Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yeah, day four. Before leaving Southport, N.C., we had to fuel up (we won't even talk about that) and so we didn't get underway until about 11:00 a.m. The weekend was approaching and the pace was picking up on the narrow waterways. I patiently made my way through the ever increasing boat traffic, carefully passing slower vessels along the way. You did notice that I said that I was doing the passing. Anyway, we made our way back to the Cape Fear Inlet and headed "outside" for another smooth-seas day of boating.

It took us about four hours to get to the Beaufort, N.C. Inlet where we had to abandon the smooth Atlantic seas and head back into the Intercoastal. Believe it or not, it was actually shorter to go inside here than to make the 237-mile trip around Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks, not to mention a lot smoother cruising. The ICW from this point north took us through several large rivers and sounds. With wide open waters we were able to run at 35 mph most of the day.

The marinas in this area are few and far between and our goal was to reach Alligator River Marina at Mile Marker 84 by day’s end. (This would give us 231miles that day) We entered into a 22-mile land cut which joined the Alligator River with the Albemarle Sound. Before entering the cut, we saw a guy with his homemade barge loaded with a pickup truck making his way to a remote house on a small island; I knew we were in the middle of nowhere! I will admit, however, that this was probably one of the most beautiful land cuts we experienced. Tall pine trees line the shore line at the beginning and then gave way to old stumps and marshland as we neared the end. When we finally emerged from the cut we found ourselves in the large Alligator River overlooking the very old Rt. 64 swing bridge.

The bridge master swung the bridge open for us and we headed to the marina which was tucked back in a small cove on the other side of the bridge. We docked, fueled up, rinsed off the boat and then made our way to Miss Wanda's grill where we had a wonderful meal and met some great people. We will be sure to put this marina on our list of favorite places to visit. By the way, Miss Wanda did inform me that the Marina was only about 30 miles (across the bridge) from the Outer Banks, but she did agree that prior to that we were definitely boating through some remote areas.

Day five dawned with the promise of another beautiful day on the water. We left early and ran the wide rivers to Portsmouth, Va., and this is where things got a little more complicated. There were several low bridges where we had to wait for openings. With lots of boats anxious to get going, it was almost like a race to see who got to the first bridge, got through that bridge and who made it to the next bridge first. Believe it or not I was the first one there. Can I help it that I am just a little competitive? Besides I couldn't let those slower boats pass me now, could I?

After the bridges we arrived at the Great Bridge Lock in Norfolk where we all ended up in a huge cluster. There were dredging crews trying to jam into the lock, the rest of us had to tie up and wait for an hour or more until we could finally take a turn. Boats were jockeying for positions in the lock, people were yelling at each other on the radio, the lock master was running back and forth in the lock barking orders on her radio, (she really looked like she was ready to lose her cool) and I decided that I was just going to sit on my bridge, keep my mouth shut and do as I was told – for once.

Well, it all worked out eventually. We cruised our way through Norfolk and were in awe of the massive ships, aircraft carriers, container ships and other military vessels that were docked here. Believe it or not I was on the USS Enterprise several years ago and actually got to help bring the ship right into this same port. How cool is that?

Well, once through Norfolk we headed up the Chesapeake Bay and into the good old Potomac River; our trip was almost completed. We decided to stop at Point Lookout Marina, in Ridge, Md., for the evening instead of running the last three hours home so that we could take Don to dinner for his birthday and enjoy a nice relaxing evening; and we did just that.

Wouldn't you believe it, the weather had been bright and sunny all week until Toni and I headed home on the last day of the trip. We got to the 301 Bridge when the rain started and it hasn't stopped since. Nevertheless it was a great cruise up the Potomac to the Occoquan River. I must admit that I was a little anxious about bringing the boat up our small channel to our house because I have never had the boat there, but as luck would have it, the tides were high and we docked without any problems. Our awesome trip was finally over. Since leaving Cape Coral, Florida I figured that we had traveled about 1705 miles, boated through six different states, docked at 11 different marinas, and, most importantly, my Sea Ray didn't get passed by a single boat. Life is good!

Well, I am wrapping things up here at the shop and we will be heading out this afternoon to test for a couple of days before racing Atlanta. I am excited to be going to the Hall of Fame Banquet on Thursday night in Talladega to watch Bill Jenkins receive recognition for all that he has accomplished in the world of motorsports. What an honor it is for me to be able to attend such an important event honoring a man who I regard not only as a legend in our sport but more importantly as a great friend. I'll check in again soon!