Aug. 22-24th, Deltaville, VA

August 22 - 24

Leaving Yorktown and heading to Deltaville.  We lucked out and this leg of the Chesapeake Bay was very calm.  Low and behold while we pulled into Dozier's Regatta Point to dock the boat, there was Rick and Roll!  Betsy asked if we were lost on the loop!  We laughed and explained that we are taking two years to do the loop so we can experience more sites along the way.   We were convinced when we did this leg of the trip we would not see any loopers and here we are again with some seasoned loopers!  Ken is in heaven because this little community once known as the  "Boat Building Capital of the World" now offers a multitude of marine facilities, yards, and associated nautical-based businesses and services.  Deltaville was appropriately renamed for its location on a delta at the mouth of the Rappahannock River.  The Maritime Museum has burned down and they have planned a festival this weekend to raise some money for re-building.  This will be a safe haven for us for a few weeks while we tour Virginia by rental car.

Docked at Deltaville




Enjoying dinner with Betsy and Rick on Rick and Roll at Cocomos.

Aqua Lounges on the Rappahannock River.
What a cute weekend get away!

   

A beautifully restored 1938 Trumpy docked near us for the evening and we all admired her.

 

Enjoying a beautiful sunset in Jackson Creek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug. 21, Yorktown, VA

August 21

 

Took the dingy to tour Yorktown.  The free trolley took us to the Yorktown Victory Center which was a museum of the American Revolution.  It chronicles America's evolution from colonial status to nationhood through timeline, film, thematic exhibits and living history interpretation in a Continental Army encampment and the 1780s farm.  We then visited the battlefield where Lord Charles Cornwallis was defeated in 1781 at the hands of American General George Washington and his French Ally, General Comte de Rochambeau.  The Battle of Yorktown led to independence and the creation of a new nation two years later when the Treaty of Paris was signed.



General Washington and French Admiral De Grasse

 

                                     

 

Yorktown Home

 

 

 

General Lafayette identified  this dented cannon while visiting the United States in 1824.  The distinctive dent on the British tube was inflicted by an allied cannon ball during the siege.

 

 

The inscription reads: "At York on October 19, 1781 after a siege of nineteen days by 5500 Americans, 7000 French Troops of the line,  3500 Virginia Militia under command of General Thomas Nelson and 36 French ships of war, Earl Cornwallis commander of  the British forces at York and Gloucester surrendered his army of  7251 officers 840 seamen 244 cannon and 24 standards to his Excellency George Washington...

 

 

Yorktown Victory Monument was authorized by Continental Congress Oct., 1781 just after the news of surrender reached Philadelphia.  Actual construction began 100 years later and was completed in 1884.  The shaft of the main granite is 84 feet in height to which Liberty adds another 14 feet.  The picture was taken when a live bird happened to land on Liberty's arm.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                     

August 20, Gloucester Point

August 20

 

The thunder storm has subsided, but the rain is in the forecast for the majority of the day.  We decided to travel  42 miles to Gloucester Point.  After passing many impressive ships we entered the Chesapeake Bay with 1 1/2 foot seas.  Not too bad, but enough rocking and rolling to put the breakables away in the boat. Once we arrived at  Gloucester Point mid afternoon we had sunshine.  We anchored in a quiet bay and took the dingy down the York River  to explore the town and beach.  We walked to the Waterman's Hall visitor center which featured some of the ongoing studies of marine life by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

The Battleship Wisconsin docked at Portsmouth

                   

                                                                            

 On the Chesapeake Bay we encountered many large ships.

                            

Bridge connecting Gloucester Point and Yorktown.



Beach area at Gloucester Point

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying oysters at the Riverwalk Landing...yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                   

August 19, Portsmouth, VA

August 19

We planned to start our journey after church today but the rain was pretty intense.  We decided to catch the ferry and go to a movie at the mall in Norfolk.  We enjoyed seeing Hope Springs.  A nice way to spend a rainy afternoon.

       Loop Dreams parked at the free dock at the North Landing next to the  Paddle Wheel Ferry.  

The first ferry service in America was established on the Elizabeth River between Portsmouth and Norfolk in 1636.  Portsmouth's nautical credentials are impressive. It is  the site of the nation's oldest shipyard and birthplace of  C. S. S. Virginia, which made history in the Civil War Battle of the Ironclads.  The ironclad Virginia was not a new ship but a conversion from the wooden frigate USS Merrimack.

War Memorial at Portsmouth

       

 

    German Beer garden in Portsmouth, VA indicating how far it is to travel to  Frankfort, Germany.  Portsmouth on the Intracoastal Waterway is at Mile Marker Zero.

                                                                              

At the Mall waiting to see the movie we shared a bacon ice cream sundae at Burger King. Not a winning combination.

August 17, 2012, Portsmouth, VA

August 17

 

We're back!  After 3 months at home in Texas, we have returned to another leg of our journey. We plan to stay in Chesapeake Bay for three months and see the sites.  Our grand finale will be the Annapolis Boat Show in October and then we will head back to Dallas for the winter.

 

When we arrived by taxi to Ocean Marine dock, Loop Dreams was suspended in air on a travel lift and was waiting for us to put her in water.  We anxiously boarded the boat, and were about to start the engines...but wait, where are the keys?? After a mad search in the sweltering boat they were finally discovered tied to the door key.  She started without a hitch and off we went to to put her in an Ocean Marine slip so we could scrub her down  and get provisions for the trip.  Come to find out a dock party was planned that evening and we were invited.   We parked right next to Sonata, another looper we met earlier this year. We enjoyed our evening and it was fun catching up with Bonnie and Charlie on Sonata.   Portsmouth is their home dock and after listening to them tell us about all the wonderful sites to see in this area, we were anxious to get started.

           Party time!  First night back and we lucked into a dock party.

     Slipped next to Sonata, Charlie and Bonnie Burke at Portsmouth. Ocean Marine was a wonderful experience!

Putting our dingy in the water...it had blown off Loop Dreams in a storm while she was on the hard in Portsmouth and  needed some repairs.