Day #304 – Deltaville, VA

Good News and Salvage Crew left Yorktown at 8:30 this morning.  Conditions were good, seas and winds were calm.

We headed to Deltaville across the Chesapeake Bay. Our first interesting sight was the Wolf Trap Lighthouse.  The Wolf Trap light is located in 16 feet of water on the eastern end of the Wolf Trap Spit south of where the Rappahannock River enters the Chesapeake Bay.  It got its name from the 1691 grounding of the HMS Wolfe, a British naval vessel that ran aground there and the crew was  captured by local Watermen.

Deltaville is located about midway between Norfolk, VA and Solomons, MD which makes it a popular stop for boaters heading north or south on the Chesapeake.  They used to be famous for commercial boat building and now better known as a yachting location.  The statistics state that there are 800 year round residents and 3,000 registered boats.  This small town even boasts that they have two West Marine stores within a mile.

Bob was there to catch our lines.  We like this tradition.  Sorry to report this photo was taken just a second before he almost fell in trying to hold our boat before I threw him the line.  Thanks for almost “taking one for the team, Bob.”

We will be staying at Dozier’s Regatta Point for three nights.   Dozier’s are the people/company who write the Waterway Guides that we all use like our bibles.  It is a very “Looper Friendly” marina and they cater to the boater’s needs.  An overview photo from their website.

They have a great Boater’s Lounge with big screen TV and satellite.

They also have a pool and deck with gazebo and a little beach for marina use.

One of the biggest perks…they have a courtesy car to go exploring.

We were not quite used to having a Mercedes for our courtesy car.  We all loaded up and went exploring Deltaville.

Spaghetti dinner aboard Headquarters tonight.  Guess Norfolk wasn’t our “last supper together” as we all keep saying :o)

Day #302 & #303 – Williamsburg, VA

We are back on the boat after two wonderful days with Linda and Grant Fenwick.  They have built an absolutely beautiful home in Ford’s Colony, Williamsburg.

They planned, designed and decorated their home completely on their own.  What a great job and we were so glad to finally see the house knowing all of the hard work they had put into it.

They are the consummate hosts and entertainers.  They made a beautiful dinner in their home on Friday night and we enjoyed catching up.  Unfortunately, Grant had a golf engagement on Friday and Saturday, but we dragged Andy along with us.

First stop…haircuts.  Andy dropped Linda and I off at Bubbles for our beautification while he went to Grant’s barber.

Here is the before

and here is the after…we sure felt better.

Linda was a great travel guide and took us to Regatta’s for lunch at Kingsmill Resort.  Great nautical atmosphere and terrific food.  After that, she drove us all around to acquaint us with the area and eventually we ended up in Colonial Williamsburg.

We walked and enjoyed the gardens and some of the historic buildings.  Below is Chowning’s Restaurant where I went with my family when I last visited here.  I was 10 years old.  Amazing it is still standing.

I meant that it was built in 1766.

This is the Governor’s Palace

the Capitol

and the Williamsburg Inn.  Queen Elizabeth stayed here a couple of years ago.

We ended the tour and went back and crashed for a bit.  When Grant came home we sat on their beautiful screened porch and later went to Green Leafe for dinner. A great day with great friends.

On Saturday Linda carted us around some more and took us to Jamestown.  Then we ran the remaining errands we had and back to their house for lunch.  Grant returned and they drove us back to the boat to get organized.

It was hard to day good bye as we don’t know exactly when we will see them again.  All we know is that we will and we didn’t realize how much we missed their company.  Thank you Linda and Grant for opening your home to us and for a wonderful couple of days.

Day #301 – Yorktown, VA

I’m glad to report that the crab cake challenge was a success.

There was no clear winner, however, no one had a bite left on their plates.  Yum!

We had another great evening with great friends.  We are leaving Headquarters behind, but plan to run into them again soon as we all travel north.

Salvage Crew and Good News left Norfolk at 8:00 as scheduled.  A beautiful morning to be on the water.  It is wide and open at this point so were are glad it is calm.  Also, the color has turned blue green again.

The military presence is evident.  Ships and jets are everywhere you look and it makes me feel quite safe.  Our armed services are certainly hard at work.

We passed a fort named Ft. Wool as we traveled through the harbor.

Fort Wool (originally named Fort Calhoun) was important in protecting Hampton Roads from seafaring threats. This site was once the dumping place for ships’ ballast. Originally conceived in 1817, Fort Calhoun was built on a 15 acre artificial island southeast of Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia.

The first fort was originally called Ripraps and later Fort Calhoun. The Fort played a crucial role for the Union forces during the American Civil War. In addition to aiding in controlling entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads, prisoners were confined in the fort. After the Civil War it was named Fort Wool for the Union Major General John Ellis Wool, who captured Norfolk in the early part of the war.

We arrived in Yorktown at the Riverwalk Landing Marina about noon.

It appears to be a great location and we will be here for three days.

It is quite rough in this marina and there is HUGE current which made for very tough docking.  Andy and Brad handled it masterfully.

We got settled and boarded the shuttle that takes you around Yorktown and will take you to Jamestown and Williamsburg.

Andy and I are really looking forward to going to stay with our friends from Michigan, Linda and Grant Fenwick.  They moved to Williamsburg a couple of years ago and we haven’t yet seen the beautiful home they built on a golf course.  A couple of nights off the boat may feel strange but we really look forward to it.

There will be no blog posts for the next few days, but I will be back at the press when we return.  Lots to explore in this historic area.

Day #300 – Norfolk, VA

Wow, day #300, and over 5,000 miles traveled.  I can hardly believe it.  Where has the time gone?  All in great memories of a wonderful adventure that we are lucky enough to have been able to take.  We truly are grateful.

This morning Patti,  Andy and I spent time figuring out where and when we will be stopping for the next month.  If all goes as planned, we should be in New York City some time around the middle of June.

Patti, Deb and I decided to have a girlie day in Norfolk.  We did a few chores this morning and then headed into town.  We walked through the beautiful streets and came across the Wells Theater.

After that we needed a little “retail therapy” and headed to the MacArthur Center.  It has been a looooooong time since we have been in a large retail area and it was fun!  That skill never leaves you I guess.  It is large and anchored by Nordstroms and Dillards.

After shopping we decided to stop and have salads at California Pizza Kitchen.  Yum, haven’t had one of those in months and it was delicious.

Next we headed over to the MacArthur Memorial.  It is right in the middle of the city and pays tribute to General Douglas MacArthur.

He and his wife (she lived to be 102) are entombed there.  All of his medals have  a place of honor and many, many personal items of interest.  It was quite informative and we enjoyed it.

We walked past the USS Wisconsin again and were still in awe of its size.

It even makes White Cloud look small in comparison and it is 221 feet.  Note the helicopter aboard.  They also had several tenders of various sizes.

Back to the boat and preparation for our “crab cake cookoff.”  We all bought fresh crab on Oriental, NC and plan to try several different recipes tonight and see which one we like best.  I’m not a real competitive person, but this is my kind of competition…Olympic eating!  Stay tuned for the results and the winning recipe.

This tour boat, the American Rover sits right off the stern of Good News at the dock.  They take people on harbor tours several times a day.

Day #299 – Norfolk, VA

We had a nice night last night with Bob and Deb and Patti and Brad.  We went to dinner at a restaurant located right in the plaza in front of the boat.  The girls had to talk the guys into going to that particular restaurant, but they gave in eventually.  Hooters…you can see it in the distance.

As you can see from the picture off the bow, we are located right in the heart of downtown.  Great walking location and the city is being vastly updated and rejuvenated.

We all got boat chores done this morning and then the girls walked (where else?) to the grocery store. It is a great specialty market.

We were each only going to buy a couple of items since we were walking.  They told us they would drive us with our groceries back to the marina.  That was all we needed to hear and, as usual, didn’t pass up the opportunity to provision.  What a smart business decision  on their part.  One of the employees drove us in his personal vehicle.

We got a bit of rain after lunch.  When that was done Andy and I walked uptown to the Maritime and Naval Museum.

Andy toured the USS Wisconsin.  Here is the view as you turn the corner downtown.  It appears that the ship is coming down the street.

This picture shows an example of their old and their new architecture in the city.

The mermaid is the symbol of their city and they are everywhere.

This is where Good News sits at Waterside Marina.  You can see Naval ships that are being rebuilt across the river in the distance.  Under the crane, that is not a high rise building, that is a ship without its bow.

The SS Cole is in dry dock in this harbor being refitted with a new bow.  Quite a site to see all of these huge ships so close to where we are docked.

We were all so tired from the last week of traveling and up at dawn, we decided to stay one more day in Norfolk to do some more exploring.

Day #298 – Norfolk, VA

Today is the day to travel on the Dismal Swamp.  We left at 5:40 am with about six other boats all headed the same direction.  The sun was just coming up and there was barely a breeze.

We were lucky enough to be lead boat as that boat gets the undisturbed view.  We began in North Carolina and ended in Virginia.

We went through two locks and several bridges before we ended up in the Elizabeth River and made our way to Norfolk.

Patti was doing the “snake dance” as there was a snake wrapped around the ladder right next to their boat.

The Dismal Swamp was first a vision of George Washington and other prominent businessmen in 1763.  Together they purchased 40,000 acres with the thought of draining the swamp and harvesting the timber for shipbuilding and shingles. Washington later sold his portion and eventually in 1909 it was purchased by a commercial lumbering company.  At one time it was said to be the home to over 1,000 slaves.  Now it is a National Park.

We have seen glass calm waters and unbelievable reflections that come right to the waters edge.

There is so much tannin in the water that the color is deep brown.  It has changed from the color of latte to the color of espresso.

We have seen turtles, a red bird, a yellow bird, butterflies, frogs, snakes, bugs the size of small birds and a few kayakers.

We have also smelled pine needles, jasmine and magnolias. We are glad we made the slow and twisting trip.  It is an experience and we feel lucky to have been able to do.

As an afterthought, we saw this house.   It was the Superintendent’s House.  We weren’t sure if this was a perk or not.

After we exited the swamp we entered the Elizabeth River and Norfolk/Portsmouth harbor.  One of the sailboats we locked through with ran aground.

What a contrast.  Boats are everywhere and lots of Memorial Day traffic on the water.

Getting to our marina we passed through Naval shipyards and industrial areas.

We will be staying in Waterside Marina for two nights and are looking forward to exploring the area.  It is located right downtown.

Norfolk is mile Marker zero on the ICW.   Traveling 50+ miles and ten hours, we are glad to be here.  Bob and Deb were here again to catch our lines.  We like this tradition, just not sure how long it can last.

Day #297 – Elizabeth City, NC

Today we left Alligator River Marina at 7:00 headed to Elizabeth City.  The crossing is about 35 miles and mostly traveled in the Albemarle Sound.  The area is know for shoaling and some buoys have recently been moved because of it.  Bob on Headquarters left before us and called in to let us know exactly how it was.  The call was appreciated and we made it through the tough areas without incident.  Another cruiser traveling a bit ahead of us wasn’t quite so lucky as he ran aground.  Fortunately, we was able to get himself off.

Crab pots are everywhere as predicted in this area.  You have to keep a vigilant watch and change course all of the time.   Below are some crabbers bringing in their catch.

Beautiful crossing though and the weather is perfect and seas are calm.  The clouds cleared and it is 85 and sunny.  Many, many cruisers are headed in the same direction.

Elizabeth City is known as “A Legend In Hospitality”.  The story from their site follows.

“The complimentary city docks were completed in 1983 as donations from various businesses and individuals. You can see who sponsored your slip by looking at the stone embedded in the walk along the bulkhead.

We are proud to be staying in the “Committee of 100” slip.

Two long-time residents of Elizabeth City, Fred Fearing and Joe Kramer, decided one Sunday after church in 1983, shortly after completion of the docks, to have an impromptu wine and cheese party for the visiting boaters. Joe, who raised roses as a hobby, stopped by his house and clipped 17 buds for the visiting “First Mates” while Fred rounded up wine, cheese, chips, dip, and cups. Meeting at the dock, Fred and Joe hosted the first party for those 17 boats and crew. Since that time the tradition has grown strictly by word of mouth along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Joe Kramer has passed away. His rose bushes were transplanted to the Mariner’s Wharf area where they still provide the rose blooms for the ladies aboard. A perpetual care fund has been established to care for the roses, and Joe’s gardener still oversees their care.

Fred, a retired mail carrier, is the “Senior Rose Buddy” and drives the Rose Buddy Golf Cart around the docks as he greets the visitors. The Rose Buddy Golf Cart was a gift from Willard Scott, NBC Weatherman, when he visited Elizabeth City years ago and did a short TV clip on the Rose Buddies.”

As we approached Elizabeth City we saw one of eight remaining huge dirigible hangars built by the Navy during WWII.  It is now used as a manufacturing and test location by a private company.

We arrived at the Elizabeth City  Mariner’s Wharf  and were pleased to find they had two slips that could accomadate our boats as you cannot make reservations.

Day #296 – Columbia, NC

Wishing everyone a safe and fun Memorial Weekend!

We left Belhaven this morning at 7:00.  There was a light fog and the wind had died completely during the night.  It’s always nice to know that you are going to have a travel day with glass calm waters.

Today we crossed the Pungo River to the Alligator River.  The ICW is very narrow in spots.  Unfortunately for us, a very narrow spot was where we had to pass a barge.

We had been following him for a while.  Before we passed him, we hit a submerged log or something that he had probably dredged up. Hopefully it didn’t do any damage.  Time will tell.

We had ordered folding bicycles and had them shipped to Alligator River Marina.  We picked them up and Andy assembled them.  We will really enjoy having them as it expands the area you can explore from the marina.

Today was also fuel fill up day.  The diesel price has begun to creep up slowly, but at this marina today we paid $1.86  per gallon, the best yet on this trip!  Much better than the $4.60 we paid when we left in August.

Salvage Crew and Headquarters are with us at the marina so it is sure to be a good time.

Day #295 – Belhaven, NC

We left Oriental this morning at 7:00.  Today we cruised up the Neuse River, Goose Creek, Pamlico River and Pungo River to Dowry Creek.

The waters have finally calmed down and it was a great crossing.  It is sunny and 80 degrees and crab pots are everywhere. There was very little boat traffic today and it all made for a pleasant five hour cruise.

The ICW is very narrow in spots

and wide in others.

and again in places the trees come right down to the water’s edge.

Shrimp and crab boats are still busy in this area.

Headquarters is in front of us as we travel today, but they are headed for a different marina.  They are celebrating today as day #365 onboard since they left Holland, Michigan.  Salvage Crew is behind us, but back with us for today’s crossing.  We will be at Dowry Creek Marina in Belhaven tonight.

After docking we arranged for the courtesy car and drove into town.  The marina is quite remote so car is the only way to get anywhere.  We went to the historical museum.

What makes Belhaven Museum remarkable is that it holds the collections of Mrs. Eva Blount Way, a seriously eccentric woman who simply couldn’t throw anything away.  She began her collection with four buttons that her mother-in-law gave her as a wedding gift in the 1877.

Some of the odd exhibits included:

• Prenatal babies in jars (given to Mrs. Way by the town doctor)

• Large, pickled tumors retrieved from the local hospital

• A one-eyed fetal pig, a two-headed kitten, a harelipped dog, and mummified squirrels

• Several snakes killed by Mrs. Way; one stuffed, swallowing a wooden egg, another made into a necktie

• 30,000 buttons (collected by Mrs. Way)

• Flea dressed as a bride and a groom (may be viewed with a magnifying glass)

The cell reception is really poor in this remote town so Patti’s tried to make a call.

There was also a map made entirely of her buttons.

We even ran into Deb in town while Bob was having his captain’s siesta.

The marina is owned and operated by a woman from Ann Arbor who came here 10 years ago.  It is a nice, clean, if remote, marina.  They have a pool, club house and a bottle tree.

I must say that is the first I have ever seen of those.  It even has lights at night.  You gotta love small town America.

Day #294 – Oriental, NC

A lovely, quiet night here in the new marina.  It is well protected and a great setting.   It feels like a little community here as our boats back up a grassy area with a pool and Tiki Hut.  Below is the view from the stern of our boat.

Today is 77 and sunny.  Brad and Patti arrived this morning from Beaufort.  They are only here one night as we are all moving to Belhaven tomorrow.  So, they went exploring and Andy and I did boat chores since we will be on the move more in the upcoming week.  And, of course, I did laundry while Bob lent moral support.

Deb, Patti and I rode bikes and went all over and stopped in cute little shops and markets along the way.  The local Provisions store has courtesy bikes that you can borrow which is a wonderful service. Unfortunately, they are a little “rough” and at one point the chain fell off of mine.  Not to worry, Deb to the rescue and it was back on in no time.  Thanks Deb!

We stopped at the local fish house and bought North Carolina shrimp and lump crab meat.  Yum!

Next we rode to the “Bottle House” and did a little exploring.  The “Bottle House” is built entirely of beer bottles.  What a concept.

The town symbol is a dragon.  I guess Oriental and dragon was a likely paring.  They have one that took up residence in the local pond.

and several “dragon eggs” are strategically placed all over town.

After stops at the Dollar General, grocery store and West Marine we were back to the boat to clean up for our Captain’s meeting and we are going out to dinner.  M&M’s Restaurant was the restaurant of choice and it was very good.

We have really enjoyed our time here and are a little sad to be leaving.  Everyone in this little town is so friendly.  However, we know more exciting ports await us.