Monday November 10

We certainly didn’t put very many miles under the keel this week! The weather stayed thick, wet and unmanageable until Thursday! We went for wet walks, read books and generally worked at staying out of the way of Mike and Tom. There were several minor electrical changes Fred has wanted done since YOUNG AMERICA came to live with us last March. All but one are now completed, thanks to M&T (mentioned above and pictured at right). The last one is an elusive little devil that had Mike, the electrician scratching his head, and now that we’ve left Deltaville and Mike is off the job, has Fred shaking his. Head, that is. One day it will sort itself out, I’m sure. When the sun finally broke through on Friday we hightailed it around to the Hampton Roads. ‘Roads’ apparently, is an old English term describing ‘a place near the ocean where large vessels can anchor safely.’ In this case, Hampton Roads is located at the confluence of the Elizabeth and James Rivers, Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, with the cities of Hampton, Newport, Newport News and Virginia Beach all within, well, anchoring distance. Hampton, VA has a delightful town dock. We planned to stay 2 nights, but the third was free, so who could resist? It was in this part of Tidewater VA, near Richmond, where Fred’s parents lived at the end of their lives, so on Saturday we rented a car and drove to the churchyard where they are buried. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in New Kent, VA is a lovely brick building which dates back to the 1700’s. It was, interestingly, the site of both marriages of our first First Lady, Martha Dandridge-Custis-Washington. She was born nearby, grew up and married in this area, and after the death of her first husband, she returned to St. Peter’s, her home church, for her marriage to George. From St. Peter;s, we rode back to Cumberland Farm, the place where Mangelsdorf family gatherings took place in the late 1960‘s and early ‘70‘s. The property changed hands three years ago, and the new owners were very gracious, and happy to show us the many improvements they have made to the house and the grounds. Fred was very pleased as the place looks wonderful and is clearly loved. We returned to the Church for Sunday services, and there Fred was able to speak with several folks who remembered his mom and dad. All in all, it was a very nice visit. On Sunday afternoon we bopped down to Virginia Beach where I’d read about a labyrinth at the Edgar Cayce Foundation. I walked both the labyrinth and the reflexology walk and browsed in the bookstore while Fred read the paper--a treat we don’t get every day! A wine tasting party was being held on the dock when we returned Sat. evening, and Sun. evening we spent some time with a pair of retired potters who live aboard PotLuck, the boat next door. The best part of this trip/life is the people we meet! Today we motored through Norfolk to the lock at the top of the Great Dismal Swamp. We got off to our typically early start, (NOT) then made stops along the way to take on fuel (mercifully down to $2.64/gal.) and water, and to chat with Michael, a Great Harbor owner from Warwick, NY who was tied up in a marina as we passed. (The boat, of course, is what was tied…) Then there are the many bridges of Norfolk. They open on demand, within a time schedule. We arrived at the last one at 3pm, then waited until the boat behind us was close enough to go through on the same opening. As a result, we arrived at the lock a few minutes after the lockmaster had closed the gates for the last passage of the day. Not a problem. He promised to bring coffee for the first opening in the morning, and we‘ll for sure be first in line to enter the lock. We dropped our anchor and are spending a lovely quiet evening in Deep Creek. Leaving the Chesapeake was sad; we barely scratched the surface of places to see and things to do. That means a return trip is in order! Now, along with many others, we’re definitely ‘heading’ south. See you next week! Fred and Linda Aboard YOUNG AMERICA At the beginning of the Dismal Swamp, VA