Ah, yes. Wanda and I walking hand-in-hand through the Great Dismal Swamp.

Sunday, October 23, 2022:

Yesterday, Sunday, was a complete washout. It rained continuously, puddling up mud around the campsite. We mainly putzed around the camper catching up on journaling. It was warm, dry, and snug inside. We did venture out once. We were on a mission to replace our Irish Whiskey. Wanda had found a box of Celestial Seasons Carmel Apple tea (It is hard to find - we think it is a seasonal flavor). Anyway, after steeping the tea, we added a couple of tablespoons of equal portions of French Vanilla creamer and Irish Cream Whiskey. With a dash of cinnamon it made a scrumptious tea that we would sip all day long.

There is a back-story here. When we were in India, we toured a tea factory. At the end of the tour, we were given a sample of tea with sweetened milk in it. I guess that is the British way, and India was once part of the British Empire. I was skeptical, but surprisingly, it was terrific. So, adding the creamer and Irish Whiskey might have been an experiment, it wasn’t really all that much of a stretch.

But here’s the thing, Virginia doesn’t seem to sell hard liquor, at least not in grocery stores, gas stations, or convenience stores. Whenever we go into a grocery store, I admit that I gravitate towards the booze department. I like to scope out prices. It is more fun to do this in Spain, with their ridiculously low booze prices. Anyway, I have come to notice that in Virginia, they only stock beer, wine, and maybe some pre-mixed margaritas.

Krogers, back home in Wisconsin, sells Ryan’s Irish Cream Whiskey. It is very good and very reasonably priced compared to Baileys. We found a Krogers in Hampton. Maybe, just maybe?!?!?! Nope, no liquor. Across the street was Aldi. We did find a bottle of Irish Country Cream and bought it. It is close to cream whiskey, but not quite.

With some research, we discovered that Virginia is one of 17 states that require hard liquor to be only sold in special state liquor stores. In Virginia, they are called ABC Stores. That’s just plain weird. From what I understand, it is the same in North Carolina.

Monday, October 24, 2022

Today, we moved to Northwest River State Park, located close to the North Carolina border, south of the Norfolk-Virginia Beach metro area. It is a very isolated rural area on the fringes of the tidewater. The campground is a bit cramped but nicely laid out in a couple of loops. The bathrooms are heated, modern, and equipped with nice showers. It’ll do nicely.

North West River State Campground.

Once set up, we headed for the Great Dismal Swamp. This giant 1.3 million acre lowland has an interesting past. At one time, George Washington controlled 40,000 acres of the swamp, hoping to develop it. Washington and others encouraged the plan to drain the swamp with a network of drainage ditches, and to dig a canal through it to connect the Virginia Chesapeake Bay tidewater region with North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound region (the water formed by North Carolina’s Outer Banks).

A canal, the Great Dismal Swamp Canal, was hand-dug along the eastern fringe with slave labor. Completed in 1805, it serves as the nation’s oldest continually operating man-made transportation canal. Currently, it is part of the Intercoastal Waterway.

In the 1800s, before and during the Civil War, the vast swamp was utilized by run away slaves to hide in, and/or rest before continuing north to freedom. In 2003, the National Park Service recognized the Great Dismal Swamp as a site of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

The swamp straddles both Virginia and North Carolina. Most of it is a National Wildlife Refuge. We visited the Great Dismal Swamp North Carolina State Park, a small corner of the swamp on the canal. There is a small museum, a cool boardwalk through the wetlands, a kayak launch for the canal, and a trailhead for some longer trails. We chose the boardwalk. We wanted to hike more trails, but it was getting late and we wanted to drive down to Elizabeth City, our first QT in North Carolina.

The Great Dismal Swamp Visitor Center operated by the North Carolina Park Service.

Above and below: The Great Dismal Swamp Canal, originally dug with slave labor in 1805. It is still in use as part of the Intercoastal Waterway. This waterway is a 3,000 mile boating canal that runs from the Annisquam River in Massachusetts to Brownsville, Texas. It runs along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf Coast and provides a protective route without the hazards of sailing in the open ocean. It is used by both pleasure craft and commercial boats. I boated along a section in southern Louisiana. It is an amazing waterway. This section is quite narrow. Most of the waterway is far larger.

Lots of info plaques regarding the Dismal Swamp.

Elizabeth City was just OK. The vast majority of the city is the typical box stores, strip malls, and franchise food outlets. Where are the mom’n’pop shops and the family cafes? We’ve seen pockets of these precious throwbacks to quaintness, but America is overrun by this other invasive species. Downtown Elizabeth City did feature two craft breweries that looked like fun.

Between the Great Dismal Swamp and Elizabeth City, we made our first forays into North Carolina. In two days, we move to the Outer Banks for a week. We are psyched about that.

Halloween is approaching.

Craft beer brewing tanks.

A mural featuring all the important sites in Elizabeth City.

The harbor at Elizabeth City provides access to a vast water system that eventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean.

When the Wright Brothers heard about the steady winds at Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks, getting there was a major problem. There were no roads. On a reconnaisance trip in 1900, Wilbur Wright stayed in Elizabeth City while trying to arrange transport to Kitty Hawk.

When we returned to camp, we luxuriated in a long hot shower. Don’t get me wrong, the shower in V-Jer is terrific, but to save water and limit our grey water, we take short “submarine” showers in V-Jer. At some campgrounds the showers are gross, so when we come across a good modern clean heated shower, we take advantage.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

Get Vaccinated To Save Lives.

Virtual Business Card

North America . Europe . Mexico . Asia . Product Reviews . Books & Maps

Please send us your thoughts and any errors we may have missed. We're on the road and cellular service is intermittent in the remote areas. As soon as we get online, we are eager to read all of your messages.

Message us: 715-252-6664 | 715-252-3326

Email: alloverthemaptravelventures@gmail.com