Pelican Marina in Elizabeth City NC, Outer Banks NC, Norfolk & Portsmouth VA

After a great passage across Albemarle Sound we arrived at Elizabeth City, NC.
The Pelican Marina can be best described as the worst dump we have ever seen with some of the most unfriendly and rude people we have met so far on the trip. And let me add that the write-up description of the marina says "The Harbor of Hospitality in Elizabeth City". Hah! It is an old marina with very dated docks and the staff acted like we were putting them out of their way to help us dock into the slips.

Besides Rob & Barb, the only thing that brought a smile to our face at this Marina were the two neighboring cats on the sailboat next to us. The Siamese was so very friendly and loving and we often would find him wandering around on our decks. :-)  

Neighboring Siamese on His Sailboat

Why do Cats Sleep 18 Hours a Day???

Hey, Did I Not Tell You to Leave Me Alone?

Anyway, since we were going to be socked in at Pelican for a few days due to heavy rain, we decided to make the best of times. So Ron, Rob, Barb & I rented a car and drove to the Outer Banks areas to see Kitty Hawk and Nag's Head. 

On the drive over to the coast as we drove into Dare County, Barb shared a bit of history that we did not recall. The origins of one of America's oldest unsolved mysteries traced back to August 1857 with a group of 115 English settlers in Roanoke, NC. John White, Governor of the new colony, had to sail back for supplies. Just as he arrived back in England a major naval war broke out between England & Spain. Queen Elizabeth I called for every available ship to assist in confronting the Spanish Armada. It wasn't until August of 1590 that White finally returned to Roanoke. No trace was found of the colony or its inhabitants, including his wife, daughter and granddaughter (Virginia Dare - the first English child born in the Americas). Hence Dare County was named after her. There were no clues to what might have happened to all of them other than one word carved in a tree, "Croatoan".  Croatoan was the name of an island south of Roanoke, NC that was home to a Native American Tribe of the same name. Centuries of investigations into the "Lost Colony" brought no satisfactory answers... perhaps they were abducted by Native Americans or killed. By the way, Barb is a wonderful history buff!!!

We visited the sight of the Wright Brothers first flight at Kill Devil Hills about four miles south of Kitty Hawk. In 1903 the closest town was Kitty Hawk, the reason why the first flight is associated with that name.  We drove to Monteo on Roanoke Island for lunch and briefly visited Nags Head Beach to view the dunes and see the Atlantic waves.  

At the Top of Wright Brother's Memorial

Wright Brother's Museum 

Since the weather window was not good for traveling it gave us another day to rent a car and drive over to Norfolk VA to check out how we will be traversing into the big city waterway and how the Waterside Marina looked. After lunch we drove over to the other side of the channel to Portsmouth VA. We stopped at Tidewater Yacht Marina and decided that would be the preferable side to stay on. We made reservations and headed back to NC. 

Rob & Barb

Kathrin in Front of Mermaid (Norfolk's Mascot)

Rob Hamming It Up!

During "docktails" our last night at Pelican Marina, the four of us discussed plans for our morning departure. There are two ways to boat up to to Virginia, the Dismal Swamp Canal or up through the Virginia Cut the primary ICW route. We decided on the DSC for various reasons. I mean for starters the name itself sounds more intriguing! :-)  It is also a National Wildlife Refuge, a marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern VA & north eastern NC.