Roses from the Rose Buddies legacy in Elizabeth City, NC

Today was a glorious day.  We headed off at 8:30 so we could make it for the 11:00 opening of the South Mills Lock at the end of the Dismal Swamp. We weren't sure how many boats would be planning to join us in the lock because the NC Welcome Center is just 5 miles from the lock and they have room for several boats.  When we passed the Center there were only 3 boats left, so we were confident we wouldn't have trouble going through at 11.

The mist was rising from the canal as we all paraded down to the lock.

At the southern end of the canal, you have to go through the bridge before the lock, So while the bridge/lock tender was still waiting for all 7 boats to get past the bridge we were already in and tied up.  This time we'd be going down 8 feet...a much quicker process than on the way up at the North end.

The perspective may not show it that well, but Pekabu III is eight feet above the water on the other side of the Lock gate.

I was a bit bummed that I had only seen one turtle in two days as we locked down out of the canal, so I was glad to see a slew of them as we wandered down the Pasquotank River.  We saw all sizes, but they pretty much all look the same.

I just had to throw out some roses from
 Aunt Kay's garden, so I was glad to get
roses  from the hospitality group
here in Elizabeth City, NC!

We chose to drop the hook in a nice bay just before the Elizabeth City bridge.  We figured that the free slips offered by the town of Elizabeth city would be taken by the time we got there.  It was a short dinghy ride into town and we happened to get there right when the Hospitality volunteers were setting up to serve all boaters wine, beer, cheese n crackers and potato chips.  Over 40 people were happily enjoying the refreshments and the chance to chat with others heading south,  We met people we will probably continue to see as we head south.  The night promises to be quiet so we decided to raft for the night.  Glen and Maureen were having trouble with  their VHF radio and also their little two way radios that we affectionately call the CCYC radios.  The are very handy for quick easy communication between the four boats without broadcasting our chatter to all other people on the water! We got them straightened out on both. ~~~_/)~~~M&D