June 6 thru 8, 2022 Oriental, NC
Our marina in Oriental was both a marina and a hotel. Not much in this little town, BUT they had a
great store called “Provisions”. We
spent some time in here, browsing and buying.
They had a little bit of everything – I fell in love with some costume jewelry
and bought several pieces. We bought a
few things for the boat. They even had a
‘consignment’ area for boat stuff. Most
of the things looked like sailboat items.
They also had a book shelf, leave one, take one! I can usually find a book in those places,
even though I already have too many books!
Actually, there’s no such thing as ‘too many books’!
We were happy to see our friends Donna and Tony from
Tranquility Eh! Again. Our paths are
converging for the next few days.
Yay! Donna and I rode through the
neighborhood on the water – wow, some really beautiful old homes.
June 8 thru 9, 2022 Belhaven, NC
Belhaven became one of my absolute favorite stops on the Loop! The marina works hard to please their guests – there are big jars situated in several places, with pens and paper to receive suggestions. The dockmaster/manager couldn’t have been more helpful. They have beer and wine at the office for $3 (a result of several suggestions); they have games throughout the grounds (corn hole, bowling, several more); books; rocking chairs; a really nice pergoda with comfortable seating; FREE laundry!
June 9, 2022
Alligator River Anchorage
Well, we have had better anchorages! We put our anchor down at the mouth of the wide Alligator River where it opens to the Albemarle Sound. While the anchor did hold all night, we were rocking and rolling all night too – quite an adventure to get out of bed and go to the bathroom! I was glad when daylight came and we could continue on our journey!
Albemarle Sound Loop
There are a few small towns around this body of water who have
agreed to allow boaters to use their town docks (many with electricity and
water!) for 48 hours at no charge. The
goal, of course, is to get us boaters to visit their town and spend some
money.
June 9 – 10 Our first
stop was Columbia, NC. We were here in
2018 when we first bought the boat.
Therefore, we technically have ‘crossed our wake’!! Kind of a big deal! So, we dug out the gold looper flag we’ve
been saving for this occasion. I am
surprised at how that felt. Suddenly, we
knew that we had faced every test and trial that comes along the 6,000 or so
miles of the Loop – we know stuff! It
makes a difference – whenever we saw that someone had a gold flag, we knew that
we could ask them anything and they could help!
Now that’s us!
Sadly, Columbia has not fared well in recent years. There wasn’t much in town 4 years ago – now,
there are less places to eat, not really any shops either. There was a Mexican restaurant where we had a
decent lunch. There were two council
members who stopped by to welcome us, and they said that the pandemic really
hit the town hard. Some restaurants closed
their doors for good. There is an
interesting monument in town next to the County Hall. It is a tribute to the Confederate soldiers
who gave their lives for the cause.
There is one part of the monument was in remembrance to our devoted
slaves…..yikes.
June 10 – 11 Albemarle
Plantation
Now that place is really nice!
I don’t know how many acres were developed, but they have condos and
single homes in a beautiful setting.
There is a championship golf course and clay tennis courts, and two
restaurants. The restaurants were closed
for the one night we were there. They
also had free laundry!
June 11 – 12 Elizabeth
City
Four years ago, we used the city docks, but they were so rough
we didn’t want that experience again!
Our friend Sam, on his boat Tidbit, had contacted us to let us know he
was on the free dock at the Christian University in town. We had another nice dinner with Sam that
night. Elizabeth City has a bad
reputation for crime, but we didn’t see that while there. There were several restaurants to choose
from, plus there is an interesting-looking museum of the Albemarle Sound. Unfortunately, we weren’t there while it was
open.
June 12 – 13, the Dismal Swamp Canal! We had been looking forward to this
experience, a repeat of our visit four years ago. The canal was surveyed by George Washington! It used to be used by commercial traffic, but
in recent years a different canal, The Virginia Cut, has taken all that
traffic. We love that, since traversing
the Dismal is a very lovely and peaceful experience! There is one lock at the beginning and
another towards the end. They have to
use a lock system and only open it a few times a day – without the locks, the
canal water would all flow into the Albemarle Sound and dry up! We actually took two days to do the canal,
spending one night at the Visitor’s Center.
I was planning to fix dinner for us and our friend, Sam. However, another boat pulled up and I
expanded our dinner plans! We had a
delightful evening with Sam and the two men from the other boat. I love this boating life!
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