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Urbanna, Virginia
May 20, 2011
We arrived in Hampton last Sunday. We had projected time to get everything we wanted done and thought would be bored by the end of the week. It is now the end of the week, and we still have things to finish before we leave in the morning to travel up the Chesapeake. Our main destination at this point is Washington DC. The question is what to see on the way up. It is a rough life when “what to see” is our biggest dilemma.
We rented a car for two days. The first day was a shopping marathon as we provisioned at BJ’s, Costco, West Marine and countless other stores. After about 2 hours, Mike was exhausted and Francie was invigorated. The greatest problem we faced was, where do we put all of the items we bought? Now it is all put away, but one has to be careful every time a cabinet door is opened.
The main reason we wanted a car, besides shopping, was to go to the Maritime Museum in Newport News. There is an entire section of the museum dedicated to the Monitor and the Merrimack. The Merrimack, a Union ship, was destroyed as the Union army fled Norfolk. The Confederates raised the ship and made it into the C.S.S. Virginia, an Ironclad ship. There was an historic battle between the two ships. Part of the exhibit focused on the construction and history of the C.S.S. Virginia.
Another section focused on the Monitor which sunk near Cape Hatteras. It was discovered in 1974, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the turret was recovered from the ocean floor. The museum’s exhibit contains artifacts from the Monitor as well as information about the recovery of the artifacts.
There were other incredible exhibits. Some we strolled through because we were running out of time. We plan to return someday. For anyone who finds themselves in this area, it is a must if you are interested in history and boats.
Today we are planning our next few stops on our journey and hoping to get to the IMAX down the street to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean in 3D!
May 21, 2011
It is the unexpected that bring about the most memorable events.
Francie saw a sign a couple of days ago about a Farmers Market on Saturday morning the day we were leaving. It became very clear that we would not be leaving before attending the market. We were preparing the boat for leaving when we were given the opportunity to stay one more day. Our original plans were to visit Fort Monroe by water. Instead we went by bike. It was a much better idea for a lot of reasons. I didn’t know much about Fort Monroe, other than it was another old fort. The fort is located in the middle of a military base. While riding around the old fort, we could hear music and decided to investigate.
What we found was a celebration commemorating an event that took place at Fort Monroe 150 years ago. We arrived just in time to see a reenactment of the event. Three slaves ran away from their owners to Fort Monroe, which was occupied by the federal troops. They were given protection. When an officer from the Confederate Army demanded that the slaves be returned to their owner because they were his property, Major General Butler, commander of the fort refused. He stated that since Virginia separated from the Union, it was a foreign country, therefore “I shall detain the Negroes as contraband of war.” Within a week, Ft. Monroe had 100 runaway slaves and they kept coming.
The program was entitled “Escape for Freedom, From Slave to Contraband.” We stayed until the end of the program. It was like finding a jewel. We were able to celebrate an event that we knew nothing about, with total strangers, but walked away a little richer for the experience.
We wandered around the fort and visited its museum. Other interesting Fort Monroe tidbits were: Edgar Allan Poe was stationed here and after the Civil War, Jefferson Davis was imprisoned in the fort.
On our way back to the boat, we stopped at the Emancipation Oak, which is on the grounds of Hampton University. It is the tree which Mary Peake, a freedwoman, taught children of former slaves in 1861. Nearby the tree stood Butler School, a free school established in 1883 for colored children.
Tonight there is music in the streets in Old Downtown Hampton, just a few blocks away. Today’s events were unexpected, but are certainly memorable.
We arrived in Hampton last Sunday. We had projected time to get everything we wanted done and thought would be bored by the end of the week. It is now the end of the week, and we still have things to finish before we leave in the morning to travel up the Chesapeake. Our main destination at this point is Washington DC. The question is what to see on the way up. It is a rough life when “what to see” is our biggest dilemma.
We rented a car for two days. The first day was a shopping marathon as we provisioned at BJ’s, Costco, West Marine and countless other stores. After about 2 hours, Mike was exhausted and Francie was invigorated. The greatest problem we faced was, where do we put all of the items we bought? Now it is all put away, but one has to be careful every time a cabinet door is opened.
The main reason we wanted a car, besides shopping, was to go to the Maritime Museum in Newport News. There is an entire section of the museum dedicated to the Monitor and the Merrimack. The Merrimack, a Union ship, was destroyed as the Union army fled Norfolk. The Confederates raised the ship and made it into the C.S.S. Virginia, an Ironclad ship. There was an historic battle between the two ships. Part of the exhibit focused on the construction and history of the C.S.S. Virginia.
Another section focused on the Monitor which sunk near Cape Hatteras. It was discovered in 1974, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the turret was recovered from the ocean floor. The museum’s exhibit contains artifacts from the Monitor as well as information about the recovery of the artifacts.
There were other incredible exhibits. Some we strolled through because we were running out of time. We plan to return someday. For anyone who finds themselves in this area, it is a must if you are interested in history and boats.
Today we are planning our next few stops on our journey and hoping to get to the IMAX down the street to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean in 3D!
May 21, 2011
It is the unexpected that bring about the most memorable events.
Francie saw a sign a couple of days ago about a Farmers Market on Saturday morning the day we were leaving. It became very clear that we would not be leaving before attending the market. We were preparing the boat for leaving when we were given the opportunity to stay one more day. Our original plans were to visit Fort Monroe by water. Instead we went by bike. It was a much better idea for a lot of reasons. I didn’t know much about Fort Monroe, other than it was another old fort. The fort is located in the middle of a military base. While riding around the old fort, we could hear music and decided to investigate.
What we found was a celebration commemorating an event that took place at Fort Monroe 150 years ago. We arrived just in time to see a reenactment of the event. Three slaves ran away from their owners to Fort Monroe, which was occupied by the federal troops. They were given protection. When an officer from the Confederate Army demanded that the slaves be returned to their owner because they were his property, Major General Butler, commander of the fort refused. He stated that since Virginia separated from the Union, it was a foreign country, therefore “I shall detain the Negroes as contraband of war.” Within a week, Ft. Monroe had 100 runaway slaves and they kept coming.
The program was entitled “Escape for Freedom, From Slave to Contraband.” We stayed until the end of the program. It was like finding a jewel. We were able to celebrate an event that we knew nothing about, with total strangers, but walked away a little richer for the experience.
We wandered around the fort and visited its museum. Other interesting Fort Monroe tidbits were: Edgar Allan Poe was stationed here and after the Civil War, Jefferson Davis was imprisoned in the fort.
On our way back to the boat, we stopped at the Emancipation Oak, which is on the grounds of Hampton University. It is the tree which Mary Peake, a freedwoman, taught children of former slaves in 1861. Nearby the tree stood Butler School, a free school established in 1883 for colored children.
Tonight there is music in the streets in Old Downtown Hampton, just a few blocks away. Today’s events were unexpected, but are certainly memorable.
May 27, 2011
We have spent four days anchoring in little coves and enjoying the scenery. We had several violent storms pass through the area while we anchored, but luckily they passed above or below us.
Good morning from Urbanna, VA, a friendly small town off the Rappahannock River whose history dates to the Revolutionary War. It is about 20 mile from the Chesapeake Bay. We are staying in the city marina and it is very well kept with great laundry facilities. Town is within walking distance. To Francie’s delight there is a 1950’s style soda fountain, which is known for their milkshakes.
While exploring town yesterday, we stopped at Payne’s Crab House. It is run by two sisters; 82 year old Catherine took a break from her work to educate us on her life’s work. Later her son, who came to help his mother while he was on vacation, showed us the difference between soft crabs and hard shelled crabs. There were vats of crabs that were molting and he was getting them ready for shipping. They were both very kind to share their experiences with us. We walked away not only richer for the experience, but with crabs for a future meals.
Today we went back to get crab meat. Cary, Catherine’s brother, told us a little about the family history. The family left Tangier Island after a hurricane in the 1930’s almost destroyed the island. Their father started a fishery down the street from their current location. After their father’s death, the sisters took over and started the Crab House. One sister, Bea, was the mayor of Urbanna for many years and is affectionately known within the town as “Aunt Bea”. Catherine is known as “Nano”, a nickname from her grandson.
Catherine starts her day at 4:30AM, her energy and wonderful sense of humor was not diminished when we met her at 1:00 in the afternoon!
We have spent four days anchoring in little coves and enjoying the scenery. We had several violent storms pass through the area while we anchored, but luckily they passed above or below us.
Good morning from Urbanna, VA, a friendly small town off the Rappahannock River whose history dates to the Revolutionary War. It is about 20 mile from the Chesapeake Bay. We are staying in the city marina and it is very well kept with great laundry facilities. Town is within walking distance. To Francie’s delight there is a 1950’s style soda fountain, which is known for their milkshakes.
While exploring town yesterday, we stopped at Payne’s Crab House. It is run by two sisters; 82 year old Catherine took a break from her work to educate us on her life’s work. Later her son, who came to help his mother while he was on vacation, showed us the difference between soft crabs and hard shelled crabs. There were vats of crabs that were molting and he was getting them ready for shipping. They were both very kind to share their experiences with us. We walked away not only richer for the experience, but with crabs for a future meals.
Today we went back to get crab meat. Cary, Catherine’s brother, told us a little about the family history. The family left Tangier Island after a hurricane in the 1930’s almost destroyed the island. Their father started a fishery down the street from their current location. After their father’s death, the sisters took over and started the Crab House. One sister, Bea, was the mayor of Urbanna for many years and is affectionately known within the town as “Aunt Bea”. Catherine is known as “Nano”, a nickname from her grandson.
Catherine starts her day at 4:30AM, her energy and wonderful sense of humor was not diminished when we met her at 1:00 in the afternoon!