10/14/2017. Urbanna, Va.

We left Hampton Public Pier and headed out into Chesapeake Bay for our leg up to Urbanna to visit with Clear Lake Shores neighbors, Tom and Doris Sanders.  What a beautiful day to be out on the Chesapeake.  While the skies were a bit overcast, they kept the temperatures down.  At times the water was like glass or at most had a slight chop.  We could have waterskied if only we cruised faster.

​
Urbanna is a small, no stop light, one main street kind of town.  So small even the only gas station has closed.  But what it lacks in size is made up for with friendly people and historic sites.  After an amazing breakfast at The Grind and a trip to the Farmer’s Market, we joined Tom and Doris, along with his brother and sister-in-law, for a personalized tour of the Urbanna Museum.  The museum is housed in the 1766 James Mill Scottish Factor Store.  The store is the oldest Scottish Factor store in the US.  Tobacco was weighed, bought and shipped from this site.  Rolls of the dried tobacco were rolled down the hill to the wharf and loaded on ships to take it to a Scottish port.  It now houses an original 1755 John Mitchel Map “referred to as ‘The most important map in American history.'”  John Mitchel was commissioned to create this map that was used by the British, French, and Americans to determine the new boundaries terminating the Revolutionary War.

Tom and Doris also treated us to a road trip across the Rappahannock to White Stone and Kilmarnock.  While there we had to stop at The Dog and Oyster Vineyard for a tasting.  There’s so much to say about this small but fun, must -go-to stop.  My favorite part is the story about the dogs.  The vineyard “employs” 7 rescue dogs.  Each dog is carefully selected from the shelter for their temperament as they must be friendly to each other and the public.  They are then trained to NOT eat the grapes.  Their job is to protect the grapes from the appetites of the local deer population.  An electric fence keeps the dogs inside the vineyard, but guests are encouraged to enter the fields and visit them.  In return for their service, the dogs are treated to all the treats the visitors feed them and deluxe accommodations.

Many of the towns up here have their special “sculptures” that represent their heritage.  Here they have Waterman’s boots.

We borrowed Tom and Doris’s car to check out Deltaville.  We enjoyed learning about the different types of boats built for working the Chesapeake at the Deltaville Maritime Museum.