We’re a day from completing the Intra Coastal Waterway. Yesterday’s run was along the Alligator River Canal, essentially a straight line which screams “boring” when viewed on a chart. We found it just the opposite.

There are creatures great and small to observe.

And a feast of nature’s textures to interest the eye.

And if there is a navigation marker (or two) with Osprey nests, you know we are going to anchor and check out flight ops.

Even the stern wake holds our interest, although cleaning a tannin acid stain is a known byproduct.

The shallow edges of this section are easily discerned in the shape of these waves.

There have been long windless stretches, which are tolerable (just) in the shade of the flying bridge. We are out of season for a change, and traffic has been minimal.

We are anchored tonight just north of Elizabeth City. It is serene, there is weak Internet coverage, and the lighting at sunset has been breathtaking.

The hook is firmly planted in eight feet (2.4m) of water (after doing a bottom survey with the sonar for tree stumps). Hopefully, the anchor will come up in the AM without a fight.

As a final treat to end the day we’ve been presented with wonderful cloud illumination, and a gaggle of buzzards working a nearby thermal.

With more osprey out over the waterway cruising for a tasty meal.

We will be up early tomorrow to check out the surveying handiwork of one George Washington,

in the form of the Dismal Swamp segment of the Intra Coastal Waterway.

Then, having threaded our way from Florida to Virginia we shall exit right, and head back offshore. Its been great fun, but the time has come to make tracks for a cooler climate.