July 14-16, 2014 Colonial Beach Boat House Marina and Wisconsin

July 14, 2014

Forecast this morning was for small craft advisories until 10 am.  Looking out the Coan River towards the Potomac, it didn't look all that bad tough.  Still, I wanted to leave around 9 because the forecast also included an updated rain forecast, basically saying it was going to storm this afternoon up around Monroe Bay where we are headed.  So we decided to leave right away, about 8 AM, and make the 36 mile journey slow and close to shore to avoid the larger swells forecast for the Potomac.

It again took some doing to get the anchor up.  Lots of mud which is good for holding but not so nice trying to clean it off.  As Mary was going below to shut off the windlass she inadvertently moved the port engine throttle forward.  I heard the change in engine sound and was beginning to frantically assess why they  sounded different before I noticed the rpm's had changed.  The joys of cruising.

We snaked out of the circuitous channel with Field Trip following.  As we entered the Potomac
 they turned right to head down river towards the Solomons in Maryland and their marina while we turned left to head up the Virginia side of the Potomac to Monroe Bay where Colonial Beach is located.  We’ll be leaving the boat while we head to Wisconsin.

 We hugged the western shore thinking it would act as a barrier for the swells generated by the blustery southwest winds.   And as we left the sea state in the river was rolling pretty good but nothing compared to what I was expecting.  As we moved further north the seas became almost calm.  And the rain?  Right.  Sunny skies all morning.  Gotta love those forecasts.

We cruised around 6 mph and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  We had time to begin figuring out how and what we were packing for Wisconsin.  Checked bags or just a carry-on?  How many clothes?   We're going to Wisconsin... coats, hats and gloves?  What luggage do we even have on board and where is it?  Do we still print boarding passes?  Will they make me toss my 6oz. tube of toothpaste? What an absolute PITA flying is now days.

Entering Monroe Bay 

We approached Monroe Bay through some shallow areas without problems and entered the channel leading into the bay where The Boathouse Marina is located.  

Monroe Bay is well marked but shallow, around 6-7 feet.  Bill, the Boathouse marina owner and Charlie were on the dock where we were to tie up.  It was an easy docking exercise with them taking lines and having us secured within a few minutes.

Tied up now but but we have to move tomorrow

The marina isn't a resort, but more of a working boat yard.  But Bill is such a sweet, knowledgeable man, it makes up for any lack of amenities.  And they do repair work here so I’m hoping we can get the dinghy winch repaired or worst case replaced.  It just occurred to me that it seems every time we stop at a marina for any length of time we spend gobs of money on boat stuff.  Ugh …

We went into this slip for the night but we have to move to a different one tomorrow.  And it’ll be a back-it-in situation.  We take supreme delight backing into slips because I cant see anything behind the boat and Mary has to shout/scream directions because we invariably forget to use the marriage savers  two way radio headsets we purchased for precisely these kinds of situations.  I imagine it's highly entertaining for those on the dock watching

It a working boat yard here

Oh, and did I mention there are severe thunderstorms forecast for the morning around the time we are moving the boat.  And then again around the time we would be walking to the Metro.  Luckily we have one umbrella.  Any guesses as to who's going to be soaking wet?  

Charlie will be taking us to Fredericksburg where we catch the Amtrak train to the station at Alexandria which is adjacent to the Metro station where we catch a train to Crystal City and the hotel which is a few blocks away.  Our flight from leaves from Reagan National Airport at 6 am meaning we have to be up at … well at an hour I don’t frequently see because I’m asleep.  Another adventure!  

Tonight we'll just get everything laid out to pack and get some idea of the the train schedule and Metro stops.  In the meantime we ate dinner aboard, and went to bed early. 

Retirement is indeed a relaxing journey …. J

July 15, 2014
This morning we completed arrangements.  It all took some time but we know how to get around and have the Amtrak tickets in hand.  Bill has our repair request for the dinghy winch and we're ready to pack after we move the boat into its new slip.

Moving to the new slip was not as easy as yesterday.  Our petite little boat is 15 feet and 5 inches wide.  The slip we were entering is 17 feet.  With the winds blowing this morning and the mild current it took me two tries before getting the stern inside the posts so I could pivot it around in the slip.

Our new slip

Slip is probably not an accurate term.  The "slip" consists of three poles on each side with a small 6 foot triangular dock in one corner.  The trick is to position the boat where the swim platform is next to this little platform so we can, well, get off the boat.  And we had to accomplish this while getting lines on the leading posts to secure the boat.  Lots of fun.  And we realized that at low tide, the leap from the swim platform up to the triangular dock up was about 5 feet.  Olympics Mary?

Charlie was picking us up at 1:30 to take us to Fredericksburg to catch the commuter train into Alexandria.  We were pretty much packed and ready by noon and we spent the remaining time putting up sun screens,  adjusting lines and and closing up the boat.

We tossed the luggage the 5 feet up to the pier and then gracefully got Mary up there too.  She took her sole plant up to Bill who had agreed to care for it while I loaded up the marina van.  Charlie showed up and we were off to Fredericksburg.

It so happened that Charlie grew up in Fredericksburg and so were treated with a mini tour.  He showed us Washington's birthplace, and the house of  John Paul Jones.  When he picks us up I'm betting we'll get a more detailed tour.

Busy train station

The Amtrak station in  Fredericksburg is rather spartan.  No inside area or bathrooms.  And the waiting area is on benches outside, right along the two tracks.  The train traffic through here is impressive with freight  trains and passenger trains arriving every few minutes on both tracks.  Evidently, as we learned from a nice New York Lady, Amtrak doesn't reveal which track your train is on until a few minutes before it arrives.  

Restaurant across the tracks

And even though we arrived 30 minutes before the train was scheduled we must have disturbed the station karma because the train ended up being two hours late.  So we ended up walking over to this German restaurant, The Bavarian Chef where we ordered a pretzel.  And used their bathrooms.

A really good pretzel 

The pretzel was a foot in diameter.  Very tasty except that we brought it back to the station and as we started to eat it,  a freight train rolled in and stopped for a few minutes right in front of us.  The train consisted of mostly tanker cars.  The car facing us was a molten sulfur car.   Yummy pretzel with a stunning aroma of molten sulfur.  Hard to beat that for a culinary experience.

Pungent vapors right in front of us.

Eventually the train did arrive.  On the opposite track so we all had to clamor down the ramp, under the tracks and back up the other side to be hustled along by a frantic conductor who no doubt was feeling some urgency since they were a trifle tardy.

We started rolling through the country side.  Very scenic.  We made a stop at Quantico but as we rolled out of the station the train didn't pick up its customary speed by clanked along about as fast as our boat.  The really frantic conductor came up on the loud speaker and explained we have to follow a freight train adding another 30 minutes to the delay.

But its not like we have to be anywhere soon, so enjoying the comfortable seats we watched the countryside roll by and eventually came into the Alexandria station.

Under sunny skies, not rain as predicted, we walked to the Metro station right across the tracks.

It took us a few minutes to figure out the ticketing, mainly because we needed glasses to read the dark machine signage.  Eventually with tickets in hand we boarded the blue line train to Crystal City.

Smithsonian Metro station

It was only a few stops before we reached the Crystal City station.  As we were walking up the ramp I noticed Mary was purple-bagless.  She had left her bag, with wallet, drugs, and hotel papers on the train seat.  And D.C. is not the best place to loose anything.

We immediately made for the little enclosure where Metro employees command all the goings on in the station and explained to Kirk what had happened.  He leaped into action and called the train but warned us that it was only a 50-50 chance we'd see the purple bag again.  He suggested we check in the hotel and return to see if it was retrieved.

The hotel was only a few blocks away so we checked in and hastily made our way back to the station where Kirk looked quite sad as he told us the bag was safely at the Smithsonian station but we'd have to go get it ourselves.  Quite the jokester, Kirk.      

We got on a blue line train to the Smithsonian stop and per Kirks instructions found station 54 which was the employee enclosure where the bag was being held.  And sure enough it was there on the floor.  What wasn't there, was a person.  So we waited for a few minutes until a Metro employee showed up.  We said we were here to pick up that purple bag lying on the floor and he simply gave it to us without asking any questions.  A little odd, but Ok.

Nothing was missing or disturbed so we counted ourselves extremely lucky.  So we got back on a blue line train going back to Crystal City.  And by the way, we were allowed to travel without charge!

As we made our way through the station and the retail area we stopped for a sumptuous meal at a just about to close subway.  Yum ...

The route to our hotel from the Metro station runs through an underground retail area then up to the Crystal City Gateway Marriott out their door and 2 blocks up the street.  The Americana was unique.  It had pink and grey bathroom tiles.  And a bed that was, well not a Hampton Inn bed.  Only two pillows too.  Very nice people running it though.  They even arranged for a taxi at 4:30AM.   Seems the hotel shuttle doesn't begin running until 6am.  And we fly out at 6am.  And for some reason we couldn't print our boarding passes.  I'm having visions of a middle seat in a 3 seat row.  ugh ...


July 16, 2014
We woke up at 3:55AM.  Mary was the chipper one this morning.  I was silent wondering if I was awake or just dreaming.  We made it downstairs with enough time for coffee before the cab arrived.  We got to the airport in 6 minutes, checked in at the curbside check in and I paid $25 to check a bag.  No rant about flying, but I wont fly unless there is no other alternative.

We went through the security line in 30 minutes and chatted with a few peace core volunteers including an interesting older man heading off to Guatemala.  He and I reminisced about the good old days of flying.

At the gate we bought a soda for Mary and gum and water for me and boarded the plane.  But not before they announced that because of lack overhead space, passengers could check their bags for free.  Mary did.  I was smart and paid $25 at the check-in counter for the privilege of walking a few hundred feet without having to haul a bag.  Sheez … We were in the last isle.  Sweet!  My seat didn't recline. Bummer.

Landed in Chicago and dashed to the G concourse but stopped along the way to secure 2 bagel, bacon and egg breakfast sandwiches at one of the places with the smallest line.

I should mention we did get a free cup of coffee on the Chicago flight.  On the flight to Milwaukee we were offered a nice glass of water.

Jennifer and Jonah met us as we trudged up the ramp at Mitchell Field in Milwaukee.  We lingered there for a few minutes and had some more coffee pastries before heading off to do some grocery shipping before picking up Jack (and surprising him) at his school.  Per our usual routine we had lunch at the Chocolate Factory and got back to their house to relax before Greg, Laura and Seany came over for dinner and a party.

Savoy shopper 

Later Laura and I took Jonah and Seany for a walk.  Seany ran most of the way testing my diminished running capacity.

I suspect this will be an active few weeks!

July 13, 2014 Coan River anchorage, The Glebe

Leaving the Corrotoman River

True to our word we left the Corrotoman River anchorage at 7am.  There was 13 drops of rain last night so we have a salty boat.  But we'll be at a marina tomorrow and can use the dock water to wash the boat down.  Much easier to let a rain storm do it though.

The river was rather calm but once out into the Bay we had swells from the south which were beam on to us causing some uncomfortable rolling.  Once we turned on to a more northerly course we had following seas and a much gentler ride.  I only mention this because the dinghy, held on the boat with ratchet straps and lines, was wobbling around before we changed course.  Watching it wiggle in the swells was a cause for concern but it turned out to be unwarranted. 

We eventually rounded Smiths Point turning up the River right by Smith Point Light and entered the Potomac.  The river here is so wide the opposite shore is barely discernible in the distance.  

We ran up the western side to the Coan River.  We're going to a place up the river called The Glebe.  Its a little basin about a mile up the river so I'm told, and it's supposed to be a protected and quiet anchorage.  And now that we just heard it's forecast to rain tonight, we're hoping that description is accurate.  Although the rain would be welcome.  But usually rain is accompanied by strong winds which aren't especially welcome.  But we’ll see.

We arrived at the Coan river and found the channel entrance well marked.  But beyond the entrance markers all we have to guide us are the charts showing depth contours.

The Glebe behind the fish stakes on the right

The prescribed entrance to the Glebe is a little tricky with some winding turns to avoid the shallows.  There are no markers except for a single, private green buoy placed to demarcate the worst of the shallow areas.  And the crab pots!  They are scattered everywhere.

We went lowly up the river and made the abrupt, 90 degree turn around the private marker and entered the small basin which is The Glebe.  Aside from Field Trip, we were the only boat there.  Depths were 9-10 feet and the shoreline did provide some wind protection from a few stands of tree's and several homes.

Field Trip anchoring

We dropped the anchor and it held right away even in the stiff southerly breezes.   Field Trip anchored next to us.  

Bob and Martha took their dinghy down and came over for cocktails.  We had  a great time on board telling stories and reliving previous adventures when we traveled together on the rivers.  Wonderful!

They went back to their boat and hunkered down for the night.  We had the crock pot going all day so  dinner was ready.  And I’ll get the generator running around 8 to make water and to charge the batteries.   After yesterdays conflagration of disasters, life is good again!

Looking out towards the Potomac

After we ate I started the generator and water maker.  And since it was particularly hot and muggy we took a soothing dip in the semi-salty, 85 degree river water.  Nice.  Since we had the water maker running we did some laundry too.

We’ll probably leave around 9 or 10 tomorrow morning.  We have 37 miles to travel up the Potomac to Colonial Beach and the Boathouse Marina where we plan on keeping the boat for the 18 days when we'll be in Wisconsin.

Colonial Beach is on Monroe Bay and I'm attempting to time our arrival to coincide with slack water.  Much easier trying to squeeze into a tight slip without current pushing the boat around so we usually try to arrive close to slack water.  Delicate timing.  And in the past I would make similar intricate calculations trying to time the traffic flow so I could make it home in less than 2 hours.

The winds are still blowing strongly tonight and the latest forecast has 2-3 swells on the Potomac tomorrow.  But I think as we travel further up the river the waves will calm.  NOAA seems to think otherwise.  Wonder who's going to be right this time?

July 12, 2014 Corrotoman River anchorage

We were hauling the anchor up around 8 AM and heading out of the York River with Field Trip before 8:05 AM.  We passed  several fuel barges that had come in during the night as we made our way down the York river.   The river is very broad like most of the rivers emptying into Chesapeake Bay.  It almost resembles a large bay not a river.  And is, at least now, home to lots of jellyfish.

Heading up the Rappahannock 

 Once in the Bay we had to head a ways off shore   before turning north past Mobjack Bay and the Piankatank River.  After a few hours we arrived at the mouth of the Rappahannock River.  The anchorage for the night was up on the Corrotoman River which is a tributary of the Rappahannock.

Sailboat races

The Rappahannock is another broad river which is, surprisingly, sparsely developed from what we could see.  But there are plenty of sailors.   I mention the sailors because we had to thread our way through numerous sailboat races around the river mouth as we headed up stream.

Its about 9 miles from the mouth of the Rappahannock to the anchorage in the Corrotoman River.  We were fighting a mild tidal current so it took us a while but we eventually threaded are way up the well marked channel and into the Corrotoman River.

Anchored in West Bay of Corrotoman river (Field Trip in the background)

There were several little areas to anchor here but we chose a relatively large bay about a mile beyond the mouth of the river. bey.  Entering the bay we came around a small spit of land which offered some protection from southwest winds which were forecast for tonight.  We dropped the anchor and it held right away.


Our forward head had stopped working earlier in the morning so I decided to fix it while we were anchored. Turns out it was a clogged joker valve requiring me to remove the waste hose and joker valve assemble.  I had to let them sit in vinegar for a few hour before re-assembling everything.  Seems to work fine.  Not a job I’d like to repeat however.

After that we went up to take the dingy down with the intent on running over and visiting with Bob and Martha.  I was figuring on just towing the dinghy the next day anyway since we'd probably be using it to explore around the next anchorage in the Potomac.

Makeshift tie down for the dinghy after we hauled it aboard

We setup the crane and attached the line to the lifting bridle and I took off all the shackles and hit the button to begin lifting it off its cradle.   And like the 100 other times we've done this, I swung it out over the side and began lowering it except it made it about 5 feet and the winch groaned oddly and ceased to pay out line even though the motor was running.  Odd I thought.  Tried a few things with no result.  So there we sat with a dingy hanging 12 feet off the water and no mechanism to haul back aboard.  I had to laugh.  I mean what an absurd  situation.

Luckily there was a marina near by, Yankee Point and I was able to talk to one of the dock hands who just happened to know the local tow captain was at the marina.  After a few minutes I was able to talk with Ken, the tow captain.  I told him the situation and he agreed to drive out and see what he could do.

He arrived and we clamored up on the sundeck overhead and his first assessment was not good.  The winch drum (where the cable is wound) had separated from the motor shaft and the drum itself was jammed against the crane housing.  Basically, that drum jammed against the housing was all that was holding the dingy in the air.  Precarious?  You bet.  But we were lucky in that the thing didn't separate completely letting the dinghy fall 12 feet into the water. 

In the frenzy of the moment I forgot to take pictures.

Ken and I got a dock line and secured it the best we could around the hoisting bridle and crane arm to act as a safety line in case the drum dislodged itself.  He thought we could haul it aboard by hand.  So we first tried a few ratchet straps but they were of minimal help.  I called Bob from Field Trip and asked if he had a block and tackle which he did.  So Ken and I temporarily secured the dinghy and he then ran over to fetch Bob and his block and tackle..

We found a place on of the padeyes to attach the block and tackle and then, ever so slowly, were able to winch the dinghy on board using a pillow and several fenders as rollers.  We got on the cradle far enough to make it pretty steady.  After thanking Ken profusely and paying him generously for the hour he spent, he took Bob back to his boat and then left while I put some more lines on the dinghy and secured it as best I could giving due consideration to the 2-3 foot seas forecast for tomorrow on the Bay as we run up to the  Potomac tomorrow.

Temporary restraint for the crane arm

Mary and I did have to fiddle with the crane for awhile since we couldn't bring in the winch cable and it took some doing to secure the crane in a horizontal position since the drum was wedged up in the housing making it difficult to position it correctly.  But we managed to get it all secured pretty well.

Really nice anchorage even though its windy

The SW winds we were expecting remain south making the bay we were anchored in a little bumpy.  Had the forecast been correct we would have had a calm night with that spit of land proving some wind and wave protection.  

We needed to decide where to go tomorrow since we wanted to be close to the Boathouse Marina at Colonial Beach in the Potomac.  Our plan was to be in there Monday night so they can assess the winch and how to repair it while we pack for the trip to Wisconsin on the 16^th.

We were thinking of anchoring at a  place called The Glebe up in the Coan River.  This is a small bay up the river surrounded by sparse residential area.  Very quite and semi protected or so I'm led to believe.

After discussing this over the radio with Field Trip, we ultimately decide to leave tomorrow at 7am since The Glebe is about a 61 mile jaunt.  Field Trip is considering heading to a different spot closer to the Solomons,  but in any event we'll leave together tomorrow morning and wind our way back out to the Chesapeake.

Meanwhile is a beautiful night although a little windy.  Nice spot to return when we make our way back south.

July 10-11, 2014 Yorktown Anchorage

We’re antsy.  So we decided to leave.  Field Trip said they’d go too and a catamaran in a slip down from Field Trip also left.  The weather was ify with predicted rain and some thunderstorms.  But antsy-ness sometimes trumps caution.

Oddly, of the 5 weather sources I use, none were in total agreement other than there was some rain possible.  With such professional diversity one must relay on their gut instincts and mine rumbled, "go".

So we left. 

Field Trip needed a pump out and the marina guy didn't show up until 8:15.  But that gave us time to get ready to leave.  Basically that meant I had to get the Nav system up and running, and cut the power over.  Then take in all the lines except those we absolutely needed to keep the boat from banging around. 

Leaving our slip in Waterside Marina

I helped Field Trip over to the pump-out and while they were taking care of that Mary and I pulled in our lines and we slid out of the slip and met up with Field Trip in the channel.  We started down the shipping channel past Craney Island towards Hampton Roads where the Monitor and the Merrimac fought their famous 4 hour duel off of Sewell Point.



The shipping channel here is bordered by an almost continuous shoreline of commercial port facilities including coal dock 6 which holds some sort of record for the most coal loaded aboard a ship.

The Kearsarge underway

We made our way further into Hampton Roads where the Naval Base is located.  And suddenly we heard Warship 3 on the VHF radio announcing they were under way from pier 11.  Warship 3 is the USS Kearsarge and is  Amphibious Assault Ship (LHD).  Its huge!  Very cool to see it even though we were a few miles away.

Coast Guard Cutter that over took us

We also were passed by a coast guard cutter and shortly after, a tug throwing a huge wake so he must have been in a hurry.  It knocked us around some.

After we passed by the James River entrance and entered the Chesapeake Bay we caught a little rain as we moved north.   But thankfully no severe weather.

It only took us 4 hours to get into the York River.  As we ran up the river we noticed about a dozen coast guard boats zipping around and seemingly conducting some sort of drill.  As the skies darkened however they congregated near the Coast Guard training station an single file, began entering the channel leading to their base.  They never hailed us or made indications they would stop us.  Now if Curt and Marilyn where with us …

Anchorage at Point-of-Rocks 

Sunset at Point-of-Rocks anchorage

We anchored at a place called point of rocks very near the city of Yorktown.  It was about a mile dinghy ride to the main town and its marina and dinghy dock. The rain threat, and actual rain continued throughout  the evening though so we abandoned the idea of taking the dinghy down and running into Yorktown.  So no cocktails with Bob and Martha tonight.  Hopefully tomorrow the weather will improve!

July 11, 2014

This morning it was a bit cloudy with the remnants of the storms that blew through quite evident in the dark billowy clouds rolling bye.  The forecast looked good so we hauled the dinghy down and went into Yorktown with Bob and Martha who elected to give their dinghy a little run as well.

Yorktown from the dinghy

We tied up at the Yorktown town dock, town docks for $5.  The dock master told me that Norfolk, where we had  the day before, was hit pretty hard by 3 inches of rain and large hail.  It caused flooding down where we were docked.  So I guess it was a  good decision to leave!

We're anchored well in the distance from the Yorktown dock (that's us in the center barely discernible)

Benign creatures, or so they seem.

We also saw large congregations of jelly fish.  Evidently the come up the rivers in early July.  No swimming for us!

We walked the mile to the Yorktown Victory Center.  It’s a museum of sorts. They are constructing a new building to house the museum. Very nice but some of the exhibits were difficult to read because of the lighting.  Also the movie was sophomoric… in my opinion.  Interesting non-the-less.

We left there and took the free trolley through town to the Visitor Center which is on the Yorktown Battlefield.  The two visitor centers are separate and distinct.  It was interesting although rather limited.  We, of course were able to gain entry for free.  Senior parks pass!

The most interesting artifact in the exhibits was one of the actual tents George Washington used during the war.  Pretty cool.  

We boarded the trolley back to town and ate lunch.  We skipped the battlefield tour which was, from all appearances, a short walking tour around the immediate grounds of the Visitor Center which is on the border of the actual battlefield.  The bulk of the battlefield is a few miles away and covers an extensive area.  The recommended manner for touring is by car playing a audio CD describing the various stops along the route.

Waling up one of the streets in the historic area

Old church (Grace Church) dating from late 1600's

Restored Customs house

Grace church cemetery

We took a walk up main street to see  re-creations of many of the homes there.  Its very well done with recreations mixed in with actual structures from the period.

Nelson house

 After lingering in the Nelson House we walked to the Victory Monument and then took the free trolley for a third time back to the beach where we hopped in the dinghy and went back to the  boat.

  

2nd floor of Nelson house

Victory monument

The river though had gotten quite rough, the forecast being overly optimistic describing the winds and swells.  So we had a wet ride back.

Mary wasn't feeling well so I went over to Field Trip to discuss tomorrow whether they were planning on  joining us to go to the Corrotoman River and an anchorage there.  They wanted to go along so I came back to the boat, grilled lamb and hauled the dinghy aboard before calling it a night.

And tomorrow I hope we get up in time for our 8 am departure since our Oregon Instrument projection clock died yesterday.  Now we have no time projected on the ceiling!  Life can be rough.

June 30-July 9 2014 Norfolk, Waterside Marina

June 30 2014

We were up and ready to roll by 9 AM.  Field Trip had just cruised by us leaving for the James River about 15 minutes earlier.  We hauled the anchor up and it was evident why we never moved.  The thick mud was impressive!  We didn't bother washing it off with the water on board.  We just let it hang a little low at first dragging in the water as we made our way across the channel.  We had to pause momentarily to wait for 2 large barges to clear from our path before we turned into the east branch of the Elizabeth River towards the marina.

Called the Waterside Marina on channel 68 but couldn't hear them.  Tried channel 16 and got them but we had trouble making contact for some reason.  Radio problem on our end I guess.  Something to look into later. 

Tucked in and washing down

We entered the marina basin and I spun the boat around and backed into a corner slip.  One one side there is a wobbly floating finger pier and on the other is the sea wall.  But the advantage to this slip is the large, floating section of pier behind us which will make it easier to access the boat from the swim platform. 

Once we were tide up and the electrical plugged in we embarked on cleaning the boat exterior.  After days of being anchored it gets a bit dirty.  And we tackled some inside cleaning as well.  A work day.  And we did a load of laundry at the marina laundry facility and showered before eating on board and heading to bed.  Tomorrow we are grocery shopping!

It was hot most of the day too.  Thankfully the A/C was working fine so we could retreat to the boat when it got too unbearable.

Empty marina

The Marina is still rather empty but I suspect tomorrow will find us in more company.  The city is planning on a big party an fireworks display and the dock hands told us the marina fills rapidly as boats stop over for the festivities.

That's us tucked way in the back

July 1 2014

Mary talking the checker into using the store discount card

We took advantage of the free grocery shuttle and went to the Harris Teeter grocery store.  We did purchase a large amount so it didn't take long to stow it all.

I  did some online banking and cleaned more of the interior of the boat.  Spent much of the day just puttering around the boat although I did watch as a big Hatteras yacht came in and tied up right in front of us.  And a few other large yachts also trickled in during the afternoon.   But alas, only a few large freighters came up the river so it wasn't a great ship watching day

The Tide's Stadium at Harbor Park

 Later I took a walk to the Harbor Park baseball stadium I had discovered last year.  Same scenery no nothing much has changed.

We had subscribed to a weather warning service offered by a guy, Hank, in Southport earlier this month when we were there for a few days.  And just received word the tropical depression was beefy enough to warrant a name, Arthur.  Oh joy!

July 2, 2014

I was up (for us) early and took another walked around the stadium again this morning an then headed over to the mall, MacArthur Center.  MacArthur Center is right in the middle of downtown Norfolk and is like any other big mall.  It was nice to stroll around in the cool air for a awhile.

It was hitting 95 when I returned to the boat. But lucky for us the marina is situated next to a public park like area with these water jets that gently shot vertical streams of water in the air.  The little kids love it.  I would too but the kids had taken over the place and there were some fierce looking mothers hanging around so jostling for a cooling jet of water seemed like a poor idea.  I settled for a cool drink.

5 dock lines

I was receiving weather updates of the tropical depression, now named Arthur, forming south of here since we arrived in the marina.  It's designated a tropical storm but likely to become a hurricane soon.  So in anticipation  (we are on the fringe of the effected area) I conferred with one of the Hatteras owners and he and I put out some extra lines and I went up and securely lashed down the dinghy cover.  We could be having  excitement soon!

Bike did fine on the ferry

I decided to take my bike to the Portsmouth Walmart about 3.5 miles away.  I was curious about the rest of the city and we needed a few things.   So I hopped on the ferry ($.75 for seniors) with my bike and then road up High street to Wool street and then to the Walmart.  Walmart is, well Walmart.  Not a lot of things we need but I did get batteries because our fly bridge table and stairway lights are dead which usually means dead  batteries.  And I also bought reading glasses because two pair just broke off in my hand before I left and I lost the pair I brought with me a pair overboard on the ferry.  Guess I’m hard on glasses.  Or maybe its because I buy them at Dollar Tree for a buck?

By the time I peddled back and got to the boat it was 97 degrees.  Thank goodness I left all three A/C units running.

I met Tom, the other Hatteras owner who was directly in front of us and talked a bit about the approaching storm.  He's from around here and expressed little concern about any dire consequences due to storm surge so its not looking too bleak.  He was planning on staying past the fourth though so we also discussed a plan to ease us out our slip and past him since it was near impossible for us to leave without him moving his boat forward. 

 I went out and readjusted a few lines and then we had a cocktail.  Mary went for a walk and we started getting ready for Dan and Judy to visit.

The storm, Arthur, is causing evacuations of the very places we were anchored last week, Ocracoke and West Bay.  And Manteo is also being effected.  Luckily we are here in Norfolk which is just on the boundary of the effected area so we’ll more than likely escape any heavy winds but will surely get some heavy rains.  Of course all this is predicated on the forecasters being right.  Yup …

Amtrak train running through the station near the stadium

I walked over to the stadium again and arrived as an Amtrak train pull in to a station near at the edge of the stadium parking lot.  The tracks run over a bridge across the Elizabeth River and the bridge couldn't open while the train was there so the two heavily loaded barges I was watching had to jockey in the river to remain in position to go through the bridge.  No an easy task with the winds picking up and constricted maneuvering space on the river.  This is all on the eastern branch of the Elizabeth River.

We should see about a dozen boats pull in the marina tomorrow.  Meanwhile I’ll ride over to Harris Teeter in Norfolk (about 2.5 miles) to grab some seltzer water (our latest craving) since the store will be closed on the 4^th.

July 3 2014

On my way to the grocery store this morning I stopped at nearby ABC liquor store close to the marina on Granby street.  Then rode to the Harris Teeter grocery store which was maybe a mile or less up the road.  Easy ride.  Downtown Norfolk on Granby street has a number of theater type places and restaurants.  Its part of the downtown refurbishment  Something to remember.

Arthur, the Hurricane seems to be petering out at least near us.  It’s veering off to the north east so we are only under a tropical storm watch.  It means we’ll get some strong winds probably tonight out of the north and some brief periods of heavy rain.  I added 2 spring lines to accommodate the expected north winds which will tend to push us forward in the slip not backward like we’re experiencing now. 

Dan and Judy

Dan and Judy made it here this afternoon.  They parked in front of the Waterside Market building and came on the boat for awhile.  Judy brought along some caramel corn.  So Mary. I guess like caramel corn?

After a while we headed over to their hotel, Waterside Marriott.

That was some goooood caramel corn

View from the hotel.  We're the first boat in the background

We all met back at the hotel and had a few drinks before going to a restaurant/bar on Granby street called Hells Kitchen.  It was really a bar with a few tables and since we were there rather late in the evening, the nightly band began setting up right next to us.  The food was pretty good, but we had to hurry and eat before the band equipment took over our table.  And as we left they began moving the PA speakers right where my turkey sandwich was consumed not 5 minutes before.   I took a walk back after walking Dan and Judy to their hotel.  The band was playing, and it was loud alternative/modern rock.  Not real conducive to enjoying a quiet dinner.   

The hurricane, for us anyway, has been changed to a tropical storm warning.  Nothing tonight but I’m sure in the morning we’ll see some effects of the storm.

July 4, 2014

Effects of Arthur

During the night the winds moved swiftly to the northwest and began blowing in excess of 20 knots with frequent gusts in the 30-40 knot range.  We were protected from the considerable swell  by the seawall of the marina but the winds blew unimpeded.  So we rattled and rocked the night away.  After dawn it began to settle down slowly so that when Dan and Judy came over around 10 AM it wasn't nearly so rocky.

In turns out our first hurricane experience wasn't much but I'm sure we'll have more opportunities to experience hurricane force winds and waves.  Geee, cant wait!


We were all going to take the 11 AM  Norfolk Harbor Tour.  But the tour called me and apologized for having to cancel the 11 AM tour because of high winds.  So I just re-scheduled for 2 PM.   In the meantime we all walked over to the museum  but decided we didn't have enough time to see everything and make the tour boat time at 2pm. 

USS  Wisconsin seen from the street

The Nauticus Museum is where the battleship Wisconsin is located in addition to museum on Norfolk and and the maritime activities in the area over several hundred years.   Given our time constraints we just walked around the battleship Wisconsin and then Mary and I ran over to the Jimmy Johns on Granby Street to get sandwiches for everyone.  We ate in the deserted  museum cafeteria and then headed over to the tour boat.

Victory Rover, the tour boat, was originally a crew boat in the Texas oil fields in a prior life.  It has three engines and three shafts with mid-ship rudders.  Captain said it’s the easiest thing to maneuver he’s ever driven.  I make no such claims of our boat.  

Submarines at the Naval Base

The tour itself was exceptional.  It was about 2 hours and went from where we are here in Norfolk up the Elizabeth River a short distance to the Norfolk Naval shipyard  and than down the Elizabeth River to Hampton Roads past the docks at the Norfolk Navy base.

Ships in the Norfolk Naval Base

We saw 5 Los Angeles class submarines, many Arleigh Burke destroyers  and 2 aircraft carriers, the Roosevelt and the Truman.  Very cool!  There were several other classes of warships too, but these were the highlights.  The tour guide, who was also the captain, was an exceptional.  Excellent tour.  Superb information and presentation!  Loved it.

We then headed over to Hooters to have a few drinks before Dan and Judy left to return to their hotel.  We headed back to the boat where I fiddled with lines and screens and Mary went off to shower.  A blustery gray day that turned into a sunny and entertaining time.

July 5, 2014

This morning we all took the ferry to Portsmouth.  We visited Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum for free and wandered around one of those recreation exhibits where people dress up in period costumes and show how things were accomplished back in the day.  The day, in this case was back near revolutionary times.  There was also an old wooden sailing bark there which appeared to be acting as a giant floating stage complete with scaffolding, lights and big signage.

We decided we needed ice cream for some reason so strolled up High street to a store a few blocks from the river front.  Not geat ice cream.  Just OK ice cream.

We walked back to the Portsmouth ferry dock with the intent on visiting the USS Wisconsin and the Nauticus museum.  But I had to check on the boat first though so we agreed to meet at the museum.  I ran up there soon after.  No one was there.  No one meaning Mary, Dan or Judy.  After a few minutes I made the brilliant deduction that they must have stopped to eat something back at Waterside.  Hooters was my guess.  Needless to say, I still got it!

Lynette our waitress from the previous night was there.  A real sweet heart of a lady.  We had a few beers and promised to bring her back some funnel cake.  We left there and headed to the museum.  We walked around the ship a bit and then Mary, Dan and Judy decided to see a movie in the museum while I poked around the ship some more.  I had enough time to take a quick tour in the museum and met up with the rest of the gang at 4:45. 

They were hungry and Dan seemed enamored with Jimmy Johns so we walked the 2 blocks there and ate.  They returned to their hotel and we walked back through the festival and bought Lynette her funnel cake before heading back to the boat to relax before fire works.

Fireworks watching

Dan and Judy came down to see the fireworks which were shot off right in front of us.  The fireworks barge came down the east branch of the Elizabeth river.  The tug anchored it right in front of the anchorage where we were a few days ago.  Phil and Linda on Aimless, a Fleming 55 next to us, offered to host a little viewing party since they had a relatively obstacle free top deck but we declined.  Instead Mary, Judy and Dan all sat out on the dock and I sat up on one of the kayaks to watch the impressive display.   We even had two drones overhead observing the show from above.  New world I guess.  Drones!  Everywhere.

 Afterwards we said our good-byes to them and headed off to bed.  They were planning on leaving early in the morning and we all know by now early for us is more like lunchtime for most others.

July 6  2014

Thanks Greg & Dona

We slept until 9 AM.  I helped Phil and Linda get off the dock in the midst of the mild chaos of many boats all leaving the marina at the same time. Then woke up Mary and fought with the damn internet connections for a while before heading out for a walk and stopped at the mall where a quick perusal of Dillards and Nordstrams turned up a suitable coffee maker.

Our Krups coffee maker pretty much bit the dust so we need a new one even though only one of us drinks it regularly.  But when we have to leave before noon, it becomes a necessity.

We waiting for the arrival of good friends Greg and Dona who should be showing up here this afternoon.

Greg and Dona at Stills

And show up they did!  They found the boat and after we unloaded their luggage and parked the car, we all took the ferry over to Portsmouth for some food and drink.  We first went to Stills then on to the Bier Garden where we had even more food.  We rode the ferry back to Waterside and then spent some time talking with a nightcap before heading off to bed.

Portsmouth watching one of the jazz bands

And Greg and Dona, thanks!  for the coffee maker!  We can now make coffee in sufficient quantities to energize the most ardent of sleeper!

July 7, 2014

We walked to this place on Granby for breakfast, Famous Uncle Al's Hot Dogs.  It was pretty good.  And cheap!  We lingered there for a while until the fringe elements of the early lunch crowd began showing up.  We said our good byes and Greg and Dona headed out.

We went back to the boat and started putting things away in preparation for leaving the next day.  But then I checked the weather and we were left to decide if we really wanted to leave tomorrow given that they now have posted small craft warnings for Tuesday.

I should also admit that after enjoying dockside power and places to walk and shop, the impetus for untying the dock lines begins to grow weaker the longer one lingers at a nice marina.  

So instead of tackling a tough decisions we hopped on one of the light rail transit trains to militarily highway where we left the train and got on a waiting bus which had a stop next to the Norfolk Walmart.  This Walmart was much better as far as inventory than the one I biked to in Portsmouth.

We plunged right in to a massive Walmart replenishment exercise.  I bought 12 gallons of oil, and six, 4 packs of special marine toilet paper and  8 rolls of paper towels and assorted other sundry items leaving me with a full cart.  Mary had her own cart and it was pretty much full too.  I needed the oil to change the engine oil and the toilet paper is hard to find so we stock up on it when we can.  The paper towels were a deal and the other stuff we just needed.

So you might be asking yourself,  " how did you manage to schlep all that stuff onto a bus and then a train?"   Easy.  I called a cab and for $25 he took us and our stuff back to the boat.  It took us a while to put it all away.  The forward shower is now my oil and paper towel locker since there is only one person who ever used it.

We finally reached the point where most of it was stored away.  Mary fell asleep and I went off on an exploratory walk past the stadium and discovered a propeller grave yard of sorts and another shipyard where they were painting a naval destroyer.  Also observed this commercial freighter up in  dry dock, which seemed to have a split hull since the twin stacks were tilted in towards each other and there was a large gap running down the transom.  Strange sight.

When I got returned to the boat  I re-checked the weather and noted the small craft advisory was still there but they were now forecasting 97-101 degree temperatures.  That caught my attention.   So we decided to stay here another day and thwart the high temperatures by running our  A/C.  We could be at anchor and run the generator so the A/C would run, but that would only be for a few hours.  Here we can be in soothing cool air all night.

July 8 2014

It was stifling hot even before 10 AM.  I think we made the right decision staying here.  I took several walks around the neighborhood close to the stadium and Amtrak station.  But the high hat and humidity was taking its toll.  I was exhausted.  

Later in the evening we  joined Filed trip for cocktails at night.  Mary wasn't feeling well so she stayed behind.

 Needless to say, it was a rather unproductive day.  But then again what did we have to produce?  

July 9 2014

The ride I missed!

After checking the 6 am forecast which was predicating severe thunderstorms, we stayed put.  Ugh ...  we're getting antsy to be moving.  I did some computer work and wandered over to the light rail station near the MacArthur Memorial.  I was going to just hop on and ride-the-tide and see where it went but decided to first breeze through the MacArthur museum.  Ended up staying there for a few hours.  Pretty interesting.  Never quite made it on the light rail. 

I walked to the baseball stadium via the downtown area this time and than back to the boat.  Mary did a load of laundry and we joined Field Trip again for cocktails.  Ate aboard and decided we'll figure out what to do tomorrow morning when the update the forecast at 6.  We do have to be in Colonial Beach on the Potomac by 15^th so we can get to DC and take the 6 AM flight to Milwaukee.

The latest forecast for tomorrow is for more severe thunderstorms so I don’t know what we’ll end up doing.  Stay or leave.   But at least we'll sleep well in air conditioned comfort tonight!