Looping in a State of Bliss

We decided to leave this morning again at 7:30 am. The situation is similar to yesterdays in that we have to get through a bridge and lock which are next to each other and operated by one person. Our two boats were followed by 3 of the boats from the visitors center (Spirit, a sailboat, is from Sutton’s Bay!) again we crept along at 6, then 5, mph. We still arrived 35 minutes too early. There were 2 sailboats there ahead of us in a narrow channel with the wind blowing us around. Reminded us of the rivers. The bridge opened and we slowly made our way to the lock as the operator ha to get all 7 boats through, close the bridge, drive to the lock, open the gates and bring each of us in and wrap our lines around the fixed bollards. Eventually, all 7 of us were secure and the gate closed behind us and we dropped the 8’ back to sea level. All together we spent an hour and forty-five minutes passing through. Leaving the lock we were again delayed by a railroad lift bridge. Not so long this time. We picked up some speed after that as we reached The outskirts of Norfolk. Lots of tugs, tows and other commercial traffic. We wove our way through traffic as we passed air craft carriers and other naval vessels in and out of the water. This was quite a departure from the calm of the Dismal Swamp. We made it into Waterside Marina where we plan to stay for two or three days.