Leaving Yorktown

By now, Dear Readers, you have noticed that I did not post a blog yesterday. I was having way too much fun. It was a busy day.

We started the morning waking up early as usual. It seems that once you get in the habit of getting up at 6 AM, your body will not take a vacation day! Since we were up with lots of time, Peggy made blueberry pancakes!

After breakfast, some of us did the laundry run. It wasn't totally necessary, but some of the clothes were dirty, and both washers were available. How could we resist!

Finally, the laundry finished. We took off for Yorktown. We started with a ride on the free trolley. It is a great route that takes you around town and up to the Yorktown Victory Center. Yes, the town is very small, but the ride gives you an overview of it all.

Next stop- the Watermen's Museum. This is a very small museum, but it is packed with artifacts and exhibits. As you can tell by the name, it honors the lives of those who work on the water. First thing we learned is that the term 'waterman' is only used here in America and in England- but only in the region of the Thames River! We also learned that William and Mary College was started with fines paid by three pirates! The house the museum is in was once on the other side of the river. It was delivered to the site by barge. And, it had a great gift shop. Quite a lot to be packed in one small house! The most incredible thing was the amount of ship models- all of the made and donated by volunteers. And, it is totally cared for by volunteers. That includes putting together the exhibits. They do a great job.

Next, it was back on the trolley to the Yorktown Victory Center. This is a much bigger museum, and it has staff. All the exhibits were beautiful. They have the prerequisite movie theater as well as an outdoor education area. During our visit, they had the army camp and the farm up and running with reenactors. The place was packed with great exhibits and things to do. We certainly needed more time, but it was getting late.

We headed back to town for my daily dose of ice cream. Just as the sign said in the islands, it's necessary!

I love that sign!!! BTW, during the time we were indulging in ice cream, we had quite the event. There was a wedding across the street in the waterfront park! Lots of (probably hot) people were sitting or standing in the sun when the biggest stretch limo we have ever seen arrived. Yes, the bride, the dad. A wagon, and two little children came out of that limo. But seriously, all the guests could have fit as well! This was our second wedding while on this trip. The first was at the waterside park at the Beaufort Docks. Weddings, rainbows, big boats, dolphins...this trip has been jam packed with sights to see!

After our visit to Ben and Jerry's, we wandered over to the wine shop where they sell tropical wines. No grapes anywhere! We indulged ourselves by purchasing peach, pineapple, and blueberry. 

And then, just before the pick up to go back to the boat, there was another treat. A fife and drum corps marched through town. They were all dressed in Revolutionary era uniforms. It was just great! Wow! What a way to end our day.

Finally, back to the boat. We took a break- some of us napping, and some of us watching the goings on in the area. Our favorite story of the day involves a group of people on the sandy beach across from the marina.

This picture was taken this morning. Yesterday evening, there were three boats and lots of people- and dogs! If you look at the picture, you can see that several of the crab pot floats are suspiciously close to that beach. Well, one of the dogs was a young black lab who decided that those floats just had to be toys that were thrown in the water just for him. So, he spent his afternoon trying to get them onto the beach. Yes, he was literally dragging around floats with crab pots attached. He actually got the two closest to the beach up on the beach! He even tried to bury one.

Now, we do not advocate nor do we support the practice of moving other people's crab pots around in the water. But, that dog was SO determined. It was hysterical to watch how persistent he could be in trying to get those floats to the beach!

After dinner, we all showered and went to bed. This morning was another early one- this time on purpose. We want to make time to get to Deltaville.

So, we said goodbye to Yorktown. We are off for another day of fun and adventure on the water. It is not even 8 AM, and we have already seen 5 dolphins. As usual, they appear to be in the witness protection program- they managed to evade all attempts to capture photos of them. For once,I decided not to give you yet another water picture with arrows. A short break- but the day is young.

The Joy of the Silicon Pot Lid

We really enjoy having silicon pot lids on board. They take up less space than the traditional pot lid. And, they are so versatile. They can be used as trivets. And, our favorite....

This morning, for our Sunday special, Peggy made blueberry pancakes. Oh so yummy!

But, cooking a batch gives lots of time for them to cool. Enter the silicon pot lid.

Jus put the pancakes on a plate, and cover them with the silicon pot lid. Yes, they stay nice and hot until you are ready for the second helping! What an excellent breakfast! Thanks go out to Peggy and her silicon pot lid.

A Side Note: I ordered the least expensive ones I could find on Amazon. Now that I have tried them, I really want one that you can see through. The most dangerous part of using the lid is lifting it off the pan to see if the water is boiling. The lid more or less seals to the pot. When you lift the lid, the steam comes right at you if you do not plan ahead and open from the point furthest away from you. It will be nice to just be able to glance into the pot.

Saturday on the Water

We left Atlantic Yacht Basin early this morning with the intent of making it to Yorktown.

Just for Linda, we have one last look at Chanticleer. It certainly is a beautiful boat. 

We made good time so that we could make it through the first bridge and the lock.

We made good time, and we soon found ourselves in Norfolk.

And then the fun began. As we got closer and closer to the Chesapeake, it got rougher and rougher. Alas, Dear Readers, I was forced to take to my bed to sleep through it all. According to the rest of the crew, they saw four dolphins. There were also lots of boats out enjoying the day. According to some of the crew, we had a great sail today. I don't know. I was asleep. But, for others, it was a great day.

We are now at the York River Yacht Basin. It is a lovely marina with new docks. The marine store has great supplies as well as some food and jewelry.

After checking in, we decided to have a drink at the York River Oyster Company. One look at the menu, and we decided to have an early dinner. After all, some of us missed lunch! Great food. Great drinks. The only bad thing was that they did not have cake for dessert. Oh well. Maybe at the next place....

We also had visitors from the boat behind us. They really wanted to see the inside of LUX. As always, we are happy to have visitors. We love showing off our boat. We think she is beautiful. It's nice to have others agree with us.

Just for Linda

Tonight, we are docked at Atlantic Yacht Basin in Great Bridge, VA. It is actually more of a working boat yard than a marina. In fact, a really large cabin cruiser from Baltimore is in the yard right now because it hit something that bent a shaft. At about 30 degrees according to Mike. Ouch!

But, the real reason this blog is for Linda is that there is a rooster here with us:

This small boat's name is Chanticleer. A chanticleer is a proud and fierce rooster that dominates the barnyard. This boat certainly dominates Atlantic Yacht Basin! 

Dear Readers, you may remember that Linda's favorite photo subject (after dolphins, of course) is a chicken. I have been trying to capture a really good chicken for her during this trip. I think I succeeded with this one.

Yes, indeed, a superior yacht. And quite the chanticleer in this marina!

Meanwhile, back to our adventures. We really like this marina because you can easily walk to a great shopping center. It has a wonderful grocery, a Dollar Tree, and a Panera's. Best of all, there is a Hancock's Fabric! Yay! We walked into town, and we had a good time shopping.

Back at LUX, we prepared a lovely dinner of stroganoff and salad. It all turned out to be very tasty. Now, we are having a discussion about tomorrow's destination. It will be interesting to see where we end up.

Some Last Looks at Coinjock

We've left the dock at Coinjock's, and we are on our way to Great Bridge. Yes. Today we cross over into Virginia. Here is a last look at Coinjock.

As you can see from the dock in the center picture, we waited until the large powerboats had all left. We really didn't want to spend our day dancing with powerboats in small passageways!

Although it is gray outside, we are not complaining. The latest look at the weather has the rain going south of us. We are just getting the benefits of the clouds. As a result, it is nice and cool right now. It is great traveling weather. And, just now, we saw a bald eagle sitting on a branch having breakfast. 

Morning at Coinjock

Well, it is not another beautiful day today.

The forecast for today is chance of thunderstorms. The weather radar shows rain heading for us. Hmmm. Even worse, the restaurant here in Coinjock does NOT have breakfast. Oh well.

Finally! We stop at Coinjock!

If you know Terry, you might have seen his tee shirt from Coinjock. He has stopped here several times. But, every time LUX got here, it was too early to stop. So, we would press on. This time, we said we HAD to stop. 

We arrived around 2:30, and got settled in. As we were walking toward the restaurant, someone called our names out!

Yes, it was Judy and Ralph from ASPS! It was lovely to see folks from home. We had a nice chat.

Later on, we went to dinner at Coinjock's Restaurant. 

It may look like a hole in the wall, but it is THE place to eat around here. The specialty is the 32 ounce prime rib. Since Carol loves prime rib, we got it for her. No, the plan was NOT for her to eat it all. She could have what she wanted, we would get a picture of a ginormous prime rib, and tomorrow we would have stroganoff. 

BTW, it really is true that this is the place to stop. The marina only has one long face dock, but it is packed tonight. And LUX is one of the smaller boats. So is Ralph and Judy's boat!

Even though the dock is full, it is still a pretty place to stop.

And Mike got a tee shirt. All in all, not a bad day.

Alligator River Marina

Well, we are here at one of our favorite stops on the ICW- the Alligator River Marina. Yes, we are at the Shell Gas Station/marina/truck stop/restaurant. We were followed all day by Adagio:

Adagio's owners are actually fron Indiana, but they keep their boat in West River. They love sailing the Chesapeake! We invited them for cocktails before dinner. They came, and they brought wine. Just for you, Linda- I took a picture of the wine bottle:

Finally, I get a good picture of a chicken!

We all went over to the restaurant in the gas station. Everyone tried something different tonight, is I can report that all the food was good. I must confess that some people stuck to the traditional fried shrimp platter- but they did try different sides.

Tomorrow, we will head off once again. The destination is Coinjock.

The Promised Pictures

In a past blog, I mentioned that Terry had the good camera out when the recreational shrimpers were working. So here is a great shot showing how frenzied the seagull activity was.

After a bit, there were two boats out shrimping- which made the seagulls even happier.

And, we did have a nice storm the next day on the way to Belhaven. Here you can see the ominous clouds.

But, the sky behind us was beautiful. This was a great shot of the rainbow with a sailboat passing under it.

Finally, just for the weather loving group- yes, it is a waterspout. Yes, it is the one Carol was trying to get us to photograph. Luckily, Terry did get his camera out. Even luckier, we did not meet up with this weather phenomenon. 

You Can Tell You're Traveling With True Sailors When....

Tuesday morning. Mike and Carol are at the helm. The skies are gray. Rain spits now and again. At 8:31 AM, Carol throws open the screen door and yelled, "Quick! Grab your camera! There is a funnel cloud up ahead." Alas, Dear Readers, the non-sailor in this motley crew did NOT see this as a Kodak© Moment! Terry did caution the navigator to NOT sail directly for it. The Coast Guard did issue a bulletin to watch for two funnel clouds sighted on the Neuse River headed for Pamlico Sound. My crew? We're just motor sailing along. Today's good news? There is a rainbow following us. We hope that is a good sign.

Earlier Today- Before the Cookies!

Yes, we did leave Beaufort early this morning, but not super early. We were just headed up to Oriental. We wanted a short day, and Oriental was just the right distance. It was a great day to be on the water. The wind kicked up, and the sailors were able to sail! Yes, they even turned off the engines.

We also saw some shrimpers hard at work- followed by large flocks of seagulls. And all kinds of boats from small fishing boats to sailboats to BIG yachts were all out on the Neuse River.

We made it into Oriental just around lunchtime. We enjoyed a lunch of Beaufort leftovers, and then we set off to explore town. The interesting thing about the South is that many stores are still closed on Sunday - even in seaside tourist towns. But, even more interesting- they are also closed on Monday. So, we did not get to do laundry in Beaufort because the laundry was closed on Sunday. We did not get to check out the art gallery in downtown Oriental because it is closed on Mondays. Don't get me wrong. I don't mind- we really don't need to shop( but laundry....that's another issue). It's just that coming from an area where everything is practically open all the time to an area that is just the opposite takes some adjusting! Still, it is all fun, no matter what. We can look in shop windows and have just as much fun. And, we just wait until the next town to do laundry. Luckily, we all still had some clean (or mostly clean) clothes! And, the marina here at Oriental had two washers and two dryers.

The other interesting thing is that once again we are in a seafood town that does not sell its seafood locally. It gets frozen and shipped out. No fresh shrimp for us, darn it.

The evening ended with a water show.

This is not the best picture. Terry took ones with a better camera that we will post later. But, two small boats were out shrimping. You can barely see them, but all the white dots around them are gulls! It was wild to watch the boats circling, and the gulls trying to take the shrimp. A great ending to another great day on the water.

Yummy!

Yes, tonight I experimented on the crew. We started with my Ginger Chicken Cashew over rice. They all seemed to like that. Then, on to the big experiment of the night.

Yes, I made cookies. In The Microwave!! I bought a package of pre-made pecan turtle chocolate chip cookies.  I cooked them two at a time in a silicon pan. The time was 1 minute and 45 seconds. I turned the pan after one minute because this microwave is not only low powered, but it does not have a turntable! Then, I tried to let them cool.

When they cool, they are really good and crunchy. But they are good hot as well. We all enjoyed them. Another good experiment.

Happenings in Beaufort

There have been some comments on the dearth of news during the last two days. Well, Dear Readers, we were having an adventure! Mike's nephew lives in North Carolina. So, he decided to bring his family out to the coast to visit us. They really wanted to join us in Beaufort because the museum has a pirate section! And, they would be near a beach. Almost a perfect vacation, right? Especially when your three children are under the age of ten.

Let me start by saying that they are a delightful family. We enjoy having them around whenever we get to see them. We invited all of them to spend the night on board LUX. Now LUX really is a good size for a boat. But 7 adults and 3 children? That is a lot of people all in one small place. The kids and Mom slept in the starboard forward cabin- with one in the vee berth. Dad slept on the settee. It appears he got the better part of the deal. We heard lots of tales of feet stuck in other people's faces, space stealers, wigglers, etc. the next morning!

We all went out to dinner Saturday night. We had pancakes on the boat Sunday morning. Then Mom and Dad spent time planning the rest of their day- a trip to a beach. While we were waiting, Carol (yes, Dear Readers, I am talking about our own Carol who claims she is not good with little children) entertained the children by playing Go Fish with them. Here is the proof:

The children asked me to play as well. Peggy served as our most excellent referee and moderator- the toughest job of all. She got to use probably her entire stock of Grandmother phrases- Use your inside voice, Don't look at other people's cards, Let me help you with that.....I am sure you can continue this list without my help!

At the end of the game, it was time for the family to catch the ferry to the beach. We were sorry to see them leave. However, some of us were quite worn out. Children that age have incredible energy! It was like being around three perpetual motion machines. We were quite impressed, though, by how well behaved they were. Peggy had to use more Grandmother sayings like- No, Do not step on That, etc. but, they always stopped and did what they were asked to do. It was a lovely visit, all in all.

Yesterday afternoon, we all mosied around the shops looking for treasures to bring home. We ended our day at the Dockside restaurant and bar. Great view. Okay food. Then, it was back to the boat for an early bedtime!

Monday Morning in Beaufort, NC

Our time here is quickly coming to an end. It is a lovely morning.

We will be heading off to Oriental this morning.

We have had a great time here in Beaufort. It is one of our favorite spots.

Leaving Swan Point

We took off from Swan Point Marina at 6:25 AM. It was a nice place to spend the night. But, it is a little tricky getting in and out. As the boat people on board like to say, "The water is a little thin here."

This morning, we get to go through one of our favorite spots on the ICW. It's the area where you are reminded that it might be shut down due to firing range practice. Hmmm.... Another good reason to have your radio on while boating. You would hate to miss those types of messages.