We had an HOA board conference call at 5:00, so we wanted to find a place to sit and listen in, while we had a snack, and then go to dinner after. Our HOA meetings can run for a couple of hours, so we wanted to be ready just in case! Just as we were leaving, the boat Tangent, which we had passed, pulled in. We chatted with them for a few minutes, then walked into town.

There are quite a few restaurant choices on the Beaufort waterfront. We walked the main street checking menus, but many were not opening until 5:00. We found one Finz Grill, where we could sit outside on the patio overlooking the downtown marina, have a snack while listening to our call.

We finished our snack (chicken wings). The sun was setting, and the breeze was starting to cool things down. The HOA call was still in full swing, so we moved inside to the bar and ordered dinner while we listened to the rest.

After dinner, we walked back to the boat and settled in for the night.

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Day 180 – Friday, October 24th, 2025 – To: Hampstead, NC
Harbour Village Marina

This section of the ICW is one that we have traveled 7 times. We are now pretty much in “Get Home” mode. Our destination for the night is Harbour Village Marina. It’s a small private marina that is part of a condo development. They can fit two boats on their fuel dock. There is nothing there except bathrooms, but it is positioned nicely for us, about halfway between Beaufort and Southport, NC. We’ve stayed there several times, and the couple that manages the marina is great.

Our neighbors on Tangent took off just after 7:00. We knew we could make some time on the long straight stretches, so we didn’t head out until just after 8:00.

We had excellent weather. Very few waves, and once we were past the little fishing boats around Morehead City (next to Beaufort), we had very little traffic. About halfway through Bogue Sound, we went past a fishing boat trawling with nets just off the channel. The chart said the water he was in was 1-2 feet deep! I guess he had what we call “Local Knowledge”. We think the birds were getting as many shrimp as the boat was.

After Bogue Sound, the route passes through Swansboro before entering the channel through Camp Lejeune, the large Marine Corps training center. As we approached Swansboro, we saw two tugs on our AIS system. They were traveling close together, so we assumed that they were just in transit. As we got closer, we had a sharp bend between us, so we sped up to get around the corner before we met them. We’re glad we did! They were two separate tugs with about 200 feet of dredge pipe between them. They would have taken a VERY wide turn through the corner.

About this time, we heard the Coast Guard hailed Tangent, stating that they would be boarding for a vessel safety check. We’ve been there! They mentioned that the boat was new to them, so we hoped that everything was in order and the safety check would go smoothly. We also did a mental check of our boat, because if the Coast Guard was doing safety checks of trawlers, we might be next.

We took our time through Swansboro, and then just before we entered the canal through Camp Lejeune, the Coast Guard boat went zipping past us. I guess they were done for the day!

The Camp Lejeune canal is interesting. There are signs all along the way warning not to enter areas off of the waterway due to unexploded ordinance. At times when training is going on, they close this section of the ICW for a few hours at a time because they are running landing craft and shooting across the waterway as they practice. There are shot up hulks of old tanks all along the banks.

Part of this section is an area called Onslow Beach. This is a recreation area for the marine base. A swing bridge connects the mainland with the barrier island where the beach is. They have rental cabins, a recreation hall, and other amenities on the island. The Onslow Beach Bridge has been having problems for years, frequently breaking down. The Marine Corps is building a new lift bridge to replace it. When we came up in the spring, it was only opening three times a day. 7:00, 12:00, and 5:00. Currently, it is open every hour. We timed our arrival for 12:00, just in case they were doing work. We arrived about 30 minutes early, and Tangent was there waiting for the opening. The Coast Guard inspection had made them miss the 11:00 opening.

As we approached the bridge, Brenda saw something splash across a side channel, followed by a number of other splashes across the channel. At first, she thought they were dolphins, then deer. When she got a good look, she saw that it was a large Black Bear being chased by a pack of beagles!

They swam across the channel and disappeared into the underbrush. There were several small boats with dog cages on board, chatting with each other by radio. As we waited for the bridge, we watched them move up and down the bank, calling the dogs. One of them pulled up next to us, and Brenda asked what was happening. They were tracking the bear, not hunting. We think that with it so close to the Marine training grounds and recreation facility, they were trying to capture it or drive it away. We watched as they pulled into the bank, and the dogs jumped back on board.

Right at 12:00, the bridge opened, and we went through. At the end of Camp Lejeune is Swans Point, a marina and fuel dock. As we were approaching, two Coast Guard patrol boats came up behind us fast. We thought, oh, no, we’re going to get stopped after all, but they were just going for fuel at the fuel dock.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Just before 3:00, we pulled into Harbour Village. The couple who run the marina were waiting for us, and we got tied up and settled in quickly. We spent the rest of the day working on the blog, then cooked dinner on the boat before settling in for a quiet night.

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Day 181 – Saturday, October 25th, 2025 – To: Holden Beach, NC
Holden Beach Town Dock

Saturday was another 50+ mile day. We had two draw bridges and the Cape Fear River to contend with. We had read that the second bridge, the Wrightsville Beach Bridge, was closed this morning because of a triathlon. I called the bridge to confirm and was told that their first opening would be at 10:00. Excellent! We had 13 miles to travel before we got there, so by leaving at 8:00, we could get to the first bridge, the Figure Eight Island Bridge, 10 miles away, for the 9:30 opening, then make the 10:00 opening at Wrightsville Beach, 3 miles beyond that.

At 8:10, we pulled out of Harbour Village and made good time to the Figure Eight Island Bridge. We went a bit faster than we needed at the start, just in case we came up on a slower boat along the way. When we had the bridge in sight (several miles away), we slowed down and got to the bridge just before 9:30. After just a short wait, it swung open, and we went through.

We did pretty much the same thing for Wrightsville Beach, arriving about 10 minutes before the opening. They were still clearing the traffic cones off the bridge, so there was a short delay. We heard on the radio that there was a commercial barge coming through heading north. The area just after the bridge has four marinas with outside docks. There are usually quite a few larger boats docked along the channel, which makes it very narrow. With a barge coming through, it was going to be a tight fit. The barge captain called us on the radio and said that we could go through the bridge first, and then asked us to pull close to the docks to make room for him to come through. It all came off perfectly in a well-orchestrated dance.

After the bridge, we had about five miles to the Cape Fear River. This section has lots of docks, marinas, and fishing boats, so it’s fairly congested. We only had to pass one sailboat, so it wasn’t bad.

The Cape Fear River can get pretty rough. As the tide changes, the current is quite strong, and if the wind is opposite the current, getting three- to four-foot waves is pretty standard. The winds were coming from the North at about 18mph. We had checked the tides this morning, and we would reach it just after the tide started going out, so we were expecting a fairly smooth ride.

As they say, timing is everything. While it wasn’t calm, we were only seeing 1-2 foot waves, and we were going with them, so the ride was not bad, and we were able to run at 18 mph all the way to Southport. The worst waves we had were just before we merged into the main part of the river. We saw a larger, 70+ foot boat heading toward us at full speed, putting up quite a wake. I called on the radio, asking for a slow pass in the narrow channel. They didn’t slow down, and as they passed us, we saw that it was a Coast Guard patrol boat. It’s like a police car passing you on the highway at high speed, without its lights on. You wonder if they are going to an emergency or just trying to get to the donut shop before it runs out.

The rest of the Cape Fear River went quickly, and as we made the turn into Southport, we saw a huge car show in downtown. There were classic and custom cars lining several streets, and the piers were full of people watching the boats bouncing along on the river. We checked the news, and they said that there were over 200 cars on display.

From Southport to Holden Beach is another fairly congested area, and being Saturday, there was lots of small-boat traffic, so we just cruised along at 8 mph for the rest of the day. We got to see a bit of an airshow as we passed the Southport Airport. They were skydiving, and we watched the parachutes drift over us as we passed.

Holden Beach is a regular stop for us. Our friends Robert and Diane live nearby, and it’s a great stop to visit with them. We had arranged to go to breakfast with them on Sunday. When Brenda checked in with them, they mentioned that an Arts & Crafts festival was going on at the park next to the town dock where we would be staying.

When we arrived, we tied up the boat and had a quick chat and introduction to the other boat on the dock. Then we went and walked around the show. There were over 120 vendors there. Mostly artists and craftpeople. It was one of the better shows we’d been to in a while. We spent a couple of hours walking around, then returned to the boat to work on the blog before dinner.

At 5:00, we walked up to the main street and selected Castaways with its enclosed porch. (It gets cold when the sun goes down). Brenda had stuffed flounder, and I had a BLT Salad with chicken. Tomorrow, Sunday, is their last day of operation for the season, but they still have a full menu and live music. The musician was excellent, playing an electric-acoustic guitar and a violin. The volume was loud enough for everyone to hear, but not so loud that you couldn’t talk.

After dinner, we went back to the boat and had a quiet night.

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Recap of the week

We traveled 342 miles this week, bringing our total to 3,590 miles so far. We are on a fast track toward home, trying to make up some time after being stuck last week due to the weather. We are making good time, and hope to be home before Thanksgiving.

Next week, we will be in our old hometown of Murrells Inlet, SC, visiting with friends and having a bit of maintenance work done on the boat by our favorite mechanics at A&M Marine.