7/29 - 7/31 - Kilmarnock

As usual Erik was up way too early! After Renee and Riva had gotten moving and had coffee and we walked up to “Glazed Donuts” to get cinnamon rolls.  We checked the forecasts as previously it looked like it might get a little rough.  The apps showed the winds were still pretty strong 16-20 knots, but waves didn’t look as bad so we made the decision to head to Kilmarnock. After stopping to fuel up and purchase the necessary antifreeze to winterize the engines 😟( we had a hard time finding the needed antifreeze this time of year).  We headed out into the bay for a fairly long 56 mile run to Kilmarnock.  The bay was pretty bumpy and rolly, with waves 1-2+ feet often splashing over the bow getting us wet all the way up on the fly bridge.  It settled down just a little as we got close to our destination, but it was a long(almost 5 hour) uncomfortable trip.  

Leaving Hampton harbor out onto the river with a view across of Norfolk 
Locally pronounced
 “Naw-fuk”

The small Chesapeake Boat Basin was a welcome sight as we docked, got tied up, and connected electric.  As we got settled in we realized we had tripped the breaker.  After some checking, adjusting, and trying different outlets, we determined there must be a problem with the newly installed 30amp power inlet. Today was about as hot a day as we had had and decided to visit the pool and worry about the electric later after it cooled off.  The swimming pool felt amazing (cool temp and saltwater) and several other boaters were there sharing opinions on best restaurants, coffee, and ice cream in town😋.  We grilled some burgers for dinner, showered , then used the very nice marina courtesy car to head into town for a meeting and quick Walmart stop.  The meeting was very good, and while we were there met the area harbor host, and a young couple who teach sailing!

Yet another blessed day on the waters of Happy Destiny!

Spectacular full moon rising over us at Kilmarnock
This marina is in a very peaceful, rural area

I see the bad moon rising

Our last full day aboard began with finishing the cinnamon rolls from yesterday morning and some boat cleaning.  Erik started washing the outside while Renee did laundry, dishes, and started cleaning the eisenglass windows on the flybridge enclosure; everything was covered with a film of salt after yesterday’s bumpy cruise.  After we got the boat pretty clean, we hopped on the bikes to ride into town to check out the shops.  Kilmarnock has several antique, thrift, and gift shops.  Many of the shops had some beautiful art, interesting trinkets, and lots of souvenirs .  A stop at the town museum was very interesting with many stories and descriptions given by the volunteer and the gentleman who had grown up and lived here all his life.  The museum gave us coupons for popcorn at the shop up the street where we got Crabby corn( old bay seasoning), pecan praline, and  salted dark chocolate caramel.  We made one last stop at Front Porch Coffee house where our new friend from the pool yesterday and ice cream connoisseur, had recommended.  The Mocha chip ice cream affogatos were delicious and Riva enjoyed her pup cup.

Renee and Riva
As the sun is setting behind them

Sites from our walk around the quaint ‘Northern Neck’ town of Kilmarnock
The Northern Neck region refers to the rural 5 county peninsula  area of VA bordered by the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers and emptying into Chesapeake Bay

Boots on the sidewalks outside the establishments 

Riva chilling in the shade outside of 
Front Porch Coffee House
After enjoying her pup cup

The remainder of the afternoon was spent laying out around and floating in the cool, comforting pool and taking short naps.  We chose a local favorite, Lees, for dinner.  Renee enjoyed the meatloaf and tatoes special (withe her favorite…hush puppies) while Erik got in one more local seafood fix partaking in a large platter of grilled flounder, shrimp, scallops and fried oysters along with a delicious crab patty.  Too stuffed for dessert right away we brought home a take out order of strawberry bread pudding to share later with our evening coffee.  While enjoying the gorgeous sunset and moon rise we sat on the porch of the boaters lounge chatting with Jean and his wife (we’ve forgotten her name).  Jean is Canadian hailing from Montreal and they recently purchased a new to them large ocean going sailboat “French Toast”.   His wife was making rosaries as she chatted with Renee and upon completing it she gave it to Renee; will make a nice gift for Felicitas 🤗.  The beautiful, peaceful night was finished out with our usual coffee accompanied by the bread pudding.  

Heading up by the pool at sunset to sit on the porch and enjoy fellowship with other boaters

7/27-7/28 - Hampton VA

 A new day dawned as we awoke from a good nights rest in Cape Charles.  We were content with having a slow and easy morning, sitting aboard, drinking our coffee and counting our blessings.  We called over to the Cape Charles yachting center when they opened at 8 AM to see if they had the 30 amp electrical inlet that we needed to make our repair to the boat; They did not.  We called ahead to the dock master at the docks @ Downtown Hampton to inform them that we would have a package being delivered today if they could please keep an eye out for it.  She also informed us that although the official check-in time was not until 1 PMwe were welcome to come in whenever we wanted.  Renee did the usual planning and route creation to be entered into the Simrad and shortly after we untied the lines and were on our way.  It was again a very nice cruising day with slightly warmer temperatures than we’ve had so far and reasonably calm waters.  Many large tanker ships were still anchored out in the bay just off the coast from Cape Charles; A little internet research revealed that area is an official Coast Guard staging area for vessels that are awaiting their turn to come into ports (Norfolk, Baltimore, Chesapeake, etc.).  About midway through the days voyage out in the middle of the bay we came across a small fleet of several commercial fishing vessels, as well as many smaller, personal fishing boats.  Some more Internet research informed us that the commercial vessels were fishing for Atlantic Medhaden (known as Pogy) which is a small oily bait fish that is caught and turned primarily into omega-3 dietary supplements.  They are also nicknamed “ Most important fish in the sea” Because they act as filter feeders that clean the water column, and are the bedrock of the food web serving as the primary food source for whales, dolphins, and predatory sea birds.  Apparently, it was not a coincidence that nearby the fishing vessels, we saw huge flocks of sea birds on the water as well as spotting our first pair of dolphins that we had seen on this trip.  In the distance, we could see the expansive spans of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  To our portside, we had nice views of Norfolk with the many huge military vessels.  On our starboard side were nice sandy beaches and good views from the water of Fort Monroe and the Fort Monroe lighthouse.  As we exited the bay onto the Hampton River, we stopped in at Bluewater Marina to get some gasoline.  Another short 1 mile or so up the river brought us to our destination for the next couple of days, The Docks @ Downtown Hampton.  We plugged in the one side of the boat that we still had a working inlet and turned on the air-conditioning in the aft cabin; The afternoon sun was bright and hot, and we figured we might want it.  Hampton is by far the most urban stop we have made thus far this year, but also very dog friendly.  A 60 yard or so walk in one direction brought us to a nice small, well shaded dog park and a 50 yard or so walk in the other direction off the docks to another bigger, very nice park.  

Sunrise in Cape Charles

Fort Monroe Lighthouse as we come into Hampton

Fort Monroe

A major downer for the day happened as we got news from a friend in McConnelsville of the passing of another longtime friend of ours.    Sincere condolences to the Gridley family.  May you rest in peace Julie!  

We made some phone calls to touch base with people at home and Renee reached out to uncle Chris and aunt Pat who live in this vicinity (Williamsburg) and made plans to meet up for dinner.  We did not want to venture far from the boat or Marina because we were expecting the Amazon delivery of our part. Renee received notification on her phone that it would be delivered between 3 and 6 PM. She could see on the apps GPS that the delivery driver was in the vicinity and had several stops before us. However, when it indicated that we were the next stop, it showed the driver driving around the block multiples of times apparently unable to locate the marina 🤪.   Erik stayed back by the docks while Renee set out on foot with the tracking map of the truck on her phone to try and track him down.  She found the truck parked and hung out by the truck for 10 minutes or so until the driver returned and was successful in laying hands on our package.  Very shortly after Chris and Pat arrived and we jumped in the car with them to go a couple of miles up the road to a restaurant they were familiar with from years back.  We had a nice evening of good company and food before they brought us back to the marina.  Erik spent a half an hour or so installing the new power inlet onto the front of the boat and we were able to get all of the electrical working properly again…yay!   We rounded out the evening as the sun was beginning to set by heading out again on our bicycles for a short, 1/2 mile ride to a church to attend a small AA meeting where we met some nice folks; A couple of old timers who were quite the characters and a young newcomer lady with just 1 week sober.  Just 27 years old, she has had enough ‘scrapes’ to recognize she has a problem and is reaching out for help.  Prayers up for her to hold on tight one day at a time!  After another trip up to the dog park with Riva we settled in to our now comfortably air-conditioned quarters for a good nights sleep.  

Sunrise in Hampton

You can’t have too many Sunrise pictures

One more for good measure!

Morning at Downtown Hampton docks began with Erik making breakfast sandwiches. We did some research on next stops and on finding antifreeze for the winterization process we would be doing when we return to Deltaville.  Mid morning we hopped on the bikes and headed for Fort Monroe to do some sight seeing before the predicted afternoon/evening storms.  Fort Monroe was an amazing stop.  The visitors center had much history of the area before fort Monroe was built.  This was the site of one of the first recorded ships bringing in African Americans into slavery.  Many slaves came through, and many later came for freedom and education as later Hampton College opened providing education to many African Americans. Next was the Casement Museum that displayed the inner workings and layout within the walls of the fort.  Many more history displays and cannons set up at the windows as they would have been when protecting the fort.  Our walking tour began with the first stop being the pet cemetery at the top of the fort. We ended up walking the full distance around the fort on the top of the exterior walls.  From here we saw all of the old historic buildings within the fort as well.  On the way back to the boat we stopped at Food Lion for a few provisions.  

 veteran cemetery me across on the ride to Ft Monroe

Building of the fort 

View of Fort Monroe from visitors center

One of many cannons in Casement Museum

Quarters 1 - oldest building within the fort

Wall of fort with windows facing out

Another view of vast walls and moat

Fort Monroe Lighthouse

Can’t have too many Lighthouse pics either!

Jellyfish in the moat!

Visitor by the dock when we got back to boat

Back at the boat we had steak and sweet potato for dinner, then enjoyed a movie while it stormed outside 😊

Beautiful full moon after the storms over through

7/25 to 7/27 Cape Charles

Cruising into Cape Charles 
What we originally thought was the lighthouse actually was just a water tower designed as a replica of it
The actual Cape Charles lighthouse (we got no pics of it) is the tallest in Virginia and the 2nd tallest in the US at 191

Many Tanker ships cruising up the bay as we approached Cape George

It was a very pleasant morning for the cruise from our anchorage at Onancock to Cape Charles with mostly cloudy skies and temps in the high 60’s and low 70’s and light winds making for fair seas.  After following the charts and channel markers closely out the few miles of the winding Onancock Creek it was a pretty straight shot down the bay.   The total trip was 43.7 miles and took us about 3.5 hrs as we arrived in Cape Charles just before 2pm.  Our usual routine of settling in at our slip and we walked Riva into town which was only 100 yards from the boat.  Stopping in at several small shops as we made our way up and back the Main Street we found a couple souvenirs (we try to get a fridge magnet to put on the boat at every town we can) and some goodies to add to our dinner menu.  We made one final stop for the afternoon for a pre dinner ice cream treat…YOLO!  The Brown Dog Creamery makes their own homemade flavors and coffee crunch was of course our selection and proved to be the bomb!   

Renee emerging with a scoop of ice cream to share 
Riva was patiently waiting with Erik on a bench outside for he pup cup

One neat shop had hundreds of crystal clear pictures (this one of Tangier Island) taken by the owner while flying over things to get spectacular aerial shots which he then prints onto aluminum backings 

Talented young street musician 

This was an original he’d written earlier this summer 

Back at the docks Erik cooked up a medium rare T-bone 🥩 and cut it into pieces to put over top of a local made red pepper fettuccini drizzled with a sweet onion and garlic balsamic vinegar we had picked up in one of the shops in town earlier accompanied by sweet corn we had scored at the Onancock farmers market this morning.  Two thumbs up for the concoction.  With satisfied tummies we took another bike ride up to the very nice park where 100’s of folks had gathered for their Sunday music series.  It was an entertaining evening listening and dancing to the big band music of ‘Good Shot Judy’.  The busy day finally landed us back aboard for showers and bed.  We highly recommend Cape Charles as a stop for anyone passing through.  

Gorgeous large park on a very active evening
There were kids and adults playing pick up games of soccer, lacrosse, whiffle ball, cornhole, and other games all throughout the park in nooks

Realized we hadn’t taken any selfies this trip
Also realized Erik’s hairline is receding and he needs a razor 😂

Bahaha 🤣 

Lots of people enjoying the show on a very comfortable July evening


Big band tunes with ‘Good Shot Judy’ 
No videos of Erik’s two left feet stepping on Renee’s though 

Back at the boat after the music to catch the last of the beautiful colors in the sky while sipping a cup of joe

Erik ALMOST missed the sunrise as he slept in until 5:30am…..unheard of! 😂.  After relaxing aboard for a while and having a light breakfast we set out on the bikes again, this time with Riva in her basket to enjoy the cool morning air blowing into her face.  Pedaling through the streets of Cape Charles we found many beautiful, large, well kept old Victorian homes to look at.  There is definitely some money in this town.  On the outskirts of the fairly small town is a new neighborhood of obscenely large homes, many right on the bay.  

One of many well kept old Victorian homes that lined the streets (many of them boulevards) 

Newer homes in Cape George along the bay

Neptune Maquette just off of the sand dunes that separate the streets from the beach

Returning Riva to the cool boat as the day warmed we had a light lunch and suited up for a beach day.  The beach was very nice.  Soft, fine sand that met the bay and water depths that were very shallow for 100’s of feet out.   The afternoon was perfect for laying on and walking the beach with quintessential blue skies and temps in the upper 70’s….ahhhhhh!   Conveniently enough the beach access we emerged from just happened to be right up the street from the Brown Dog Creamery, go figure.   They did not have our newly beloved coffee crunch today so we ‘settled’ for a regular coffee flavored and a Carmel swirl latte flavored cone.  The struggles we face are extraordinary but we somehow made it through.  

Love is in the salt air!

We mainly sat around and relaxed the remainder of the afternoon and into the evening. Prepared another pasta dish with the remaining fettuccine from yesterday; this time with chicken, garlic infused olive oil, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and red peppers.  We sat and made some plans for the coming couple of days and reserved a slip in Hampton Virginia.  As we were preparing to make a trip down to the beach to enjoy the sunset Renee noticed that one leg Of our power to the boat was not working.   After some investigation it was found that one of the two 30 amp power inlets was melted and scorched pretty badly.  Yikes 😳!   Lucky that we didn’t have a fire aboard.  The disconnects and breakers did their job fortunately. We shut down everything on that portion of the electrical and removed the inlet.   Renee found a replacement on Amazon and ordered it to be delivered to Hampton tomorrow where we will make the repair and in the meantime manage with power to only half the boat.  A late evening of some coffee, showers, and writing this blog, rounded out another wonderful day trudging the waterways of happy Destiny before we headed Off to bed.   

The culprit for loosing power to half the boat
😮
Not good

7/23 to 7/25 Onancock

 Our first night as previously described was pretty quiet and uneventful.  We were not able to get a second night at the marina because they had a yacht club coming in and they were completely booked.  We decided to anchor in the small, quiet harbor so we could spend another day in town.  One advantage, aside from the tranquility, of spending nights on the hook is that with the money we save we can spending more on food and entertainment!  Erik had found a musical happening at the local playhouse that we were excited to check out.  About 11am we moved the boat and dropped anchor a short distance from the marina so we could use the dinghy dock.  Shortly after making sure the anchor was holding, we dropped the dinghy and head back to the town where we walked to a small AA meeting at noon.  After the meeting we visited the Ker House. the Ker place is a beautiful old mansion built in 1799.  Next we stopped at Mallards on the Wharf for a delicious lunch of a Cobb salad and Avocado/mozzarella/BLT both of which we shared.  After lunch we got Riva off the boat and brought her in for a walk and potty break. 

One of the beautiful homes in Onancock

Another beautiful home

Mural in Onancock

Church

City building

Local theater

Main Street

Park at the marina with Happy Destiny in the background

Another big home!

Very cool Methodist church where the meeting was

Bill W bobble head 😂

Ker place mansion and museum

Our view from our anchorage

Rive being chauffeured

It was now time to dinghy in to catch the show “It’s On!” The show was very entertaining with great actors and singers.   It was written and directed by Stan Zimmerman who is credited for his writing work on shows and movies such as “The Golden Girls”, “Married With Children”, “Gilmore Girls”, and “Roseanne”.  The show was a comedy featuring many old TV theme songs and was quite entertaining.  On the way back to the boat after the show we stopped and got dessert; raspberry lemon cake, and cheesecake which we took back to the boat for our bedtime snack with coffee 😋.  Erik took Riva to shore one last time before bed.  We had a peaceful night at anchor with cool breezes, no wind, and only a little light rain. 

At curtain call the cast encouraged the audience to join in singing a couple additional TV theme songs

Upon awakening the inverter was sending a low battery alarm to Renee’s phone.  We had hoped/planned to not use the generator this trip because we did not unwinterize it, but, decided we would like to charge the battery and make a pot of coffee so we started it up.  The generator fired right up on the first try, Always a relief 🤪.   Probably good that we did anyhow because motors don’t like to sit that long without being ran.  After some sitting aboard and relaxing we headed back to town in the dinghy to check out the farmers market.  We got a few little things and some fresh sweet corn 😋.   Breakfast on the boat then pulled anchor to head for our next stop, Cape Charles!