Annapolis was my first taste of colonial America. Many events took place here including George Washington's resignation from the Continental army and the signing of the Treaty of Paris that brought the civil war to an end. It also served as the capital from November 1783 until June 1784. In modern times, at 17:00 hours the Naval Academy's marching band would take the field. You have a front row, and only, seat while anchored off of this town. The drums brought you up from below deck and the brass instruments that resonated in your chest made you shut up and listen.

For such a clean city the water has a lot of garbage floating in it. I witnessed a person, anchored next to me, blatantly throw trash into the water. I would like to get a hot glue gun and glue some of these floating cans to the hull of polluters like that. * Hot glue gun.

I got to Deltaville Marina just in time to get gas and stayed the night. They had the cutest boathouses. A lot of people seemed to live aboard. The local restaurant and grocery would send a car to fetch you if you wish. I wished. Not ten minutes would go by before the bartender was there to whisk you away to dinner and to the grocery store on the way back. The Chesapeake took me down to Virginia. As you pass rivers named Wicimico, Nanticoke and Piankatank you are aware of the enduring Indian ancestry. At 7:00 am, I left Deltaville and arrived in Norfolk at 2:45 PM.

The Naval Fleet lines the bulkheads of Norfolk, where the Intracoastal Waterway officially begins. This town was molded by war and I admired it from a respectful, not so distant, distance. I felt so small and out of place, at the same time I was proud and patriotic. I was in awe of the quantity and size of these war vessels. I played cadence with my feet. Feeling very patriotic, I wished that I saw someone to salute to.

As I was coming up onto Town Point, VA a large craft being guided by two tugboats was breathing down my neck. I stayed to the left and went under a bridge that didn't respond to my call. I fit under it with almost 10 feet to spare. The sun set over a very tall and industrial area. The juxtaposition of the colored sky and the towering machinery was poetic. It was, however, the wrong way. I thought so at first, but didn't turn around for about 20 minutes.

What did I get myself into? After passing under Interstate 64, I was met with a fork in the water-road. I shined my light on it and read: Right, Dismal Swamp Canal and Left, the Intracoastal Waterway. I wonder if the Army Corps Of Engineers, the people that maintain this waterway, have got this Iceland/Greenland thing going on?

The ICW was an obvious choice for me. I made it to the Great Lock that evening and tied up 500 feet past it and 500 feet before the Great Bridge. The Great Bridge, in Chesapeake, Virginia, is a small bridge that opens on the hour during business hours.

At night I found several franchises to chose from for dinner. In the morning, I found a 24/7 grocery with a food court. There, I was able to eat breakfast, (I've entered the grits zone) shop for food, hardware and buy more wine for the trip. I was amazed at their wine selection. They had a section for each major region of California and France. They had smaller sections for Italy, South America and Australia. Someday I'm going to have to break down and try some boxed wine, as the wine bottles are the only glass on the boat.

I passed through Great Bridge, the next morning at 11 am. Traveling down the ICW an older gentleman was yelling at me from his docked boat. I couldn't hear him so I turned around and went back to see what he was saying. "No wake", is what he said. I obliged. Shortly thereafter, subsequently many powerboats have passed me; another fellow was yelling the same thing. I noticed that I was traveling 4/5 the speed limit. I assumed that this must be their self-chosen profession and they have a quota to fill. From now on, I'll just smile and wave.

A few more miles down, I heard a lot of aircraft activity that sounded like thunder. It was certainly cloudy enough to be but I knew it was low flying jets. The first one I saw scared me. It was flying so low that I heard it and saw it at the same time. It also reminded me that I need to buy a new bird book.

So far, the ICW seems like a path cut out of the woods. It has pieces of expired trees alongside the way. Some of them protrude out of the water looking like alligators searching for prey with just their eyes and shoulders cracking through the waterline.