Saturday, September 14, 2013

Well, I haven't taken any more pictures since the last post, except for one that I will share later. We arrived at the Mariner's Wharf in Elizabeth City, NC on Thursday afternoon. The wharf is a complimentary dock that can be used by transient boaters for 48 hours. The visitor's center next door answered all our questions about the city and even provided loaner bicycles so we could get around, keeping us from having to unload ours from the boat.

Elizabeth City claims to be the oldest city on the east coast, settled even sooner than Plymouth Rock or  Jamestown. It has a lot of history and some great varieties of architecture. The Wright brothers used this as a base of operations when getting the first plane off the ground at Kitty Hawk. A small sailboat, called a Moth Boat, was designed and first built here.

Today, we'll visit the farmer's market, dump our waste tank, take on some water and diesel and then head up river toward the Great Dismal Swamp Canal, the oldest, still operating canal in the country. It was envisioned by George Washington and begun by a consortium that he put together. We'll anchor just short of the first of two locks since we will be getting a late start, then tomorrow we'll try to complete the canal and end up in Portsmouth, VA near the Navy base. From there, by Monday, we should be in the Chesapeake Bay. We'll stay there a few days then begin our run back to Wilmington so Nancy can fly back to AR.

The weather is supposed to begin cooling off here in NC and should be in only the 70's for the next few days.

I've reported a few times on the blog about my weight loss on this trip and I have finally reached a point when I had to buy some new shorts because I couldn't keep my old ones u even with my belt cinched tight. I have hit the 162# mark, down from about 180# when we left AR.


Here's a picture of one pair of new shorts. I just want everyone to notice the waist size. I haven't been a 34 waist in about 10 years. I'm feeling pretty good about this!!!!!

I hope, in the next few days to be able to post some pictures of our trip through the Dismal Swamp. So, stay tuned ------

6 comments:

Florida mom said...

size 34' fantastic! Noe you do not need to lose anymore or you will look like an old man! I sure enjoyed all the pics you have sent and I enjoy all the words you writeI try not to bore you with gossip from here so will probably make my comments short.

Florida mom said...

size 34' fantastic! Noe you do not need to lose anymore or you will look like an old man! I sure enjoyed all the pics you have sent and I enjoy all the words you writeI try not to bore you with gossip from here so will probably make my comments short.

Unknown said...

Hey, Skinny Dude. Dang, don't loose any more weight - you're making the rest of us look bad. Besides, the lighter you are the more likely the strong winds will blow you overboard. I hear sharks like skinny little white butts!

R White said...

Hey, Tom... They are 34's, but an elastic waist?? Looks like you plan to put back on a few! Just kidding, of course. 34's are WAY in my rear view mirror.

tnroamer said...

Randy - It was always hard you slip anything by you accounts!!! I bet you still wear the same size you did in high school.

R White said...

Actually, I do wear the same size pants as I did in HS, but the waist and inseam measurements seem to have swapped places somewhere along the way! It certainly looks like the life of the sailor is agreeing w/ you. Continuing to enjoy the pics & posts.