Elizabeth City

When I lived in California avidly devouring sailing magazines wishing I could sail the east coast with all its inlets and islands and that magnificent waterway, I read about Elizabeth City, a place where passing sailors were treated to free docks and a warm welcome. You never got that in California! 

Up close the city docks are still there and not terribly interesting. I’ve since motored down the waterway on a friend’s boat and found it to be quite boring, freeway travel at walking speed. That’s how your dreams crumble!  But I liked arriving by van and wandering the town and that put all my youthful fantasies to rest, finally. GANNET2 put the nail into that coffin. 

We left the Outer Banks on a frosty morning with a plan to drive toward Asheville more or less. On the way I wanted to see Elizabeth City in person and Layne was amenable and Rusty had no vote, so off we went, an hour through farmland and woods. 

I wanted obviously to walk the waterfront but first we had a destination…

It’s not the winter palace though it looks like it. It’s a free museum displaying the history of people’s lives around Albemarle Sound. Museum of the Albemarle  leads you through the changes. 

The pre-European region was viewed with high approval by the Indians who discovered forests, fertile plains and convenient river highways. 

Europeans showed up and changed the map as usual. Things didn’t go well for the people they encountered. There again pirates liked this area too and they liked the wood to repair their ships and water to drink. 

But for the most part it was boring old farming and building and procreating and banking and cooking.  The usual. 

There was fishing too of course and boat building. 

It was an impressive display of artifacts and history but it was not terribly involving. We wandered and read the information boards. 

We noted the era of slavery and reconstruction, the arrival of railroads the creators and embodiment of progress and change. 

The complexity of change was not addressed.  Productivity at what price? What benefit? It seemed a bit simplistic but perhaps I was just overthinking.  

The shad boat was a local innovation. 28 feet long and invented by a local boatwright. 

Behind the museum there is an 18th century cemetery which I felt constrained from walking through by the presence of my dog. 

Rusty spent the time aboard GANNET2 and enjoyed the sun when I was back to let him out. I enjoyed the moment too, less spectacularly, reading A Most Remarkable Creature by Jonathan Meib. It’s a discussion of the peculiar characteristics of the caracara a super intelligent bird of prey found mostly in South America. I’m not an ornithologist but the natural history of South America is fascinating. 

Downtown Elizabeth City has great bones. 

Not fans of Rusty of his handler: 

Here’s the draw, public hot showers for five bucks right next to the city docks. You get two days for free on your boat but anyone can buy a shower. Even a van lifer. 

Nice views too. We sat and looked for a while. Snowbird season must be over. We saw no boats traveling.