Month: October 2017

I don’t think it has really hit us that the end of our first year is actually so near.  A year! A whole year!  We left Kemah on November 7, 2016 and that will be around the date that we pull back into our driverway in Texas.  What a year it has been.  But we’ll have time to reflect on that later.  As for now, there’s still so much to do.  The boat is under cover at Atlantic Yacht Basin, a very well respected marina/storage/boat yard on the Elizabeth River, just south of Norfolk.  The folks here promise to take good care of her, keep her from freezing, and will check in on her regularly.  Tim and I have cleaned the outside cushions and sunscreens and stacked them in the V berth.  We’re trying to whittle down the food stocks on the boat.  All food on the boat will either be eaten here, taken home or tossed.  I will leave some spices, but that’s all.

Our time in the Chesapeake has been wonderful.  We’ve been able to spend a lot of time making road trips and enjoying towns on the water.  Tom and Doris loaned us their car so we could make a road trip from Urbanna to Williamsburg and Jamestown.  It was a nasty, drizzly, cold day when we went, so we didn’t spend too much time wandering Williamsburg.  We enjoyed being inside the museum in Jamestown better.

After saying goodby to Tom and Doris, we decided to spend a couple nights at anchor before heading to Yorktown for a couple nights.  We anchored out in Corrotoman River across from Urbanna our first night and then moved south to Godfrey Bay.  Both were beautiful, peaceful anchorages.  The moonless, clear night brought the stars and the blankets out.

We spent the next two nights at Riverwalk Landing Marina in Yorktown.  This is a great little marina, super dockmaster, and easy walking distance to historical sites.  The town also has a free trolley that makes a circle around the town, delivering tourists to the various sites.  We went to the American Revolution Museum and relearned so much about the beginnings of our country.  We had a quick tour of the Yorktown battlefield where in 1781 Cornwallis conceded defeat and surrendered, soon ending the Revolutionary War.  

After leaving Yorktown, we cruise past Portsmouth, where Tom and Doris were docked at Ocean Yacht Marina.  Doris took some great pics of us as we cruised past.

I love how Doris captured the busy and active nature of this stretch.

We will have about a week here at AYB before we drive north to Boston for  my brother’s memorial service.  Tom and Doris have also joined us at AYB on their way south.  It’s always a gas when we get together

After a month and a half waiting out hurricanes, enjoying the small town feel and making  new friends, we have finally left New Bern.  I can see why so many boaters stop for a short respite and then end up buying a home and never leaving.  Our final week was spent on Dr. appointments, prepping the boat, and visiting with friends.  We went on a Kitchen Tour and enjoyed the local nightlife at the Octoberfest.  On the 4th, we rented a car and drove to Norfolk to drop Tim’s truck off at Atlantic Yacht Basin, our winter marina.

We timed our departure with the 7:30 opening of the Alfred A Cunningham Bridge and began our 3 day trek north.  I doubt we could have asked for better weather than what we had.  The air was cool, but very comfortable and the water was nearly perfect.  The wide Neuse River had a slight chop from the 6-7 knot breeze.   As we head north, there has been a fairly steady stream of boats going south.  South is certainly the preferred direction this time of year.  I find myself wondering if they think we’re lost or crazy to be going against the flow.  Oh well.  I like not following the crowd, besides we have a different plan in mind.  Having been at a dock far too long for my taste, we decided to spend our first night at anchor.  We cruised about 80 miles, dropping anchor around 5:30 just west of Belhaven and Dowry Creek at the Scranton Creek Mouth.  We had the spot to ourselves although we could see a few boats at other anchorages nearby.  A couple dolphin swam by once we got settled to check out the newcomers.

As the moon set and the sun rose, Tim pulled anchor and we set off for Coinjock.  Again, we had excellent weather and a long day of cruising.  We pulled into Coinjock around 5:30.  We’ve been told by multiple cruisers that if we stop at Coinjock we HAVE TO have their famous prime rib.  Obviously since it had been mandated, we did.  We had a choice between a 16 pounder or a whopping 32 pounder.  I think we both brought back half of our 16 pound monstrosity.  But, it was yummy and Tim added some to our egg burrito for breakfast.

Since we have a short run today, we slept in and headed north around 9:30.  We’ve had a couple of “huh??” moments on this leg of our trip.  One is we keep seeing dark gray to black painted john boats.  We’d wondered why anyone would paint their boat such a dark color.  We found out last night when we looked inside one docked at Coinjock.  The bow of the boat was filled with duck decoys and the stern had freshly cut pine boughs in it.  “Ah ha” we both said.  This is duck country and this is the season.  We have passed some duck blinds in the river and it all came together for us.  The other big ??? are these netted off areas along side the ICW.  A cluster of poles seem to support a large net that drapes into the water.  We think they are holding pens for something.  Crabs maybe.

The rest of the trip into Norfolk was pretty uneventful.  A couple of bridges to have opened, but just another day of wonderful cruising.  We are now at Atlantic Yacht Basin doing chores and we’ll try to get some sight seeing in this afternoon.  Tomorrow we will head to Hampton for a short trip that will make our run on Tuesday easier.  We’ll be going to Bridges Marina in Urbana to spend a week with friends Tom and Doris Sanders.  See you there!