Tonight's back yard

 

Today we traveled a total of 75 miles from Chesapeake, VA to Columbia, NC.  We began the day by locking through the Great Bridge Lock.  The lockmaster held us in the lock until the Steel Bridge opened which is about 5 minutes away from the lock -- this way we didn't have to tie up twice waiting for the scheduled bridge opening.  Next, a tug captain heading north called the Centerville Turnpike bridgetender and asked him to wait for us so we could go through ahead of him and his tow.  Very thoughtful.  Had he not called, we may have missed the scheduled bridge opening.  We have continually been blessed with courteous captains on the waterways and bridgetenders and lockmasters.

We traveled through the Albemarle-Chesapeake Canal, Albemarle Sound, the Little Alligator River and the Alligator River.  The Albemarle Sound can  be quite uncomfortable in the wrong conditions. Today was perfect, the wind was on our stern and the crossing rather smooth, we are happy to say.

We anchored in the Little Alligator River and had dinner and were sitting on the fly bridge afterward when the wind started to pick up and so did the waves. The Captain decided we need to move to a more protected spot for the night.  We weighed anchor and went across the Alligator River and through the Alligator River Bridge to a much better anchorage.  There's a gentle rock to the boat, like being in a cradle and a light breeze, just perfect sleeping weather.

Here are a few photos:

Entering the lock at Great Bridge, VA

These geese hissed at us when we didn't offer them food

Steel Bridge

Centerville Turnpike Bridge

Albemarle-Chesapeake Canal

Along our route

Watch out for canalligators!

Pungo Ferry Bridge

Passing through Coinjock, NC

The Royal Engineer was churning up a lot of mud with his heavy barge

The Captain takes a break on the Albemarle Sound which was smooth today

An old classic boat

After dinner, we weighed anchor and decided to move to a more protected location -- we went across the Alligator River and through the Alligator River Bridge to a better anchorage.

Passing through the Alligator River Bridge

The blue line off to the left is our new anchorage for the night

Interesting sunset

The sky turned gold and gray

Then blue and pink -- very unusual sequence of color