Playing Catch-Up on the Chesapeake

Okay, I have listened to the criticism that we are way behind in our blog postings.  Notice that, once again, I use "we" and "our" to include Thad as my fellow miscreant.
So this posting will be all about our time on the Chesapeake Bay.  We started on the Bay July 26 and left her on September 4.  Later I will go back and fill you in on the time we spent between Cumberland Island, Georgia, where I last left you, and our time up to the Chesapeake. 

A cool satellite image of the Chesapeake Bay

We entered the Chesapeake when we cruised the last of what I call the Atlantic ICW at Chesapeake, VA (the city) into the Hampton Roads Harbor of Norfolk, VA.  We were a tad apprehensive about going through Norfolk as we knew it to be a pretty busy place, but were pleasantly surprised that we encountered so little actual on-the-water traffic.  The Norfolk area is not the most scenic of places, as it is very industrial, but it is full of military ships and that made it interesting.

Those soldiers on patrol are toting real guns

We had a short hop up to Hampton, Virginia, where we stayed 4 nights at the city docks, a great little marina right in the midst of things.  Hampton gets 4 stars on two accounts:  1. the friendliest people we have met on this trip, and 2. the best restaurants yet, all on Queen St., especially one called Venture.  Plus it had a great area to take walks with Eloise.  The finger piers are very short, so we docked stern in and had to climb up and down our ladder to the swim platform, then hop onto the pier, to get on and off the boat.  Also your neighbors were extremely close beside you, but we had a great French Canadian family, with 3 children under the age of 10, docked in their sailboat next to us, and we enjoyed them immensely.  The children were so well behaved and you rarely heard a peep from them. 

If you could look closely enough you'd see they are reading Sponge Bob in French!

While in Hampton Thad caulked, sanded, primed, and painted the toe rail, just above the rub rail, all the way around the boat.


Wash, wax and polish, it is never ending (he loves it!)

He also replaced all of the window gaskets and washed and waxed the boat.  He likes nothing better than taking care of this gift the Lord gave to us, and will happily work hours on her.  I am so grateful for all of the hard work he does.

Thad and Beezer, hard at work

We also worshipped at the oldest English speaking church in America, St. John's Episcopal, dating from 1610 - that is 403 years old!  The church was beautiful.

The town of Hampton dates from 1610 but it has a very up to date vibe to it and we did not see any buildings they had preserved, nothing like St. Augustine.  We both agreed that Hampton, especially the public marina, had a certain "feel" to it that we very much enjoyed.  And, I am telling you, that we so loved the food at Venture we swore to stop back there on the way south, just to eat there again!
From Hampton we crossed over, about 27 miles, to the eastern shore of Virginia to Cape Charles.  Spent one night there but there was not too much to see or do, at least within walking distance of the marina.  We did enjoy walking on their beach which was, since it was on the Bay itself, more like a walk along a lake than the ocean.  But still, a beach is a beach and sand is sand.  And we were treated to a beautiful sunset. 


Eloise on lifeguard duty

As we headed back to the western shore of the Bay we encountered huge ships anchored about a mile off shore.

Big, big ships, just sitting at anchor, waiting . . .

These are coal ships that pick up half a load of coal from Baltimore, then sit, sometimes for weeks, until they head on down to Norfolk for the second half, and then take off for parts unknown.  They cannot fill entirely up at Baltimore because it is too shallow for their deep draft up there.  This we learned from the dock master at Cape Charles.  But why they do not get their entire load at Norfolk, I do not know.
We headed back across to Deltaville, VA, where we encountered a full day of rain but did not mind as the marina was very nice and had three loaner cars, so we could go into town.  In Deltaville we met up with a couple from Venice, Florida, Don and Nancy, on the sailboat Selah with their golden retriever, Jacob, who we first met in Brunswick, Georgia.  Then we saw them in Hampton.  They told us about a great marina in Solomons, Maryland, Spring Cove, so that became a planned stop.

But first, one more trip east and north across the Bay, to Tangier Island, VA.


Tangier Island's main thoroughfare

  I had heard of Tangier because of the distinctive way the locals talk, what is called an English Restoration dialect.  But I knew little else.  Were we in for a wonderful surprise.  The island is only one mile wide and three miles long and is reached only by water or air. Crime is virtually non-existent and the residents get around in golf carts and on bicycles or scooters.  The men work as watermen, mostly crabbing.

We docked right amidst the watermen's docks & shanties

  There are around 500 residents, and most bear one of 5 surnames. The island is very patriotic and very conservative and you can feel that.  Two boats bring tourists in once a day and take them back out a couple of hours later.  There is nothing really to do on the island but walk around, maybe hike to the beach or kayak a bit, and eat at one of the few restaurants, so a day is plenty of time to see it.  It is such a wonderfully unique place and well worth the trip.  We did a tour with one of the island women in her golf cart (took about 15 minutes, cost $5) and spent over an hour in their little museum, which was incredibly well done.       

They often bury family in their front yards!

Crab pots galore



 But what made this overnight stop so absolutely wonderful for us was the gentleman who owned the marina, Milton Parks, my new boyfriend (don't worry, Thad approves). 

Our beloved Mr. Parks

Parks Marina has very few slips and we were fortunate to be on a face dock, as we would not have fit very well in an actual slip.  It is right in the midst of the docks and crab shanties of the watermen, so very scenic.

Hey, somebody named a boat after me!

  Mr. Parks, who turned 82 the Monday before we arrived, was a waterman for over 60 years and is still lean and fit.  Quite a current runs through Tangier and he brought us into the dock and back out the next morning like the pro he is.  In fact the current was so strong in the morning when we left, when he released our bow line Thad revved the port engine in reverse and we shot backwards out of there like a catapult, Mr. Parks and I blowing kisses to each other.  He is so much fun to talk with and made the entire trip worth it.  Another place we would like to stop at again when we head south. 

Sunset from our boat in Tangier Island

From lovely Tangier Island we crossed back over west and north to Solomons Island, MD.  Stayed at Spring Cove Marina and had the pleasure of another couple of days with Nancy and Don on Selah.

Don, Nancy & Jacob, heading out from Solomons

 Leaving the boat at Spring Cove we rented a car and headed back to Indiana for another week's trip because it was August by then and that means:  THE INDIANA STATE FAIR, plus the birthdays of 4 of my dearest friends, two occasions I am determined to never miss.  So we had a great week with family and friends before heading back to beautiful southern Maryland.  On the way we stopped for the afternoon in Washington, DC, to check out marinas for a possible trip up the Potomac on the way back. Eloise had the privilege of visiting the White House to give her two cents to the President.

She had to do it from a distance & telegraph her thoughts to him

 Two more weeks at the marina meant more sanding, priming and painting for Thad, plus installing a new dinghy harness, greasing the dinghy davit pulley, installing window weather stripping and cleaning the dinghy motor carburetor. The boat now looks absolutely beautiful and you would never guess her age of 35 years.  We also made new friends, docked next to us, Rob and Mary on their 40' dead rise boat, Miss Amy.  A dead rise is the same style as the watermen often use, so we have seen many of them as working boats on the Chesapeake, but this one is beautifully restored as their pleasure boat.

The lovely Miss Amy

Yikes, as beautiful as Solomons, MD was, one month at Spring Cove Marina was more than enough and we were chomping at the bit to get moving again.

Told you Solomons was beautiful

  Finally, the Tuesday after Labor Day we headed back east and north and got as far as Rock Hall, MD, catching a mooring ball in Swan Creek.  Lovely, peaceful anchorage and it felt so good to be swinging on the ball, not chained to a dock.  Both are nice and both have their advantages, but we love the feeling of being right in the middle of the water, all by yourself.  We also took on 250 gallons of diesel in Rock Hall, with the price of $3.80 gallon, another yikes!
Then we went through what we thought was the prettiest part of the Chesapeake yet, the northern section. We swung to the east and entered into the 12 mile long C & D (Chesapeake & Delaware) Canal, leading us out of the Chesapeake and into the Delaware River and, you guessed it, the great state of Delaware.  Stopped at Delaware City Marina and had to stay an extra day because the winds would not cooperate with us and the passage down the Delaware Bay to Cape May, NJ would have been totally un-fun, as in a very unpleasant rolling and rocking voyage. 

Because it can lead to this!

This is NOT the way we want to travel!

And that sums up the Chesapeake.  You can see how quickly we could have traveled it without the month long stay in Solomons. 

The Bay was filled with jellyfish (this one more exotic than most)

The fun part is that we get to experience it again, as we head south in a few weeks, and now we know what to expect and get to visit some of the places we did not do on this go round. 

I'm about to do some damage to one of the Chesapeake's most famous residents

Next stop, New Jersey - the state we lived in over 30 years ago when we were first married.  Funny, we often still feel like newlyweds, lucky us!