The images presented were taken in the 1990's. Taken as prints, there is degradation when going from print to digital images. Also, where we were traveling sometimes delayed processing for weeks or months and humidity played havoc with the undeveloped film. Still, I wanted to share our experiences through the pictures we took.
November 1992. As we passed up first one then another winter option, it got to where we needed to make a decision. When we arrived in Annapolis, we said, "This is it." We checked out several marinas and settled on Port Annapolis. It had good amenities and was well-protected. Although we could see much of the city from our boat we had a finger of water, Back Creek, separating it from us, so we had to travel several miles to get around Back Creek to actually get into town. We ended up buying a car so that we could get around. It was a Toyota Corolla and ended up doing a great job for us during our threes plus years on the east coast. One of the big challenges of living aboard during winter was getting water. It was quite a process. Our dock mates gave us a tutorial and emphasized the importance of sinking the hose to the bottom of the creek so it wouldn't freeze. Frozen hoses do not deliver water!!! Winter 1992/1993. The winter hose setup meant attaching a hose to the shower block about 50 yards away. Then working it between the docks to our dock. The shower block end was submerged there with a rope attached to the sea wall. The other end of the hose was at our dock, it was also submerged and attached by a rope to the top of the dock. With the whole hose filled with water resting on the bottom of the creek, we didn't have to worry about it freezing. This "laying of the hose" was a fall ritual and community effort that had to be done to ensure liveaboards could get water through the winter. Each time we needed water, we'd pull up the main hose, attach our own hose, hike up to the shower block, attach that end to the shower block and turn the water on. When our tanks were full, we would reverse the process. Worked like a champ, but it did take some planning and we never let our tanks get too low in case weather might interfere with this important task.
September 1992. One of the highlights traveling north was the journey through the Dismal Swamp. History records this waterway as an avenue for freedom seekers over a hundred-and-fifty-years ago. The going wasn't easy either. It's a rugged and treacherous route where insects, snakes, and wild animals were abundant. It was to this inhospitable place many runaways came.
Now days the waterway is still home to an abundance of wildlife, but the going is much easier. As the oldest, continually operating canal in the United States, the canal provided us a unique 22 mile water trail from South Mills, North Carolina to City of Chesapeake, Virginia. Photo ops everywhere and we seemed to have it all to ourselves. |
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