Chesapeake, Va.

22 July 2015    26.8 sm today    1 lock

Events of the last week with family at home have forced us to store the boat for a few months and return home. Ann left last week on Thursday leaving me to figure out where to keep the boat. There were 2 choices just south of Norfolk I chose Atlantic Yacht Basin because it's a little further inland and does hurricane storage. I enlisted the help of another AGLCA member who lives in Norfolk to help me move the boat. I can't thank him enough. We had a delightful trip on a beautiful day. Charis is now parked inside a large shed and will have some work done on her while here. I'll be picking up a rental car tomorrow and packing up clothes and electronics and heading home early Friday morning. This will be my last post until we resume our trip south around the end of September.

In the garage for a few months.

Yorktown, Va.

15 July 2015    0 sm today

Today we decided to visit another historic site and drove to Yorktown. This is where the last major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought between Gen. Washington and Lord Cornwallis. The battlefield is now a national park. The town of Yorktown is nearby along the York River. Another interesting and informative day.

Entrance to the park museum.

Cannons from the battle.

Looking down at the York River.

Scenes from the River Walk in Yorktown.

Yorktown Victory Monument.

13 women representing the 13 colonies.

Colonial Williamsburg

14 July 2015    0 sm today

We spent today visiting Colonial Williamsburg. It was like stepping back in time.

"Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting part of a historic district in the city ofWilliamsburg, Virginia, USA. Colonial Williamsburg's 301-acre (122 ha) Historic Area includes buildings from the eighteenth century (during part of which the city was the capital of Colonial Virginia), as well as 17th-century, 19th-century, Colonial Revival structures and more recent reconstructions. The Historic Area is an interpretation of a colonial American city, with exhibits of dozens of restored or re-created buildings related to its colonial and tangential American Revolutionary War history.
In the late 1920s, the restoration and re-creation of colonial Williamsburg was championed by the Reverend Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin, other community leaders, such organizations as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now called Preservation Virginia), the Colonial Dames, the Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Chamber of Commerce as well as the scion of theRockefeller family, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, to celebrate rebel patriots and the early history of the United States.

Costumed employees work there and represent a real person from the time. We saw a reenactment of life during the period that they were trying to raise an army to fight the British ad well as participating in a day in court where we played one of the justices. We toured the governor's palace as well as a few other establishments. It was a very informative day that brought back many memories from school.

The capitol building.

The crowd participating as the Declaration of Independence was read.

Gen. Benedict Arnold who was in command of the British forces after turning traitor on the Americans.  

Our tour in the Capitol Building.

The Governor's Palace.

Rooms from a tavern we toured.

The foyer of the Governor's Palace.

Hampton, Va.

13 July 2015    49.8 sm today

Another early start today as again there were thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon. We had a great ride with just some periods of light chop. The winds picked up just a bit but no more that 14 mph. All in all, a great last day on the Chesapeake! We pulled into the Hampton River and I had elected to stay at Sunset Boating Center. It is basically a boat storage place with 3 big storage buildings but they do have a few transient docks. The price is cheap, stay 3 night but pay for 2 and mechanics on site. I'll be tackling both my wash down pump and my ac pump as well as that pesky alternator that is still giving me belt dust. Ann is flying out Thursday through Monday so we got a rental car for the week.

Leaving Dozier's.

Blessed by a beautiful sunrise.

On the entrance to Norfolk.

Houses along Sunset Creek.

Deltaville, Va.

12 July 2015    57 sm today

After a lazy day at Olverson's yesterday due to rain and thunderstorms it was good to push off this morning. What a difference a day makes. The wind remained at about 4 mph most of today's trip and the waves were less than a foot.  We arrived in Deltaville at Dozier's Regatta Point Marina just after lunch. Took the courtesy car into town but being Sunday most everything was closed. We did get some fresh produce though.

Leaving Olverson's.

Some homes along Lodge Creek.

Olverson's Lodge Creek Marina, Callao, Va.

8 & 9 July 2015    39.5 sm today (8th)

Even though we had a relatively short day today we departed early because of thunderstorms forecast in the afternoon. It was a bit choppy and windy on the trip down the bay but not terribly uncomfortable. We are docked under roof here which keeps things a little cooler and the rain off us. A few more MTOA boats met us here as well as some that are moored here. We had a pot luck dinner with ham from Costco, fresh picked sweet corn on the cob and tomatoes, and everyone brought a dish to share. I think we had about 38 people total. Fred & Cass Olverson are really great people.

Our escort departing Colonial Beach.

A nest on a dock.

The group at pot luck.

The 9th found 13 of us in the marina courtesy cars heading north to visit the birth places of George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Washington's house burned down a few years after his family moved and in the 1930's a group of women bought the property and had what they thought to be a replica built where they thought the original house was. During the construction process the original house foundation was discovered and didn't match the new house or the spot it was being built on. Lee's house is still standing as originally built. It's been renovated during the years but kept as close to time as possible.

The view of Pope's Creek from the Washington  replica.

Gardens with the house to the left.

Bedroom inside the house.

Stove in the outside kitchen.

Robert E. Lee's birthplace Stratford Hall.

The original house which we toured but were not allowed to photograph.

Separate kitchen also.

Another kitchen.

Slaves quarters.

Here are a few pictures that I managed to capture on my cell phone inside Lee's birth house.