Taking A Week Off

Bev arrived on the 22nd and I was ready to take a week off from sailing. We decided to take a week and see some sites around Southern Virginia and Northern North Carolina. Bev's cousin Randy and his wife Christina live in Virginia Beach and offered us the use of Randy's pickup for the week. Randy took some time off from flying and got us orientated to the area.


Then it was off in the pickup for the military and historical sites in Norfolk. We visited the Nauticus museum including the battleship "Wisconsin" and then took the harbor cruise on the "Victory Rover". We saw many ships but the highlight for Bev and I was the "USS Cole" which was bombed in Yemen a few years ago and is now repaired and back in service.

The next day we headed for Yorktown. Yorktown is where the British General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington which led to victory for the US in the Revolutionary War. The history is fascinating and include many things that I did not know. The French are truly responsible for our victory because their Navy (under French Admiral de Grasse in photo next to Bev) prevented the British Navy from saving Cornwallis in the naval Battle of the Capes. There were no Americans involved in that battle and it forced Cornwallis to surrender. At the Yorktown Battlefield we found that the French also won major parts of the Battle of Yorktown which sealed Cornwallis's fate. While in Yorktown we found a little restaurant on the Yorktown River for lunch. While looking out across the river we wondered if this was the same bridge that we crossed after visiting Kirk and Ruth Foley 20 years ago? I happen to have Kirk's phone number in my cell phone so I called him. Sure enough, it was and Kirk was able to describe to us where his marina was. Cool!

That evening Christina invited us over to their home for a homemade Chinese dinner. The first thing we did was put on the slippers Christina gave us (a Chinese tradition). The conversation and dinner was incredible and delicious. I think she spoiled us for "American" Chinese food with her authentic Chinese food. She agreed to take us to a genuine Chinese grocery store before we left (which she did the next Sunday). Randy and Christina have very interesting lives and a beautiful home and we enjoyed being with them.

Another interesting aspect of our stay here is the fact that we are right next to a combination Navy and Army base/fort. Thus we have bugles playing the "Star Spangled Banner" every morning and "Retreat" every evening. It is the home of a SEAL Group (formerly SEAL group 6) and a Joint Expeditionary Force.

Our next trip was to Colonial Williamsburg which we assumed (correctly) would take more than one day so we got reservations for the night on line. We walked to the old town center and took a horse drawn wagon tour of the town. As we approached the wagon I noticed the driver resting under a tree. I said something like "I hope you have the air on" but he didn't say a thing. As it turned out the actors stay in character all the time and are full time actors, not part time or volunteers.

This makes the experience very real and historically correct. One of the historically correct things I really enjoyed was the glass of Old Stitch ale I had at Chownings Tavern. Old Stitch is made from an original recipe and is what many people drank back in the 1700's. The Jefferson presentation was very real and we were able to ask questions which he answered from Jefferson's point of view. Many of the presentations are interactive so when we went to the courthouse for a trial I was put on trial for not attending church. They gave me a short script to read but then expanded on it asking me questions and demanding answers, it was real fun! Then we went to an example of dances from the period and we learned to dance like George Washington did.

After learning a new dance we went outside to the street where they were acting out a typical day in pre-revolutionary Colonial Williamsburg. Tomorrow we head for the Outer Banks of North Carolina.