Jamestown and Gloucester Point, Va.

Thankfully, Gloucester Point was a great stop since we were here for over a week due to high winds on Chesapeake Bay. York River Yacht Haven is a very nice marina on Sarah Creek just off the York River which is our last stop before we enter the Bay. Sarah Creek is very beautiful and has many fingers, some of which we were able to see when Duffy and Russ took us for a sunset ride in their 12' Boston Whaler.

On May 14th, we visited Jamestown and learned this was the very day 400 years ago that Capt. John Smith and company embarked to start the first permanent English settlement in America. In 1999, archaeologists discovered the original fort site and, as you can see in the picture, excavation continues with many thousands of artifacts from the 1600's on display in the museum. Across from the actual landing site is a recreation of the settlement which included the 3 ships that brought the settlers over. Scott really enjoyed this part even though you'd never know it from that look on his face! The monument is called the Tercentennial monument and is the first thing you see when you get to the original site.

Another day we went back to the Virginia Beach area to Ocean View Beach where Duffy and I hit the mother lode for sea glass! It was amazing to find so many pieces in one place... and each of us found a rare piece of red, too. I hope my daughter, Taren (who is now in her third year of law school) will make me jewelry from some of the pieces when I get home. I was trying to be very practical and didn't bring my jewelry on the trip. Big mistake that lasted about a month and I have found many great pieces to ease my suffering. Something tells me I will need to keep "taking the medicine" for a while yet...

We tried to leave to go up the Chesapeake and it was deja vu time. Waves were breaking on the bow and stuff was once again being rearranged down below and the door opened on its own and sprayed water inside the cabin. I couldn't take it and since we have already established the need for communication, I communicated my need to get off the boat ASAP. ASAP was a return trip over an hour back to where we just left! Scott can't really understand my aversion to the 'high seas' because he doesn't get seasick. (If he could just experience something like morning sickness it believe it would help.) Plus, I don't have a thrill-seeking gene in my body, and I think Scott has his and mine. When we got back to the dock I jumped ship, left on the bike, happy to have my feet on terra firma once again. Scott was left behind to do the usual hooking up stuff alone. Each of us were doing some thinking...but definitely not the same thoughts! I went down a little lane I had seen earlier in the week and met Katherine Jordan, 85 and still working a beautiful garden. After spending a half hour with her learning about and seeing plants I've only read about and seen in pictures, I was missing my garden something fierce. Scott and I took the courtesy car to the local nursery and I got something I have wanted for years - a 7' Coral Bark Japanese maple. And a 2' Red Japanese maple, a 4 foot long hanging ivy, and a lot of other stuff. I spent 2 hours potting and planting on the dock while Scott wondered where the ---- all the stuff was going to go, since I already had the side rails full of herbs, flowers, and other greenery. I told him not to worry I could find places, and guess what? I did. Reminded me of a cartoon we found before we left. People on shore are watching a boat go by that has plants all over it. One person is saying, "Now that's what I call a compromise." Maybe when I figure out out how to get my garden on the front deck we should rename the boat...The Compromise.

Williamsburg, VA

There is so much history in Colonial Williamsburg. We spent a day here and it almost felt like you were back in time. The picture to the left is the Governor's Place where 7 Royal Governors lived until the Revolution. Then Patrick Henry resided there as Virginia's first American governor. It burned down in the late 1700's and had to be rebuilt. The path and shed below is in a garden area and the tree was split apart by an unknown source (maybe lightning) but survived and both sides are living. Scott and I decided to pose in the stockades and asked a passerby to take the pic for us. The rest of the pics show the period costumed people that were everywhere as you walked around the town. It really brought history to life and helped you see what the lives of both the working class and gentry were like in the 1700's.

Norfolk, VA

Well, we finally made it through the Dismal Swamp and into Virginia. Our generator went wonky and we went without power for 3 days. That meant no hot water and no heater and no stove, and the temps were down in the 50s. Then I got aggravated at Scott for telling me how to do my job on the lines (aka ropes, for you landlubbers out there), so I took the helm for the second lock and he did the lines. He was sweet enough to tell me that the lock master said to him that he wished everybody would bring their boat in like I did! I think we both learned to appreciate each other's jobs a bit better....
Norfolk was a pleasant surprise. When we first came in on the Elizabeth River there was just a bunch of industrial stuff on both sides. But when we got to the marina and started exploring, we learned what a beautiful city it was. The waterfront is full of interesting places: a park, a nautical museum, a mall, a Japanese garden, and an historic district.

Norfolk is a town with a huge naval history and evidence is everywhere. I think one of the most heart touching things I have seen so far, is an area in the park where they have taken the words from actual letters from soldiers and a nurse (during all the wars from the Civil War up to the Gulf War) to relatives back home and written them on large bronzed plaques that resemble papers that have blown across the park. All of them died very shortly after the letters were written...all together they tell quite a story. The one I have posted to read says at the end, "War looks a great deal better in the newspapers, than anywhere else." He died four months later. Another was full of a young man's dreams that he felt sure would keep him alive until he came back home. The nurse wrote how she had lain awake til 2 am thinking about things...she compared human life to a fire, that even though it goes down to an ember, if there is at least a spark it can be nursed back to life. She died the next day. Another spoke of needing civilization to learn to use the international courts to solve disputes instead of war, "Living from generation to generation with wars seems like mankind admitting it doesn't know how to be civilized. There must be a way." He died 3 days later. I wish everyone would learn to pray for peace the way the Jesus taught in the Bible, "Thy kingdom come..", for that is truly the only way it will ever happen.

The Freemason Historic District was exactly what I have always thought of when I pictured New England - lots of brick and ivy, wrought iron fences and tree-lined streets.

Duffy and I decided we wanted to go to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. This meant catching a bus with our bikes (they have a rack for them on the front of the bus!), but it didn't go all the way. It was supposed to get us within a mile and a half, but we ended up getting off more than 3 miles away! We stopped at a gas station and the first person we asked directions from was a 24 y/o named Angela who, bless her heart, gave us and the bikes a ride to the gardens! We had a great time once there, as it was, coincidentally, bike night! This allowed us to ride around the gardens and since it had taken us almost 2 hours to go the 10 miles to get there, it was a very good thing. It was worth it when we went through the 155 acres of amazing arbors and gardens.

Poor Scott's sightseeing was limited mostly to the bilge, where he and Rich (the mechanic) bonded over the generator's water pump. Though we did manage to get together for dinner at Freemason Abbey where Scott enjoyed a prime rib for his hard work getting our heat back on.

The Great Dismal Swamp

Finally, after 3 days in Elizabeth City, we got to continue our journey and start the Great Dismal Swamp route. As it was cold and misty/rainy today the name seemed very appropriate. There's alot of history about this manmade cut between North Carolina and Virginia. George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and some other investors decided to form a company to have the cut made in order to harvest the abundant timber from this unique primeval forest and be able to easily transport it. It was started in 1793 and finished in 1805, an arduous task done by hand, with heat, humidity, mosquitoes and snakes adding to the difficulty. This work was done by slaves - the few freemen were paid, otherwise the slaves were on loan from the investors. This historic canal is now recognized as part of the National Underground Railroad and noted as a former sanctuary for runaway slaves seeking freedom.

We got through the first of over 140 locks we will traverse during this trip. The pictures show the depth when we entered, the lock filling with water, and the height when we left. for those of you who don't know about locks, they are like a water lift to get you from one place to another, either higher or lower depending on which way you're going.

Crossing the Albemarle Sound to Elizabeth City, NC

Well, today started out with the crossing of Albemarle Sound. We'd been waiting a couple of days for better weather and it was decided that this was our best bet unless we waited until Tuesday. Next time we'll wait til Tuesday, as I ended up nauseated and crying from the rough trip across. Then, when the captain failed to adequately sympathize with my dislike for the adventure of crossing the sound under these circumstances, I ended up locking myself in the forward cabin and thinking about letting him dock the boat alone. Thankfully, said captain was quick to realize that it might be in his best interest to reconsider the situation, knocked pleasantly on the door, uttered some niceties, and all was right with the world again. See COMMUNICATION does work!

We docked in Elizabeth City at the town's complimentary tie up and walked around to see the historic district. I stopped to smell the roses and Scott posed on the roots of this amazing tree for me. He's very cooperative with my picture taking whims. I fell in love with this amazing 1902 Victorian style home with an overgrown yard full of all kinds of greenery: roses, daphne, hostas, dogwoods, magnolias, azaleas, rhododendrons, ferns, may apples, camellias, and many more beautiful plants. I felt transported into "The Secret Garden" as I trespassed into the backyard where an old small manmade pond was under an arbor covered with an unknown assortment of vines. It was an enchanting place and it was empty and for sale. (Even Scott was slightly impressed with it and you guys know that is not his thing.)

We went back to the boat and decided to get in a better place for the night as a storm was a'brewing for tomorrow and we needed a more protected spot. After relocating and getting settled, I went back with Duffy on the bikes and met the neighbors who told me where the owner lived (down about 4 blocks). Well, next thing you know, I am touring the house which had many neat features like french doors and hardwood floors and attic rooms and a basement workshop. The owners, Warren and Carol Ellis, were so nice and had bought it from the original family 18 years ago. They had a picture of it from its early days and showed us the paper that gave it National Registry of Historic Places status. Gus Etheridge, the designated dockmaster for the town, aka 'Mouth of the South ' (his words not mine) offered to buy the house for me if I'd jump ship, but since I had already made up with the captain, I decided to pass on his generous offer. Gus is one of those local characters who knows the rich history of an area. He has a home here and out on the Outer Banks (known as OBX in these parts) and has been a part of the local goings-on all his adult life. This was a friendly town and I hope we have many more like it on this journey....

Belhaven Waterway Marina to Alligator River

The marina at Belhaven was memorable for many reasons. Brenda and Les bought the place 6 years ago and have been adding their special touches ever since. The men's bathroom was decorated with paraphenalia collected from WW2 by Bernard Roth, a navy guy and amateur photographer. It included a 'Dear John' letter (to Bernie from Connie, who said her mother was right, she was too immature to make such a committment, and he should keep the ring she gave him as she never wanted to see it again), a Stars and Stripes newspaper with an article about Marlene Dietrich and her million dollar legs, and lots of pictures and paperwork from his travels. There was a lovely little garden area, a porch with rocking chairs, and a large gazebo where Duffy and Russ treated us to a great spaghetti dinner and we watched an amazingly beautiful sunset.

Alligator River Marina was where several "Loopers" met up and there was a 5 pm 'docktail' party to celebrate everyone's safe arrival (actually I made that up...we didn't need an excuse).

Today the temperature dropped 20 degrees and we're 'holing up' for awhile. I had Duffy and Sheryl over for a lunch and "girl time ". I helped them make cards out of my scrapbooking stuff.

Missing Family and Friends

Just a quick note to say I am missing everyone I love, but it's nice to use our new webcam to see the grandkids growing up and the faces of my lil' chil'rens. I've been using some of my time to do scrapbooking and going through all the old pictures is bringing lots of memories to mind...some good, some bad, some funny, some sad. There is so much you wish you could change, but then would you be who you are today? And thank goodness I like the person I am now, so maybe it's for the best. Life has a way of teaching us whether we want to learn or not. This journey is taking us to the rest of our life and it is very strange to have it all up in the air as to where we will live after this trip ends. We talk about the mountains on a lake and Florida in the winter on the boat, but who knows? Wherever it is I hope my family and friends will be frequent visitors... P.S. I don't have son-in-laws pictures on this computer but you know who you are!