Reedville, VA

Reedville is best known for its Menhaden fishing industry, sometimes called pogies. They are small bony fish used for bait or used in fertilizers and pet foods. In 1874 Elijah Reed transferred his Menhaden fishing operation from Maine to the Chesapeake Bay. When the wind is blowing the right way, there is a pretty stinky smell coming from the plant. Yes, the wind was blowing the right way on our visit, lucky us.

In the early 1900's the Menhaden industry success was reflected in substantial architecture and the bustling commercial activity evidenced in Reedville. A portion of the homes along Main St. north of the church were called Millionaire's Row. Reedville is one of the largest fishing ports in North America.

           Some of the houses located on Millionaire Row.

During our stay we visited the Reedville Fisherman's Museum, which was very interesting, went to a fishing tournament celebration, and spent some time exploring all the creeks with the dinghy.

Urbanna, VA

Urbanna, VA is a small town, probably the smallest we have visited, with a population of approx. 650.  One of our nations oldest seaports, it is located on the Rappahannock river which is off the ICW.  A small side trip we decided to take with George and Kathy on "Spey".   Every year in November they have an oyster festival complete with a oyster shucking contest, this festival attracts approx. 75,000 visitors.  I cannot imagine where they put everyone.

The weather has been all over the board, we had tornado warnings, which I  am happy to say, did not materialize.  It did clear out the  85% humidity , and lower the temps to around the mid 70's for a few days.  We will leave Urbanna in the morning and anchor out for a few days near Reedville. Then on to Solomon's.  

Hampton & Deltaville, VA

Our next 2 stops were Salt Ponds Marina in Hampton, VA and then on to Deltaville, VA. This is all in the Chesapeake Bay area. 

Salt Ponds Marina was a two day stop, they had a beautiful pool, and an on-site restaurant.  We took a cab in to town to do some grocery shopping, got caught up on some laundry, then just relaxed at the pool, like boaters. In the evening we went for a long walk along the beach which wasn't too far away.

The weather has been in the mid 90's and humidity is about 85%.  Seems we went from unusually cold to unusually hot.  It's safe to say we are setting temperature records all along this trip. The marinas with pools are a welcome site. :)

Dozier's Regatta Point Marina in Deltaville is only about 37 miles north of Hampton.  We are taking our time, and it still feels like we are moving up the coast quickly.  I agree with you Sue, when you say it seems like we were just in the keys.  Our time schedule is to be in our home port of Vermilion, mid Sept. 

We did some biking in Deltaville, went to Cocomo's for lunch with fellow loopers Ron & Bev from M/V  Sea Venture, and Ed & Nancy from M/V Dream Fever.  George & Kathy from M/V Spey, who we had been traveling with, were anchored out. We rode bikes to  Fishing Bay, where George picked us up by dinghy and took us back to their boat.  So we spent an afternoon with them. 

Norfolk, VA

Norfolk was a good stop, we were there with George and Kathy on "Spey"   Two other loopers were also at Waterside Marina in Norfolk, Gerry & Linda on "Monk's Vineyard" and Ron & Bev on Sea Venture" .  It was good to see them.  Gerry & Linda had  a rental car and were kind enough to give Jim a ride to the local West Marine store.

Dinner was at Hooters, it is right next to the marina.  I have never been to a Hooters, that was interesting, and the food was good.  The picture to the left is of the shopping area next to Waterside Marina.  We had an unwanted visitor at 3:00 in the morning, there were 3 teens hanging out around the docks, one of them decided to board our boat, which instantly woke us up. Needless to say, Jim had a few choice words for this young adult and he quicky got off the boat.

While in Norfolk we went to Nauticus, which is  part Navy museum and part ocean kind of info.  We toured the USS Wisconsin, the next 2 pictures show that.

These pictures were from the ocean part of the museum, top and bottom.

We left Norfolk on Tuesday and headed to Hampton, VA

Elizabeth City and Dismal Swamp, N.C.

Elizabeth City is the stop before entering the Dismal Swamp.  A small waterfront town that has suffered in this economy, and is struggling to survive.  The waterfront is beautiful, as you walk in to town there are many buildings that are now standing vacant. A site that is all too familiar as we travel these beautiful waterways. They still offer complimentary docks to the traveling boater, no power or electric, but a secure place to spend a night or two.  We stayed in Elizabeth City for a night an explored the town.

The day started out a bit overcast but quickly started to heat up, and by early afternoon the sun was out in full force.  We headed to the Dismal Swamp, a very protected canal with tall trees and water so calm its resembles glass.  Construction began in 1793, and  had to be dug completely by hand so progress was slow and expensive.  Most of the labor was done by slaves hired from nearby landowners. The slaves became so familiar with this swamp that it eventually became a haven for runaway slaves.

There is a bridge and lock at the beginning and end of this canal, with only 4 openings a day. We took 2 days to go through this fascinating area. 

Look closely at this picture, it is not upside down, you are seeing the reflection of the blue sky and trees in the water. The next picture shows the rails on the side of the boat to show that we are in the water.

We stayed overnight at the welcome center along the canal, and went to the Dismal Swamp National Park across the foot bridge.

The next 2 pictures were taken as we walked around the park.

Last bridge, with the lock about 1/8th of a mile up the canal, we are almost through the Dismal Swamp. It is about 9:00 a.m. and we are headed to Norfolk, VA.

Oriental, N.C.

On Sunday the forecast was calling for rain for the next 4 days with possible T'storms.  Jim checked the various weather sites, and Sirius weather, then made the decision to leave Beaufort for Oriental.  It drizzled off and on, was overcast, cloudy, and a tad chilly, but we made it without T'storms. After we docked the sun came out and it was a very nice afternoon.  We took the courtesy car into town to check it out.  Oriental is quite a small town, approximately 875 residents.  There is a small Town & Country grocery store, a small hardware store, and various small gift shops and restaurants. The Bean is the local coffee shop that also sells ice cream, that was an obvious stop for us, I enjoyed death by chocolate and Jim tried the nutty coconut, very good!

The marina is about 5 years old and a pretty nice place, with a pool, and club house. 

With the weather developing some wicked wind and churning the water up, we decided to stay put for a bit.  Thursday is suppose to be much calmer, so we will leave Oriental for Belhaven.  That should be about 49 miles north of here, or 5 hours on the water at 7 knots.

We got together with Kathy & George from MV Spey this evening and had dinner  at one of the local restaurants in town. It's called "The Silos" because they are metal silos.  The food was great and very reasonably priced.  They will also be leaving tomorrow morning for an anchorage in Belhaven.  Other than George & Kathy we haven't seen any other "loopers" for awhile, I think most are ahead of us, we are lagging behind just taking our time.

Beaufort, N.C.

Friday morning was a beautiful day to travel, it was sunny, and warm.  We headed about 29 miles north to Beaufort, N.C.  Jim's brother Mike, was kind enough to drive 4 1/2 hours with Rob & Erin, to visit with us.  We had a great visit and drove to a local restaurant for an early dinner.  Thanks again Mike!  Rob & Erin, have a terrific summer it was fun to hear about all your upcoming plans.  This picture below was taken by the waitress, I neglected to realize that she did not get all of us in, Mike is missing.

While in Beaufort, we rented a car and drove to Atlantic Beach, about 10 minutes from the marina.  The sand is very fine, almost like a powder.  It wasn't warm enough for me to go in the water, but there were a few people in. 

The following picture shows you don't need a boat to go out on the water fishing.

Beaufort has some beautiful older homes, many have been restored and are sure to last another 100 years.  We spent the weekend at the Town Creek Marina in Beaufort, and again headed north,  another 25 miles to Oriental, N.C. slowly working our way up the east coast.