Left early as we had to cross back across Chesapeake Bay. We had 3-4 foot waves, as forecast. It was a following sea, so they came at us from the rear. It was a gentle ride, but you went up one side of the wave and somewhat surfed down the other side. It was the kind of day that makes you take a Bonine (sea sick preventative) just in case! Guess I best clarify "me" on that.
Finally saw a few dolphin today.
The Bay is in peril because of over harvesting and pollution. Along with the two diseases killing the remaining oysters. The disease is thought to have come from a ship from Asia pumping out its bilge into the Bay.
More than 150 sewage treatment plants empty directly into the Bay. The Susquehanna River has a large number of non-compliant sewage plants along its 600-plus-mile course through New York and Pennsylvania, eventually reaching the Bay.
In the early 1900s it is estimated that the total volume of the Chesapeake's water was completely filtered in eight hours by filter feeders-principally oysters and menhaden fish. (menhaden were the same fish they were making fertilizer out of back in Crisfield) Today, the same level of filtration takes more than one year. In Maryland I believe it is now illegal to catch menhaden fish. Where it is still caught, it is used as chicken feed!!!
We arrived at York River Yacht Haven where we will stay for four nights. We are on the opposite side of the river from Yorktown. And only about 20 miles from historic Williamsburg and the Jamestown Settlement. We have so looked forward to exploring these places and one of the reasons we came to this marina is they offer a shuttle service. Bad news for us, they aren’t offering it over the 4th of July weekend. So we tried to rent a car. Nope, all booked for the weekend. Okay, now I’m bummed. So I go back up to the marina office. I learned a long time ago that you get a lot more mileage out of being pathetic than being a b*%#*. Before we knew it, we had a 5 speed, BMW Convertible Roadster at our disposal. Woo hoo! We’re going to Jamestown….with the top down!!!
THURSDAY JULY 1ST
Our stay at Somer’s Cove Marina has been nice. The staff works hard to please. The laundry is clean and only a buck! The bath and showers are clean too. The third night stay is free, other than $10 for electric. So we decided to stay an extra day.
We spent the day pretty much doing boat chores and catching up a bit. Laundry for me, and Ross did something messy with fuel filters. Rode the bikes back to Food Lion for a few more grocery items and Ross stopped at the T & S Marine Caterpillar shop. He said the machine shop was a “real man’s diesel repair shop.” He described it as guys sitting on stools, working on engines, parts everywhere, dust, phone ringing off the hook, the guys ignoring it and the garages door wide open.
Pretty exciting day, eh?
We spent the day pretty much doing boat chores and catching up a bit. Laundry for me, and Ross did something messy with fuel filters. Rode the bikes back to Food Lion for a few more grocery items and Ross stopped at the T & S Marine Caterpillar shop. He said the machine shop was a “real man’s diesel repair shop.” He described it as guys sitting on stools, working on engines, parts everywhere, dust, phone ringing off the hook, the guys ignoring it and the garages door wide open.
Pretty exciting day, eh?
WEDNESDAY JUNE 30TH
Hallelujah!!! A cold front came through during the night.
It has been an extremely interesting day. We have experienced a part of America that we didn’t realize even existed. Our day started at the visitor center with a $3 tour, of which Ross and I were the only ones signed up for. Our guide was a retired, local “waterman” whose family has always worked in the oyster/crabbing business here in Crisfield. Best 3 bucks we’ve spent so far!
Oyster season is during the fall and winter months so most of what we learned was about crabbing, which is in full swing. The bottom of the bay around Crisfield and the islands of Tangier and Smith, is perfect for crabs during their molts. Eel grass grows well and gives protection to the crab once it molts its shell and grows a new hard shell.
Some of the watermen used what looks like a hockey goal to catch them. He drags it through the eelgrass and brings it up to see if caught any. More often though, the crabs are caught in crab traps. I never seem to get a good picture of a trap that lets you see how it works. A chunk of fish is placed in the center to attract the crabs. They crawl in but then realize they’re trapped. Panic, and then instinctively climb up towards the top where they are completely trapped.
The watermen lead a hard life. They leave around 2 am to start checking their traps. Rain or shine, calm or windy. The crabs need to be 3 ½ inches wide or larger. A waterman can look at a crab and know if it is within a few days of molting. The soft shell crabs are considered a delicacy. Oysters once were the main product, but now it is soft shell crabs.
Once they molt, they are immediately removed from the float and placed in fresh water. This is for two reasons. The first is, if they are left in the salt water, they draw calcium from it and start to form a new shell. The second reason is that crabs are nasty, vicious, little creatures and will eat their buddies if their shell is gone.
It wasn’t but a few minutes after our guide opened up this box to the warm air that they started squirming around.This box is off to a restaurant someplace. I held this crab and it felt like soft wet leather.
These are Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs.
They are not molting and the entire basket will be put in this steamer. (ouch, what a way to go!) Once steamed, they are cooled and then picked. Picking is done by hand. Mechanized picking shreds up the meat too much.
Lots of waste in a crab. 40 pounds of crab equals about 3 pounds of meat.
At one time there were over 150 seafood-processing houses in Crisfield. Now there are only 3. These women are paid $2.25 per pound for the crab they pick. When they pick 5 pounds, they bring it in to be weighed. Their tally is kept track of on this board. They get a slash mark for each 5 pounds and the remaining pounds are written in number. So 13 pounds of meat is two slash marks and the number 3.
Our guide told us that most canned crab now comes from Asia and is processed in Indonesia. The picking is done in sterile conditions by “women standing shoulder to shoulder and earning a dollar a day and a roll of toilet paper.” This doesn’t sound all bad, as we saw at least one of the workers here without a hair net and many were also eating crab as they picked! Granted, the crab is canned and pasteurized, but…It was amazing to see how incredibly fast these women could pick crab!
I took short a video with my camera. I shot it through a doorway and figured since I could rotate any photos I took, I could rotate the video. Wrong!! So sorry folks, but you have to crook your neck to the left to watch a way of life that will probably be gone from America within 5 years. Just click on the arrow.
This little guy was hanging out at the museum for the day with his older brother who worked in the crab shanty.
After this we headed to the ferry to ride over to Tangier Island. Tangier Island is a unique place in that it has been so isolated over the years that the locals have a very thick English accent and their own culture.
Crab pots ready to go. We learned it’s important to keep the traps clean, so the watermen constantly rotate the traps. They pressure wash them to clean them, or run them through the car wash. No car wash on Tangier Island though.
There are a few trucks, but most everyone is buzzing around in decorated golf carts. No liquor is available anywhere. You may bring your own though.
This message on the wall reflects much of the attitude of the people of this island.
We toured their museum, which was very well done and full of items, photos and news clippings of the Island. One clipping I found very interesting was about Paul Newman. He wanted to film the movie “Message in a Bottle” on Tangier. The town council said no way, because of the sex, cursing and alcohol use in the movie. Newman’s response? “I’ve never been in the presence of such small- mindedness, fear, and ignorance in my life. I couldn’t get away fast enough." What a jerk! I’m sure he was shocked that anyone would stand up and say no to Hollywood on the grounds they had principles!!
We returned to Chrisfield by the end of the day and ate dinner on the back deck. What a treat, it was the first time this leg of the trip that it was bearable to be outdoors.
TUESDAY JUNE 29TH
We are now in our 15th state. Here is red marker 6, with Maryland on the left and Virginia on the right. Guess the cormorants are the welcoming committee.
It’s still very hot, but there is the promise of cooler weather starting tomorrow! Hope, hope, hope!
We walked around the town a bit and stopped at the local museum. They had nice displays on the history of the town. This is the main street of the town. At one time everything you see in this photo was salt marsh. The oyster harvest and processing was so huge that this entire area is covered with the shells of the oysters. At some points it is ten feet deep with shells. Oyster shells were also processed into lime for farm fields. No controls over the harvesting quantities along, with two diseases have drastically cut the oyster harvest.
We now understand the adage of don’t eat oysters in the months without “r’s”. During the spring and summer the oysters are breeding and get skinny, stringy and watery. During the fall and winter, they get nice and plump again. Now we know. Looking forward to Septembe”r”!
Google “punt guns” for Utube videos and photos if you’re interested. There’s some amazing info out there!! We’re lucky there’s any waterfowl left!
MONDAY JUNE 28TH
I was watching the Weather Channel and now realize I need to print a retraction! They did a piece on the oil skimmer A WHALE. Looking at it I thought, hey, that’s not the same ship I took a photo of! The ship in my photo had a blue hull. Sorry about that folks. If you want to read more about this ship, you can click on this link: "A WHALE" oil skimmer
Passed this lighthouse. It is the Newport News Middle Ground Lighthouse. Built in 1891, it was auctioned off in 2005 to a private party in and online auction for disposal of government property. A family from Williamsburg purchased it for $31,000. They put another 30 grand in to it make it a very offbeat vacation home. The Coast Guard retained ingress and egress rights in order to tend the light as the lighthouse is still used as a navigation aid.
As we traveled out into the Chesapeake Bay, we passed this lighthouse. This is known as the Thimble Shoals Lighthouse. Built in 1872, it replaced the last of the Lightships. It is the navigation aid to the entrance to Hampton Roads. This lighthouse was auctioned off at the same time as the previous lighthouse. It is cast iron and was purchased for $65,000 by a man from Smithfield, Virginia. (ham town)The term Hampton Roads nowadays refers to an area of south eastern Virginia, including towns. Historically though it refers to a safe harbor area between the rivers and Chesapeake Bay. A “road” in the nautical sense is a place where a ship can safely anchor. Not to be confused with a “rode”, or anchor line/chain. That’s your little nautical lesson for the day.
Our destination for the night was Cape Charles, VA. We crossed the Chesapeake Bay without incident. Maybe 2-foot waves is all. The marina isn't the best we've ever stayed at. We had to climb off the bow pulpit to get off the boat. The "finger" was about 3 feet long so didn't help us in the least as far as getting on and off. No way to gracefully climb off the bow pulpit!!I have been under the weather with a nasty cold, so decided to just hang out at the boat for the day and rest. Ross dutifully took over the scouting duties and set off to explore the town.
He came back and reported about a meteor and the railroad.
35 million years ago a meteor 2 miles wide crashed to Earth where Cape Charles is today, creating the 6th largest impact crater on Earth. Bedrock fractured seven miles deep and an enormous tsunami went as far as the tops of the Blue Ridge Mountains hundreds of miles away!
He biked down the beach and took this picture. Looks nice!
SUNDAY JUNE 27TH
Today we traveled up the Pagan River to the town of Smithfield. It is an interesting stop as the town has many, many historic homes. Some of them built pre-date the Revolutionary War.
Once again the weather is brutally hot, but we had a mission. Smithfield is known world wide for the hams they produce. Somewhere along the line, Ross read that the world’s oldest edible ham is on display here. So off we went in search of it.
We found it at the Isle of Wight museum. There were other hams on display too, including this one. The info card said it was the “largest cured ham.” Maybe in the world, or maybe just in the town? It didn’t give that tidbit of information. The hog weighed 900 pounds and its leg weighed 91 pounds after curing back in 1955. Jeez, it’s almost as old as me!
The hog leg kind of grossed me out and it wasn’t until later I realized I forgot to take a picture of the World’s Oldest Edible Ham. Just picture a brown, shriveled up dog rawhide chew, and that’s pretty much what it looked like. It was cured in 1902 and I for one, question how they know if it’s edible or not????
I did take a photo of the World’s Oldest Peanut though!
Grown in, you guessed it, 1890. P. D. Gwaltney picked it, dated it and used it for advertising his peanut business.
The Smithfield Ham is internationally sold. Originally the hogs used for it had to fed on the peanut fields. The processing of the ham involves coating it in salt, sugar, and sodium nitrate, waiting, washing it, re-salting it, more waiting, washing, then smoking it for 10 days and then aging it for 6 to 12 months. The result is a deep red, dry, pungent flavored ham considered a gourmet’s favorite. It is sliced paper thin and added to a biscuit or on top of something else. It’s very salty and wouldn’t be eaten as the main course meat.
Hogs aren’t native to the area, but thrived when introduced to the point they became a nuisance. The colonists rounded them out and put them on a nearby island, creatively named Hog Island, where the hogs could for forage and we’re a ready food source.
We learned there was to be a Revolutionary War re-enactment at a park, so hustled on over along the numerous pedestrian paths. Too bad we took a wrong turn and ended up on a gravel road at the outskirts of town walking along what looked like a peanut field. I was out of water and beyond cranky!! Then we arrived at the park and I saw the re-enactors wearing wool uniforms and hats and quit feeling sorry for myself.
The group had done a re-enactment of the Skirmish at Mackie’s Mill the day before. The heat had done in most of them so there was a talk and demonstration of canon firing and of the various soldiers.
This cannon was really pretty puny. Ross thought it was maybe a 2" barrel, but loud! My photo was blurry. I knew when the soldier hollered “fire” it would be loud, but each time I jerked from the concussion. Can’t begin to think how loud a big cannon would be. So rock steady Roscoe gets the credit for this photo!
The sergeant was in charge of the artillery crew and called the commands to prepare, clean, load and fire the cannon.
This militiaman carries a government issued smooth bore, "Brown Bess" flintlock musket. It wasn’t a very accurate weapon and didn’t have much range (maybe 50-75 yards), but you could reload and fire it fairly quickly and could also put a bayonet on the end. It has a long barrel, which is a very convenient feature if you have a bayonet on it. The bayonet was actually the deciding factor in battles.
This soldier has a Kentucky rifle. It would have been his own. The barrel had spiral rifling. It can’t be reloaded as quickly as a powder musket, but it is quite accurate and can be fired from a greater distance.
This man is dressed as a Hessian rifleman, or “jagers”. Pronounced yagers. They came from a part of Germany and fought for King George. They had a short-barreled rifle, which was accurate, and they also had very good gunpowder. They couldn’t add a bayonet to the barrel though. They did however carry a sword, although it didn't do much good against a bayonet on a long barrel. Too short.
A demonstration of firing and reloading. They tried to fire and reload 3 times in one minute with the Brown Bess. None of them made it. Once came close though.
There were women who followed the troops too. They cooked, sewed, served as nurses, made lead shot and even took up arms or took over artillery duty for fallen soldiers.
The actual Skirmish at Mackie’s Mill was in Jan of 1781 and involved Benedict Arnold and his troops. The locals lost about 11 soldiers and had to retreat.
Our walk back to the marina took us across a pedestrian bridge over a salt marsh. It was low tide and we noticed hundreds of crabs feeding and scurrying about in the muck and hiding in the grasses. Most of the crabs were between half an inch to a couple of inches in size. Oil in a salt marsh would be a real catastrophe to marine life.
Once again the weather is brutally hot, but we had a mission. Smithfield is known world wide for the hams they produce. Somewhere along the line, Ross read that the world’s oldest edible ham is on display here. So off we went in search of it.
The hog leg kind of grossed me out and it wasn’t until later I realized I forgot to take a picture of the World’s Oldest Edible Ham. Just picture a brown, shriveled up dog rawhide chew, and that’s pretty much what it looked like. It was cured in 1902 and I for one, question how they know if it’s edible or not????
I did take a photo of the World’s Oldest Peanut though!
Grown in, you guessed it, 1890. P. D. Gwaltney picked it, dated it and used it for advertising his peanut business.
Hogs aren’t native to the area, but thrived when introduced to the point they became a nuisance. The colonists rounded them out and put them on a nearby island, creatively named Hog Island, where the hogs could for forage and we’re a ready food source.
We learned there was to be a Revolutionary War re-enactment at a park, so hustled on over along the numerous pedestrian paths. Too bad we took a wrong turn and ended up on a gravel road at the outskirts of town walking along what looked like a peanut field. I was out of water and beyond cranky!! Then we arrived at the park and I saw the re-enactors wearing wool uniforms and hats and quit feeling sorry for myself. 
The group had done a re-enactment of the Skirmish at Mackie’s Mill the day before. The heat had done in most of them so there was a talk and demonstration of canon firing and of the various soldiers.
The sergeant was in charge of the artillery crew and called the commands to prepare, clean, load and fire the cannon.
This militiaman carries a government issued smooth bore, "Brown Bess" flintlock musket. It wasn’t a very accurate weapon and didn’t have much range (maybe 50-75 yards), but you could reload and fire it fairly quickly and could also put a bayonet on the end. It has a long barrel, which is a very convenient feature if you have a bayonet on it. The bayonet was actually the deciding factor in battles.
This soldier has a Kentucky rifle. It would have been his own. The barrel had spiral rifling. It can’t be reloaded as quickly as a powder musket, but it is quite accurate and can be fired from a greater distance.
This man is dressed as a Hessian rifleman, or “jagers”. Pronounced yagers. They came from a part of Germany and fought for King George. They had a short-barreled rifle, which was accurate, and they also had very good gunpowder. They couldn’t add a bayonet to the barrel though. They did however carry a sword, although it didn't do much good against a bayonet on a long barrel. Too short.
A demonstration of firing and reloading. They tried to fire and reload 3 times in one minute with the Brown Bess. None of them made it. Once came close though.
There were women who followed the troops too. They cooked, sewed, served as nurses, made lead shot and even took up arms or took over artillery duty for fallen soldiers.
The actual Skirmish at Mackie’s Mill was in Jan of 1781 and involved Benedict Arnold and his troops. The locals lost about 11 soldiers and had to retreat.
Our walk back to the marina took us across a pedestrian bridge over a salt marsh. It was low tide and we noticed hundreds of crabs feeding and scurrying about in the muck and hiding in the grasses. Most of the crabs were between half an inch to a couple of inches in size. Oil in a salt marsh would be a real catastrophe to marine life.
SATURDAY JUNE 26TH
I’m sounding like a broken record, but it’s hot again today.
Ross dropped the dinghy in the water and we took it across the bay to the city of Hampton. Hampton was settled in 1610. Most of the historic buildings are long gone and it appears like any other city for the most part.
We wondered around the streets and stopped in a few shops. It was just too dang hot to want to do much of anything. We decided to go to the Virginia Air & Space Center and hunker down in air conditioning.
Close to Hampton is the Langley Air Force Base. Nearby NASA Langley Research Center is the original training site of the first 7 astronauts. So most of the museum was aircraft.
We were excited to see they had a B-24
on display. This is the same type of
bomber that Ross’ dad piloted in WWII.
Here’s the cockpit.
The plane itself was huge, but at the same time must have been extremely cramped for the crew. Look at how huge the landing gear is in comparison to Roscoe. And he’s no shrimp!
We had to wait an hour for the movie to start, so after wandering around the museum decided to “experience” one of the museum’s rides. It was the Cosmic Roller Coaster. Sounded good but was really cheesy. You climbed in to a simulator and it bounced around and back and forth. The only thing that made it worth the $$ was the young girls in the first seats and their reactions.
There was a film about the Hubble Telescope in the 3D IMAX theatre so we went. Very interesting. The pictures the Hubble has sent back are incredible. Much of the film was about the various shuttle trips up to repair it. Beginning with the warped mirror that needed replacing. Ross models our oh so attractive 3D glasses!
After the museum we walked across the street to a building that holds a restored carousel. Originally on this spot was the Bunch Of Grapes Tavern. Don’t you just love the name? Anyway, the tavern was built in the 1700’s but was burned by the Confederate Army along with most of the town of Hampton. This was done as a measure to keep the Union Army from occupying the town.
There is a restaurant at the marina called the Surf Side and we were told they serve excellent seafood. We have dined out more on this leg than any other as we are taking advantage of all the fresh seafood. Ross asked the waitress what the favorite item was, so we ordered it. A crab cake, 4 shrimp and hush puppies. The crab cake (Ruby you would have thought you’d died and gone to heaven) was pure lump crab with some seasoning and broiled. No crumbs, just crab. And the 4 shrimp were gigantic. Hush Puppies were A #1. We were stuffed, but it was way too good not to finish it!!!!
Ross dropped the dinghy in the water and we took it across the bay to the city of Hampton. Hampton was settled in 1610. Most of the historic buildings are long gone and it appears like any other city for the most part.
We wondered around the streets and stopped in a few shops. It was just too dang hot to want to do much of anything. We decided to go to the Virginia Air & Space Center and hunker down in air conditioning.
Close to Hampton is the Langley Air Force Base. Nearby NASA Langley Research Center is the original training site of the first 7 astronauts. So most of the museum was aircraft.
We were excited to see they had a B-24
on display. This is the same type of
bomber that Ross’ dad piloted in WWII.
Here’s the cockpit.
The plane itself was huge, but at the same time must have been extremely cramped for the crew. Look at how huge the landing gear is in comparison to Roscoe. And he’s no shrimp!
We had to wait an hour for the movie to start, so after wandering around the museum decided to “experience” one of the museum’s rides. It was the Cosmic Roller Coaster. Sounded good but was really cheesy. You climbed in to a simulator and it bounced around and back and forth. The only thing that made it worth the $$ was the young girls in the first seats and their reactions.
There was a film about the Hubble Telescope in the 3D IMAX theatre so we went. Very interesting. The pictures the Hubble has sent back are incredible. Much of the film was about the various shuttle trips up to repair it. Beginning with the warped mirror that needed replacing. Ross models our oh so attractive 3D glasses!
After the museum we walked across the street to a building that holds a restored carousel. Originally on this spot was the Bunch Of Grapes Tavern. Don’t you just love the name? Anyway, the tavern was built in the 1700’s but was burned by the Confederate Army along with most of the town of Hampton. This was done as a measure to keep the Union Army from occupying the town.
There is a restaurant at the marina called the Surf Side and we were told they serve excellent seafood. We have dined out more on this leg than any other as we are taking advantage of all the fresh seafood. Ross asked the waitress what the favorite item was, so we ordered it. A crab cake, 4 shrimp and hush puppies. The crab cake (Ruby you would have thought you’d died and gone to heaven) was pure lump crab with some seasoning and broiled. No crumbs, just crab. And the 4 shrimp were gigantic. Hush Puppies were A #1. We were stuffed, but it was way too good not to finish it!!!!
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