The Next Thrilling Instalment

I had the vague notion of starting this blog entry off with the phrase ‘gentle readers’ just because I could and it always gives me a chuckle. Either way it’s been over a week, gentle readers, that the events of the previous blog had transpired. So I will do my best to catch you up but the days and places are starting to blur together. We had a great conversation last week about whether it was Wednesday or Thursday and what exactly had happened. Grandma assures me that this is perfectly natural for ‘cruisers’ but most cruisers are old so I’m not sure if it comes with the lifestyle or the aging, but that, currently, is irrelevant.

We got to the visitors center on time (two Fridays ago now) and the place was very nice. It had manicured lawns and aggressively air conditioned buildings which were welcome because it was hot and muggy outside. The center itself was full of pamphlets and two old ladies, but the highlight was a taxidermy otter perched in a state of perpetual alertness near the front door. He was wearing a collar that said his named was ‘Otter Banks’. Next to that was an informational page describing otters, their playfulness, diet and habitat WITH ALL THE‘IMPORTANT’ INFORMATION TYPED LIKE THIS. It was really quite funny.

Otter Banks

The ladies in the center told me that there were three walking paths to choose from if I needed to stretch my legs, a quarter mile loop, a 4 mile stretch and a bunch of old logging roads across the river but if I went there I would need to return by six because that’s when the bridge went up and they didn’t want me to be stranded. So I went back to the boat and got Grandpa to agree to go on a walk with me, he chose the quarter mile one, which had a lovely view of the river but was really a joke in length. At the end of it though was a little steam locomotive housed in a pavilion without sides and inhabited by bees. It was a cute little thing though and made the walk worth it.

Little Steam Locomotive

After that Grandma said she’d go for a walk with me, we thought of heading to the logging roads and bringing a walkie talkie to call grandpa and the dingy to pick us up when we were done because it was almost six already but we changed our mind. So we started walking to the 4 mile trail and passed a bill board for the logging paths. They had a swamp walk and I really wanted to do that so I ran back to Grandpa to get the walkie talkie. By the time I had returned though, Grandma had talked to one of the park rangers and he had told us that we couldn’t go, dingy pick up or no.  So we did end up going on the 4 mile paved trail. v

It was really quite nice for the first little bit, it was secluded and had all sorts of butterflies and beetles and such. After a while though it came out and ran right next to the highway which was a less nice. Just before the path met the road I heard a rustle in the leaves and Grandma and I took a closer look. The noise had been made by two little lizards who were in a fight, one had the other’s tail clamped firmly in its jaws and they were tussling about. Unfortunately when I tried to move the leaves with a stick they ran off.

We kept walking and found a bunch of dead bees, one of which was not quite dead and tried to climb on my shoe and up my leg which was a bit unnerving because I couldn’t tell if it had its sting out or not and it was a fairly large bee. While I was taking pictures of said bee, grandma saw a rabbit and I took pictures of that too. He was rather fearless (we were ten feet away so I guess he figured rightly that he could get away faster than we could get to him) and sat and scratched himself and did that little bunny thing were they rub their nose and pull their paws over their ears like they’re cleaning their face. Eventually though he decided he had better things to do and went off. After that Grandma and I decided to turn back as it was starting to get dark and the path showed no signs of veering back into the forest any time soon (I should mention that those pictures were super fuzzy which is why they are not featured here).

On the way back in the forested bit Grandma spotted a snake on the path and I went and picked it up and held it. It was a little green thing and after its initial fright it was perfectly content just to chill in my hands. I told Grandma that I would hold it and she could pet it but she wasn’t having any of it so after a few pictures we let it go and it went right back to sunning itself in the last bits of light on the path.

Me and the Snake

After the snake we saw a deer in the bushes to the side and a silvery black fox came out onto the path and gave us a look before disappearing back into the forest. It was really quite neat. We got back to the boat as the mosquitos were coming out and settled in for the night.

The next day we made it to Elizabeth city after getting stuck in a big thick mat of weeds that had to be cut off the boat with a kitchen knife and got showers at a fitness center. Then Grandma and Grandpa showed me this shop which has a definite twenties feel. They were having a sale and I was going to buy a ridiculous hat for kicks and giggles but they were all too big and falling apart so I didn’t. We went back to the boat and chilled after that because it was raining pretty hard. Later that evening after the rain had stopped I went out for an explore.

Mat of weeds

I found this old abandoned house thing over the water and got onto and was going to explore it with utmost caution but the door way was a veritable nest of all sorts of spiders so I didn’t. Instead I kept walking around town and eventually found a comic book store where I spent the rest of the evening chatting with people and even playing a game. It was a space game called ‘Strange Encounters’ and was basically all about expanding your influence across the universe via pacts, betrayals, outright war and using your wiles. I was one turn away from winning but then I had to leave so I could be back on the boat in time for Grandma and Grandpa to go to bed.

The next day we stayed in Elizabeth City because the winds were wrong for getting out of where we were docked and we might have ended up damaging the boat. Since it was Sunday the comic shop was not open and I went for a proper long walk around the city. A few people asked me where I was going and if I wanted a ride and there was a large incidence of car horns being honked in my vicinity but it was a nice walk and I found some train tracks. After about two hours though I had had quite enough walking and went back to the boat and spent the rest of the evening doing things that required minimum movement except for when Grandma and I went to a church to listen to a choir who was singing music to celebrate the 60^th year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. They were a good choir and the music was quite nice.

We set off the next morning went down the Pasquotank river, which I honestly don’t recall much about except it looked a lot like the other rivers, a very wide stretch of water with trees and other brush on either side. After the river we crossed the Abermarle sound which was brown and choppy and pitched the boat about.  On the other side of the sound was Alligator River where we stopped at a marina for water, lunch and gas.  The little building there that served as restaurant, gas station and convenience store had some interesting things in it, like alligator foot back scratchers, one of which I bought. It’s got a claw pointing forward and looks like a thing of evil but I’m fond of it. That evening we anchored up the Alligator River and had our first run in with these really big flies that buzz about and try and bite you. They’ve been plaguing our journey on and off, usually during the day when we’re motoring (we’ve done a bit of sailing but really not all that much the motor is on most of the time).

The next day we went up a nice little canal (that was a bit wider but otherwise an awful lot like the dismal swamp canal) up Pungo River but then we had to turn back at Pamlico river because the river was very, very choppy. So we went and anchored in Slade creek for the night.

The next day we crossed the river and anchored in Long creek because the winds were wrong. I think I spent most of the day reading, writing and playing videogames and there really wasn’t much to be said about it. By this point most places start to blur into each other, each being described as a stretch of water with some trees on the side.

Thursday we were boarded by the coast guard for a routine inspection. I was asleep for that and Grandma says I missed some hot men, which is a shame.  We crossed the Nuese (news) River after that, motored right passed the city of Moorhead and went and anchored in a place called ‘Spooner’s Creek’ where all the docks are private and there is rich fancy houses.  Grandma pointed out that the further south you go the bigger the houses get.

The Cruiser’s Guide said that there was a dingy dock and we decided to go ashore to get rid of some garbage and stock up on some food. We took the dingy to the dock and I got off and read the sign which informed us that contrary to popular belief the dock was not for public use and that you shouldn’t tie your dingy there or block the boat ramp. We decided that we’d pull the dingy up on the side where there was grass and such as to not be blocking the boat ramp and Grandpa would sit in the boat while Grandma and I took the garbage.

While walking the dingy from the dock across the boat ramp to the grassy bank, Grandpa fell into the water, hit the dingy, which started to float away and dropped the painter (the bright yellow rope you use to tie the dingy onto things). Grandma yelled at me to get the painter before the boat floated away so I went in after it but I slipped too and landed in the water as well. This would have all been fine if Grandpa hadn’t had his Kindle in the dingy when he upset it and I hadn’t had my camera around my wrist. So after a small amount of moping and trying to ring out clothing without taking it off, Grandpa stayed with the dingy and I went with Grandma but without my camera.

The trip to the strip mall was pretty uneventful, if a bit wet ( I squelched when I walked). We missed Walmart at first, walked in a really big circle and found it. Once there we stocked up and I bought myself Orange Rooibos tea with cinnamon and a package of sour patch kids and consolation food. We went back to the boat where Grandpa told us that he had sprained his wrist on top of everything us, but if we soaked the electronics in fresh water (Spooner’s creak is salty been very close to the Atlantic) and let them dry they might work so all was not lost. So we motored back to the boat and had a quiet evening.

After Thursday came Friday which I don’t remember at all to be completely and totally honest but Grandma’s notes say we anchored at Sloop Point.  I think the only really notable thing that happened was we were anchored by more large beach houses, passed by a replica ferry and a motor boat with drunk girls. It was pretty quiet evening.

Saturday I do remember, we went down the Fear River which has some of the moat garishly coloured houses on it. I don’t know if it was this day that we saw the really big pink house that has big pictures of marine life (dolphins and starfish) painted on its sides but I think it might have been. Some of the other houses look like they had been built in the sims and were all sorts of colours from yellow to green and cherry red. We anchored in Shallot Bay that evening, which I don’t think was too close houses but I could be wrong.

Sunday we passed the South Carolina border and Myrtle beach, it was raining and over cast so I stayed inside most of the day. There were a few brightly coloured umbrellas when it cleared up, and we went down a river that was practically touching the Atlantic ocean, separated only by a spit of sand. We anchored in George town which is little and quaint. It was too late to really explore but we walked for a bit and saw nothing out of the ordinary, although we were anchored by some factories and all the houses had square roofs.

Funnily enough, I can’t quite pinpoint which day we went through this swampy area that had trees pressed in on all sides, hung with Spanish moss and would be the sort of place where you expect to find swamp monsters lurking about. It was quite nice otherwise and later on once things widened up we saw a bald eagle chilling on a tree and a pod of dolphins. I’m fairly certain that all that was yesterday but I honestly don’t know, it could have happened before George town (well the dolphins didn’t the pod happened yesterday. We were also passed by the coast guard. They waved).  We anchored in a nature reserve and talked about how we might not actually make the Bahamas and would go the Florida Keys instead which I have been assured are really very, very nice. We decided to play it by ear so really we’re not certain where we’re going to end up.

Today is going to be another short day, we had an early start (well some people did. I didn’t) and are heading to Charleston which is a place awash in history. I’m going to take Grandma and Grandpa’s camera with me when I go exploring and after I take a shower. We’re in Charleston harbour as I type and can see Fort Sumter which is where the first shot of the civil war was fired.

Besides the daily things, there are some things I just can’t place, like the day we saw pelicans and I sat out on the bow to watch them and decided they were really quite dorky birds or the day that Grandpa told me he thought he saw and alligator. I also can’t decide what day I noticed that the vegetation was getting markedly different from the stuff seen at the dismal swamp with tall trees with little branches to the top and bushes that clustered beneath them and things with fronds that trailed in the water or when the water turned a neat shade of blue-green ish or when we saw the first dolphin of the trip.  There have also been lots of terns and shrimp boats with big mechanical arms but those are everywhere. We just saw a blue shrimp boat go past with a bunch of gulls following it in fact (there are also lots of gulls but as far as I can tell there are gulls everywhere).

Now, as long winded as I have been I think I’ve covered almost everything and so shall sign off here. In the next thrilling instalment I can promise you some notes about Charleston and probably more bird sightings and who knows what else. Stay tuned!