Elizabeth City
There are several free places to dock. The first one is the Mid-Atlantic Christian University. This is where we docked. It's well protected from southeast winds and a short walk into town. Michael helped us tie up. We were then greeted by Andy-the-Athletic Director who offered us a hot shower. The next day we were greeted by Patrick who offered us a ride to the laundromat, grocery store or wherever we needed a ride. Dan-the-dock master told us we could stay as long as we needed to wait out any bad weather (signs say 48 hour limit but we've discovered those signs are meant for boaters that overstay their welcome). Everyone we met in EC was very friendly and we only had one run-in with a guy insisting we buy him a sandwich. The first night we had dinner/drinks at Grouper's with Mark, a friend we met in Deep Creek. There was a small tiki bar and inside restaurant/bar.
The next day we walked over two miles to the post office to get some exercise. We walked around town and visited the museum/welcome center. The museum was very interesting. We had dinner/drinks at Hoppin' Jonz. The atmosphere and food was excellent here! After that we walked down an alley (pictured below) to Ghost Harbor Brewing Company. Great craft brew selection!
Additional free dockage are Jennett Brothers. Well protected but their gates close at 5 and are closed on weekends. You would need to dinghy into town after hours. Mariner's Wharf (bulkhead) after that, slips, and is in the heart of the town. It's customary to pull in bow forward but if you have a trawler, bring a step ladder since the finger piers are really short! Next is Waterfront Park slips.
Leaving Elizabeth City
Hertford
Once we left the Pasquotank River, we cruised to Hertford Bay Marina. Most sailboats can't make it to Hertford because there is a 33' fixed bridge (I-17). Right after that is the Hertford Swing Bridge that operates from 10am-10pm. They monitor channel 13. It is being replaced by a new bridge. Immediately after the swing bridge is the marina. They are only 'open', meaning if you try calling, Mon-Fri and there is no dock master. There are only a handful of slips BUT the docks are nice and they offer free electricity and water!!! After being without plug-in electricity and water for four nights, we were very grateful. The heat was running and we got caught up on ice making.
We hit the town Saturday and walked 20 minutes to 252 Grill. It was ok with excellent, friendly service. At the end of the marina is the Hertford Bay Tap House. It didn't look open when we walked by. Well... it was open when we returned AND had a food truck outside. The food truck looked like it had better/cheaper food than 252 Grill. We stopped in the Tap House for a beer. They are only open Wed-Sat so we stayed on the boat all day Sun. It was pouring down rain and we took care of some projects, watched football and enjoyed a nice lazy day. There isn't much to Hertford -- almost everything was either closed or out of business. But it's a cute town, we're grateful for their hospitality and glad we came!
Lots of crab pots (floats) on the Albemarle Sound.
Made us feel like we were home on the Chesapeake Bay!
View from the dock.
The main drag. Almost everything was closed.
There were flower pedals on the dock when we returned.
At first we thought the locals were really glad to have us here.
Albemarle Plantation Marina
We arrived here 21 Oct and have been very impressed! The dock master, J.E., has been great and very welcoming. In fact, everyone here has been very welcoming, friendly and curious about us. We've been asked several times, "Are you Loopers?" They offer 48 hour free dockage (possibly more if weather is bad), $8 for 30 amp (fee usually waived), free ice and laundry!, wifi, pumpout, discount coupon for various items, pool, tennis courts, $25 golf cart (for your entire stay whether it be one night or two weeks) and more! It is primarily a golf course within a gated community. Someone even offered us a car to use (no names in case this isn't a common practice).
Sharon did four loads of laundry, took care of 'heads and beds' -- "Clean sheet night!"
And cleaned the boat (inside).
After that it was time to explore the plantation via eScooters.
Covered bridge on our tour of the plantation.
Most marinas have a book exchange.
This one was like a library with someone(s) maintaining it!
This picture shows maybe half of it.
We lucked out and had someone offer us the use of
their car to drive to Food Lion for provisions.
We gladly accepted since it had been almost
two weeks since we bought food and beer!
Dockside Cafe is in the same building as the restrooms and washer/dryer.
Their wood fire pizza is delicious! And the staff as good as it gets.
A lot of residents introduced themselves to us and we enjoyed talking to them.
Edenton
Short run from Albemarle Plantation to Edenton. This is a really nice town and full of history! The docks are nice (and free for 48 hours, electric $6 for 30 amp with 1st night free). We pulled in and received some docking help from the first mate on trawler (Silence Rising, GB42) behind where we docking. Once docked, we introduced ourselves to the couple and they said, "We know you. We've been following your blog!" How cool is that!?! We had tried hailing the marina a couple of times but didn't get a response. That really wasn't a problem since we already had a slip assignment. What seemed odd was that as we were tying up lines, the dock master just stood their looking at us. We later found out that one of the dock masters had been injured helping out a boat and sued the town. As a result, the dock masters are not allowed to help you. There are plenty of good restaurants, stores, shops, etc. We highly recommend taking the trolley tour!!! It is well worth it. Pretty much every home is historic -- like circa 1700/1800! First evening we went to Governor's Pub - good pub food and service. The next day, we had lunch at Edenton Bay Oyster Bar on the Chowan River. It's a hike from town but well worth it! We had a light dinner on the boat and then drinks at Waterman's Grill. The menu and food looked really good!
Our "Welcome aboard" package from the town!
Sunset behind the lighthouse.
Penelope Barker House (Welcome Center)
Ka'Why Knot from the lighthouse.
Plymouth
Plymouth is located on the Roanoke River and it was a beautiful ride getting there! There is a 50' fixed bridge on the river. The docks are really nice and brand new! And have free electric and water! Check-in at the Maritime Museum across the street. This is a little different, but the bathrooms (women's has a shower) and 'laundry room' is in a warehouse. The washer and dryer are free so we took advantage of that and did a load of laundry. As luck would have it, there were Screamin' on the Roanoke drag boat races all day Saturday and we had front row seats. If you were looking for peace and quiet, this wasn't the weekend. There isn't much to do in Plymouth but it's always nice walking around looking at historical homes, buildings and churches. There are a few restaurants, two on the waterfront and one oyster bar & grill. There are three museums. We visited two of them and supported the local youth police Boy Scout league by going through their haunted house. It was put together very nicely!
Old Episcopal church
Do not arrive at Stella's Cafe at 2:01!
This is the 'sister' lighthouse to the one in Edenton.
Front row seats to the drag boat races.
Warehouse where the restrooms and laundry room are located.
They are located in the back left corner.
Columbia
This was our last stop on the 'Loop' after a nice ride up the Scuppernong River. There are nine brand new slips at the town dock and a bulkhead. The slips are not very wide and we were pretty much shoe-horned into ours and stuck out past the pilings. In hind-site, we probably should have taken the bulkhead but it worked for us. Electric is free along with water, pump out and a bath house. Check-in at the municipal building open M-F. There are three restaurants (one closes at 2) and a tavern only open Fri & Sat. None of the restaurants/tavern were open Sun. when we arrived. The main attraction is the Wildlife Refuge which was closed Mon. <sigh> There is also a combined cafe and wine store with wine tasting. We walked all around town, did the wine tasting (shocker, I know), got carry-out from the Mexican restaurant (they don't have cervesas or margaritas) and had a quiet evening on the boat.
All ready for wine tasting!
It's art dammit!
Inside Tienda Mexicana
2 comments:
Great VLOG. We love that area. Went through a few years ago on our Albin 27.
Thank you! We have really enjoyed our time here and will visit again in the future.
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