The sun was finally peaking out and there was a cool breeze as we motored over to the Portsmouth Boating Yard to get some gas and a pump out. Out on the Elizabeth River a dredge was hauling out a pleasure boat…looked to us like a 45 foot cabin cruiser which had seen better days. Huge Battleships lined the docks of the naval yard and we even spied a submarine at the Norfolk Naval Station where the USNS Comfort was based. The Comfort was deployed to New York City during the height of the pandemic to assist with the overflow expected from the hospitals. Luckily, the hospital ship was not utilized as expected and returned to port in Norfolk.
The Chesapeake Bay was calm with a one foot swell all afternoon. Dolphins were frolicking in the water all along the way and I drove as the Captain tried to get them on camera. One jumped up right under the bow and he was so startled that him and the phone almost went overboard. I was thinking of strapping him to the rail as he had done for me in rough waters on Lake Michigan.
Tying up for the afternoon at Riverwalk Landing Piers in Yorktown, we disembarked and took a walk along Main Street viewing the perfectly preserved historic Revolutionary homes. A few of the colonial homes even had the canon balls still embedded in their brick facades as a reminder of the destruction and devastation of the war. Thomas Nelson Jr. was a prominent figure and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and his family’s manor was a national landmark . It was surreal to imagine the area during wartime as now it was so peaceful and lush with greenery. As Yorktown held a prominent role in the Civil War for both sides due in part to its strategic location, it was the last major battle of the Revolution where Cornwallis surrendered to Washington that was commemorated by the Yorktown Victory Monument and Battlefield. The monument stood tall perched on a bluff overlooking the York River on one side and Surrender Field about 2 miles away on the other.
After our self taught history lesson, we hopped on the trolley back to the beach and had an early dinner at the Yorktown Pub. We had planned to move the boat to one of the moorings out on the river for the night, thinking the reviews of the steel balls were exaggerated. To the contrary, if anything, the reviews downplayed the “wrecking” balls as they were jagged metal and large enough to secure a cruise ship. Banging against one of these all night would definitely do some damage and possibly sink our lovely home. Without hesitation we moved along and anchored in Point of Rocks for a quiet evening as the sun was setting.
After leaving the York River, we were back on the Chesapeake Bay the following morning. Another calm travel day through the bay, we dropped anchor in the Jackson River right outside the Deltaville Marina. Jackson River was situated between the Rappahannock River on the North end and the Piankatank River on the South. The weather was much more pleasant these days and we jumped at the opportunity to anchor out when we could and enjoy the peace and solitude after a long day of traveling and exploring. We purchased an all day pass from the marina which included loaner bikes so, after Baby Belle was secured to the dinghy dock, we pedaled off to take a look around. The Maritime Museum was closed so we took a spin around the grounds of the park where Duane was excited to pose with his dolphin friends. And, of course, no trip to Virginia would be complete without a picture in front of the LOVE signs in Holly Point Nature Park. Making a pit stop to rest our legs, we sat outside and had wings at the Deltaville Tap and Raw Bar before meandering along and landing back at the marina. Locking up the bikes, we changed into our swimsuits, grabbed a bottle of wine and took a refreshing dip in the pool with a spectacular view of the river. The bath house was immaculate and we both enjoyed a nice hot shower before spending the rest of the evening on the boat in the protected anchorage with only the sound of crickets echoing off the shore.
Duane has a relationship with consignment shops similar to one that a dog has with fire hydrants. I am not sure if I mentioned that before… He can sniff one out no matter where we are and can’t help but mark his territory. Nauti Nells was no different. Borrowing the courtesy car, he was wagging his tail in anticipation and I barely put the car in park before he jumped out and was heading in the door. The wind and surf were predicted to pick up later that afternoon so we wanted to be ready to go by noon so he was on a time clock. He did not pick up as many treasures as he had hoped, but of course the experience was priceless. I grabbed the bag with our new fender holder and some zippers and we hurried back to the marina.
We drove out to the Piankatank River and were soon faced with 4 to 5 foot waves over the bow which were more than uncomfortable and nerve-racking. The Captain was forced (mostly by my death stares) to fire up both engines and raise the throttle to 8.5 mph to power through the waves and make the trip a little smoother. The conditions calmed after about two hours of terrorizing my senses and I soon loosened my grip on the rail. After all these months you would think I would not mind the feeling like we were teetering in a clock tower being hit with a sledgehammer…really??? The ride on the Chesapeake Bay the rest of the afternoon was much more manageable and just like that, around Smith’s Point, we were in Maryland. We dropped anchor next to the beach at Point Lookout off the Potomac River which was the southernmost location in Maryland. There were no mosquitoes so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the warm weather, but because of the sea nettles there would be no swimming this evening. The bright hues of the sunset lit up the anchorage for some time as we relaxed well into the evening as the stars emerged.
The sunrise was equally as spectacular and I was soon pulling up the anchor and we were back out on the Potomac River. I had been reading about the precarious conditions that were typical of this area as the mouth of the Potomac was extremely wide giving the wind a fetch of over 15 miles from the Bay producing some of the roughest water we have seen since our trip south into the Bahamas. It was a bouncy ride, slightly more bearable than the day before and, as we banged up and down, I eyed the radar arch praying it held up to the pressure. The Captain was back to singing the theme from Gillian’s Island so I knew he was not the least bit worried. I, on the other hand, had nightmares of the bolt on the radar arch snapping again and the whole thing crashing down on top of us. Pulling into Spring Cove Marina in Solomons, MD around 11, we barely were able to squeeze ourselves into the narrow slip. Once we were situated, the Captain grabbed a snack, packed our travel bag which consisted mostly of bicycle repair items just in case, and we made our way to the Annmarie Sculpture Garden. The grounds of the garden were beautifully manicured. The works of art were very eclectic some demanding an acquired taste in order to appreciate as most we thought of as extremely odd.
Biking on we stopped next at the Calvert Marine Museum and Drum Point Lighthouse. The times available for tours at the exhibition hall did not work out with our schedule and we parked the bikes to walk around the outdoor attractions. Passing the Riverwalk Pavillion off the Patuxent River, we made our way to the end of Solomons Island Road landing at the Tiki Bar for some refreshments before stopping at The Pier to sit out on the deck along the waterfront and take in the view from a different perspective. The Bugeye Grill was on our way home and we were told not to miss the Happy Hour oyster special as oyster cultivation was a long standing tradition on the island. We came to find out that bugeye was the nickname given to those in the 1800s who dredged the Chesapeake Bay for the oysters. The locally owned restaurant had a welcoming feel and we ordered two dozen oysters to wash down with the local brews.
We did all our boat chores the following morning as the exterior of our waterfront apartment had been neglected long enough. As Duane washed her from bow to stern, I did the laundry and filled the water tank and jugs. The last thing left to do before departure was to clean the poop tank and I made sure I stayed in the laundry room and folded the sheets ever so perfectly before I made my way back to the dock. Once Bella Donna, along with ourselves, were shiny and refreshed, we took in the lines and squeezed ourselves out of the tight spot heading back out onto the river moving North to see more of the colonial areas of the Chesapeake.