This was really only a short journey in distance terms, but it took us quite a time.

We stopped at Dismal Swamp, about 18 miles north of Elizabeth City. As well as the swamp itself there is the Dismal Swamp Canal, which is a Civil Engineering Historic Site, now used for recreational boating. After visiting the canal's Visitor Centre and looking at the canal, we went to the swamp's Visitor Centre. We must have spent the best part of an hour talking to a fascinating Park Ranger (see her blog here) - an incredibly enthusiastic lady, who opened up the education centre to show us lots of things. These included wooden signposts about 4" square that had been chewed through by bears - they seem to like the timber preservative, and the Park Service isn't sure what to do next about erecting signs.

We couldn't go into the swamp, as there is a major fire that has been running for weeks - it gets into the peat, which can be up to 15ft thick.

As we went back across the canal bridge to our car we saw a boat mooring up. It turned out to come from Exeter. Not only that but the couple who owned it were both Chartered Civil Engineers (he a Brit, she from Italy). They'd given up their jobs with Halcrow (big UK consulting engineers), rented out their house in Exeter, sailed across the Atlantic and were pottering about the US waterways.

We took a route to Scotland, where there's a free ferry across to Jamestown. We then drove down the Colonial Parkway to Yorktown, before going to our motel.

Post Holiday Note - an unbelievable coincidence. On 4th August we were at home and noticed two men taking levels in the street outside.  Les approached them to ask what they were surveying for, and noticed they were from Halcrow. He told them about meeting the couple in America, and one them said "Yes, I know them, they're Pete & Lucia, and I worked for Pete." We invited them in for tea and coffee and they looked at the pictures on the laptop, and took prints and a CD of the pictures to show around Halcrow's Exeter Office.

We're at milepost 28 on the canal

Straight and level - only 2 locks on the canal

A new bridge giving easier access to the swamp

A bear chewed through this post

No - not this bear!

Fair Grace from Exeter

Pete & Lucia

From the Scotland to Jamestown (free) ferry

One of the ferries on the return journey