these days

These days I walk along a river I miss.  The shipyards hum, ferries sound their horns and tugs rumble down current.  Cormorants, egrets and river otters keep company as I walk at an easy pace along the concrete edge of the water.  Some mornings it is chilly, other mornings warm and humid enough to make me think of summer.  Snowbirds, the boats from down south, trickle through.  A few tie up at the marina, others anchor out in Craford Bay.  Gazing across the river I remember sailing through the moored fleet each morning at the start of a day's sail.  I miss doing that.

My Elizabeth River ramps are closed.  The favorite one, tucked behind left center field at the ballpark, appears to be closed permanently.  The other, a mile or so down the southern branch past the shipyards and armed security boats, is at a waterfront park that is being rebuilt.  Those ramps should open late May.

I am surprised at how much I miss the river, but I am also surprised at how much I enjoy sailing out of Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank.  Once the ramps on the southern branch reopens I will divide my sailing time between the two Elizabeths, the river and the city.  A bustling industrial river in Norfolk and a peaceful tree-lined river on the other side of the state line, a pleasant pleasant choice to make.

As for tomorrow, which has a fine forecast for sun and breeze, it will be Elizabeth City.