Another Week in Deltaville

Another week-end means another week has passed here in Deltaville. I have to admit I'm getting a little stir crazy. A guy can only do so many boat projects in one sitting and I think I've reached my limit.

To break up the work detail we dropped the dink in the water and took a ride around Broad Creek. A few homes. Several marinas and boatyards and even a couple rows of stationary houseboats. Spread around some of the commercial fishing boats and you've got the Broad Creek side of Deltaville.
A few pics of our neighborhood.

This guy has to be the hardest working man on the Chesapeake. Every day he goes by at least once and often times twice to set or pick up his traps. The boat doesn't look like much but it purrs like a kitten.

For other excitement we take the courtesy car and head to the market or West Marine. You know you're driving a quality vehicle when one of the locals asked if the brakes worked on our car yet! Fortunately they do but A/C is another issue.

Dozier's loaner

One of the topics of discussion recently on the Great Loop forum is the effect of the drought on the river levels. Recently sections of the river have been closed temporarily due to barges running aground because of shallow water. Some of the traditional anchorages are no longer usable because of shallow water as well as some of the marinas. A couple of photo's of Memphis from late July show just how much the river had dropped at that time. It's even more dramatic now. This isn't the main channel of the river but illustrates the difference.

Memphis at a near normal stage.

Memphis as of late July.

On the opposite side of the coin we've been keeping our eye on Tropical Storm Isaac which is predicted to become a hurricane. Currently Isaac is forecast to hit the Keys and skirt the West side of Florida making landfall in the Pensacola area. This doesn't affect us currently but it certainly encompasses Legacy Harbour, our winter dockage in Ft. Myers. Here's hoping that our friends still in Florida come through unscathed.

We'll keep an eye on the storm as it progresses since some of the forecast models show it continuing through the mainland and heading back to sea around the Chesapeake area.

Forecast track of Isaac as of noon Saturday 8/25/12.

I can't finish before giving a shout out to Grandson Luke who had his 1st football game of the season last night. They won 48-7. Way to go. I guess Pam's cheers here on Tourist helped!

Good looking guy!

Time to sign off. It's raining and Pam just made Bloody Mary's!

Still in Deltaville

That's right. We're still in Deltaville. When we arrived it was hotter than my final resting place so we signed up for a month. Plugged in and under cover with a West Marine nearby it's been a good spot to get some maintenance items ticked off the list.

Our Deltaville home.

Wax on. Wax off.

Shortly after we got back to Tourist, Bru & Sandy came over to belatedly celebrate Pam's birthday.

2nd year together for Pam's b-day.

Much to our surprise they bought Pam a nice 55' Fleming for her birthday! Thanks guys!

Within just a short distance from Tourist I found these different boat brands which only scratch the surface of the many here in the marina.

 

Once in awhile we borrow the loaner car from the marina and get off the property. On a big day we may hit the market, the seafood outlet, and West Marine. That is if we can squeeze it all in within the hour that we can have the loaner. And we have to get this done before 5 p.m. when the wheels apparently fall off the cars. Talk about pressure!

The other day we had a little extra time so we cruised some of the boatyards in the area.

 

Saw Mandy resting on her journey from California.

Found Three Amigo's who we had socialized with in the Bahamas.

 Saw Coconuts sporting new bottom paint.

And when we returned we found this crab clinging to one of the dock pilings. A few more & we might have dinner.

This past Saturday we had dinner at the Brubaker's along with 2 other couples and then went to Donk's Theater (www.donkstheater.com) for the Lil Ole Opry Show. Pretty much a family & friends jam session on stage much like you'd find in the Ozark's but without the polish. It was a fun night of entertainment with some good musicians and singers and even better company.

Donk's in Matthews, Va. A true slice of Americana.

Quick Trip

After our last anchorage we headed to Deltaville, Va. and Dozier's Marina. Why you ask? Two reasons. 

1. Because it's so hot & humid. 

2. To make a quick trip home for my Dad's surprise birthday party & mini family reunion.

Hertz provided us with a rental car in exchange for a few $$$$ and off we went. (By now you've figured that I don't mind driving.) 1150 miles later we were home with only a few people aware of our return. We were able to lay low for a couple of days before the party and even managed to make a call to Dad telling him how hot it was here in Virginia!

On Friday evening we surprised Pam's parents who also thought we were in Virginia. 

Party Day!

On Sunday everyone was to arrive at 6 p.m. with the guest of honor arriving at 6:30 p.m. Now if you know my Dad you know he's always early. Fortunately his brother Leo had come in for the party and was able to delay their arrival until the prescribed time. No easy feat!

Everyone gathered on Matt & Sarah's patio on time and re-connected while we waited.

Once they arrived cousin Patty escorted them through the house to the patio. The look on Dad's face as well as my Mom's was truly priceless as they both fought back tears. They thought they were just going out for dinner.

It was a great evening getting together with family & friends that we don't often see. I think Uncle Leo enjoyed the evening as much as my Dad. Of course they both entertained us with stories from their boyhood years.  

First reaction.

Leo, Patty, & Dad

Getting a hug from Great Grandson Drew.

Leo, Jeff, & Pam.

Drew & Reba.

Jeff, Amanda, Terry, & Ann

Addam (my son. Can you tell?) and his cousin Amanda

Drew, Mom, Luke, Jeni, & Kate

No, I'm not in trouble!

Ange & Doug

Cousin Kim

Thanks to Matt & Sarah for hosting the party and to Patty & Kim for planning the event. It was certainly worth the drive home.

Our return also enabled us to celebrate Pam and her sister Barb's birthday's with a gathering at our house on Monday.

Birthday girls.

Young Love!

Young Love Too? (Brother-in-law Bill & Cousin Jeff) Sorry guys. I had to!

The girls favorite cake (& mine) Chocolate/Chocolate baked by my cousin Patty. Delicious!!!

Of course being home enabled us to spend a bit more time with Oscar & Ellie.

Hey Bro. How about sharing?

On our last evening home we took my parents to dinner at Dad's favorite Mexican restaurant. I swear he eats there 4 times a week! Unfortunately the camera never found it's way out of Pam's purse.

Wednesday morning came early and we hit the road. By nightfall we were bedding down in Morgantown, W Va  and by Thursday afternoon we were back at Tourist.

On the road again!

It's still hot & humid here in Virginia. Tourist is under cover with the A/C running. I think we"ll stay a little while longer. Maybe get some of those jobs done that you just don't do while underway.

Sweating Our Way up the Bay

The plan was to leave Atlantic Yacht Basin on Sunday July 22 after cleaning the boat and replacing the sea water impellers on the engines. Of course plans are always fluid and our departure was delayed a day because of a closure of the Gilmerton Bridge on Sunday. The delay allowed us to have dinner with Sherri and her daughter Eva. Sherri is a family friend who is stationed at the Norfolk Navy Base. We went to a great Sushi place not far from AYB and then next door for ice cream!

Sherri, Eva, & Us.

Monday the 23rd came and we finally pulled out of AYB in time to make the 9a.m. opening of the Great Bridge Bridge. Once through the bridge we went directly into the Great Bridge Lock.

Approaching Great Bridge Lock.

We continued up the remaining few miles of the ICW passing the jct. of the Dismal Swamp route.

Dismal Swamp Jct.

And on to the Gilmerton Bridge where we of course had to wait for it's scheduled opening.

Actually 2 bridges. Norfolk & Southern and then the Gilmerton lift bridge.

The waterway is scheduled to be closed for up to two weeks in September when they replace the lift span of the Gilmerton Bridge.

The Norfolk harbor is quite busy with commercial and Navy traffic as well as people like us gawking at all of it.

 Carrier George H.W. Bush

As we passed through downtown Norfolk we also passed Mile 0 of the ICW. No more protected waters for Tourist as we head into Chesapeake Bay.

Our course took us near Thimble Shoal Lighthouse and into the York River and on to Yorktown, our destination for a couple of nights. We stayed right in town at Yorktown Landing Marina. Convenient but exposed.

 Tourist at Yorktown Landing.

S/V Alliance

Tuesday we hopped aboard the free trolley and road around Yorktown checking out the sites. Once a thriving port it now has only 800 full-time residents. Tourism is the staple.
When the trolley stopped at the Battlefield visitor center we jumped off and went inside. We were hoping to take a walking tour of the battlefield but due to the extreme heat they cancelled the outdoor lectures. Needless to say Pam was relieved!
The 20 minute film was informative as well as the ranger's lecture about the battle.

Revolutionary War Canon.

Man made bunkers around the battlefield.

American & British flags over the battlefield.

Victory Monument commemorating Cornwallis's surrender on 10/19/1781.

Cannonball in the side of a house.

Yorktown was an interesting stop which complemented our previous visit to Williamsburg. The only downside was the marina. As I stated earlier it is completely exposed to the elements. We found out just how much on Wednesday afternoon. A storm ripped through with winds clocked at 59 mph. All around the area power was out, trees were down, and streets were flooded. We bounced around in the slip until the storm passed. Thinking we were in the clear we watched a little TV and went to bed. Then around 2:30 a.m. I woke up feeling like I was drunk. The whole world was bucking up and down. Once I realized it wasn't a dream I looked outside to see 4' waves crashing over the dock. Tourist was bouncing off the dock like a rubber ball. At any minute I expected the cleats to give or the lines to break.
After about 45 minutes things started to calm down to the point that we both felt comfortable enough to try and sleep. It worked! When we woke up it was calm, sunny, and already hot outside.
The cleaning detail (me) took care of the marks left on the hull from the previous night before casting off.

Back down the York River and on to Mobjack Bay where we planned to anchor for a couple of nights. Of course it wouldn't be the Chesapeake without crab pots which require a constant lookout to avoid running over them and fouling a prop.

Crab boat checking their pots.

Up Mobjack Bay we went to the North River and then to a point where the markers ended near Ellington Mansion to our anchorage.

Ellington Mansion.

A few homes dotted the shoreline on either side but little sign of life showed itself while we were here.

Pam showing me which way the anchor chain was going away from the boat.

This proved to be a very quiet spot with only 1 jet skier and 2 boats going by us during the time we were here.

7/27/12 Friday     The past two nights were comfortable at anchor but the days have been oppressive to the point that we decided to pull anchor and head to a marina. Having looked at a variety of places we decided to make the run from our anchorage back into the Chesapeake and 15 miles up the Rhappahonack River to Urbanna, Va. (www.urbanna.com) A phone call got us a covered slip at Doziers Urbanna Marina for the next two nights. Cool!
Tourist covered the 55 miles with no crab pot encounters and arrived in the early afternoon.
We passed this Chesapeake Bay Buy Boat as we came into Urbanna.

Buy Boat.

The Buy Boats were just that. In days gone by they would travel to the oyster beds and buy the oysters from the small boats that were harvesting them so that the oyster-men could continue their harvest. The Buy boat would in turn take the harvest back to port and sell them.
There are still a number of these boats along the East Coast that have been restored.
More info at (www.oysterbuyboats.com)

 After washing the salt off and a cocktail reward we were able to witness a double rainbow following a brief rain shower.

Double rainbow with a Buy Boat in the restoration process at the dock behind us.

Urbanna is touted as a small laid back town with a variety of shops and places to dispose of your money.They too have a trolley that for a quarter will take you around town.

7/28/12 Saturday     Of course we did the trolley thing and then got off to have lunch at Marshall's Drug Store where they still have the old soda fountain counters and atmosphere.

Marshall's Drug Store

Of course in perusing the shops Pam found the ideal shoe for her. A high heel that doubles as a corkscrew.

Not for use on non-skid!

Our wanderings took us past this restored old home of some historic significance that I can't remember.

Landsdowne.

We ended up at the local market where we bought a few groceries and received a ride back to Tourist from the manager. He said they let the marinas know that they will provide transportation to & from the store for transients. We just didn't get the word.

That evening we were guests of the Brubakers at their condo for a great dinner. Afterwards the girls insisted on playing domino's. Bru and I were drug to the table kicking and screaming! In an attempt to squelch any further thoughts of future games I royally kicked their butts. Only time will tell if my plan works!

729/12 Sunday     This morning we took our time getting underway. Today's destination, an anchorage on the Carrotoman River. Again we found a spot some distance up the river protected from most winds that reminded us of some of the coves on Kentucky Lake. Beautiful scenery and very little traffic. Even a small sand bar that exposed itself when the tide went out.

Carrotoman anchorage.

Morning view from our anchorage.