We finished the Dismal Swamp route on Monday April 23 docking in Portsmouth, VA for the night. As we went through the final lock in the Dismal Swamp, Joe presented the lock tender, Robert, with a conch shell from the Bahamas and a bottle of Hole in the Wall Rum. Robert tuned Joe's conch horn (does that sound funny to anyone else?) on the way south and we wanted to pay him back for the kind service. Robert clearly loves his job and always has good musical advice and a smile on his face. When we went through the lock, it was raining so I couldn't get pictures but suffice it to say that the gift of Rum made his day. Portsmouth has always been a favorite stop because of the Bier Garden Restaurant and we all enjoyed the extensive beer menu. We also took the ferry to Norfolk and revisited the Nauticus Museum and the toured the USS Wisconsin. They are constantly opening up new parts of the ship so we did actually get to see a bit more than last time. Robert also recommended the Commodore Theater to Big Run. The Commodore shows first run movies in a theater that has been restored to Art Deco divine. They replaced all the movie seats with dinner tables and comfy chairs on wheels. You order and eat right before the movie. Only dessert and drink refills are provided during the movie. It was a great experience and something we wish more theaters would try. Very civilized.
We stayed in Portsmouth an extra day because of high winds and then did an overnight motor trip home to Rock Hall, arriving early Thursday morning. Lots of ship and barge traffic on the Chesapeake this time but we made it safely through it all. Can't tell you how happy we are to be home! We have some weekend committments in PA and then we will be working on the boat to get it ready for sale (see Sail or Sale? below). We had a great trip but as Dorothy says, "There's no place like home!"
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