The Dismal Swamp sounds like a pretty pathetic place. Actually we hope it to be one of the highlights of our trip. George Washington was part owner of the Swamp at one time and thought it might be profitable to build a canal through the swamp. He soon gave up that idea but others carried out the project. The Swamp is all fresh water and the water level is maintained with a lock at each end. The lock only opens at certain times so we (Silver Foxes and Our Time) time our departure for the 11am lock opening. The sign above is at the lock. The picture of the Canal is very typical of the passage. Narrow waterway, vivid green overhanging trees, and the sounds of lots of unseen birds making known their presence. Idle speed is very appropriate here as it is shallow and sometimes logs pop up in the middle of the canal as well as any faster creates a wake that washes away the canal banks. We arrive at the Canal visitors center which has a dock to stay overnight. There is a nice bike trail here as well as a new building that tells all about the Canal.
By the end of the day there is a total of nine boats here, rafted off of each other. We are on the inside and two other sailboats are rafted off of us. The first boat to pull up is Saniti-a young couple that took off from Maine last summer with their kids ages 5, 10 and 12. The next day severe storms are predicted. Everyone stays put. That night we hold a cocktail party at the picnic table on the banks. The only boats that knew each other were us and Our Time. It wasn't long until Mike (a Limey from Liverpool) from the sailboat rafted off of Our Time, broke out his guitar and then Andy from Saniti uncased his saxaphone. It was a real song fest. Rachel & Jacob the young lads from Saniti soon were serenading us with their songs. It turned out to be one of those impromptu evenings that lasted well beyond dark and everyone had a memorable time. We snacked so much during the day and afternoon, dinner was not needed this evening
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