A couple of months spent in Poquoson has given us the luxury of time to spend with friends and family. We earned our keep helping with some projects for Steve and Linda, and, of course, worked on some projects of our own. By month’s end, it was time to pack up the RV and move to Pocahontas State Park for our first stint as park hosts for the month of July.
Family Time
From Hampton to Emporia to Wake Forest and Winston-Salem in NC, we reveled in the chance to spend time with family again. Over the course of the month, we entertained pirates, made giant bubbles, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, just to name a few of the outings that involved family.
From Hampton to Emporia to Wake Forest and Winston-Salem in NC, we reveled in the chance to spend time with family again. Over the course of the month, we entertained pirates, made giant bubbles, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, just to name a few of the outings that involved family.
June began with a bang when Adam’s family joined us for the Blackbeard Pirate Festival in Hampton. There were some changes this year. With Joy’s Marina largely deserted, we instead moved our base of operations to Sue and Steve’s boat, Pretty Woman, which they had relocated to Customs House Marina in the heart of downtown Hampton. Docked near the Carousel, they were in a central location for the festival. Adam, Droz, Serenity and their friends from Richmond arrived early, and we spent the entire day enjoying the festival.
A week later, we were making our way to NC with stops in Wake Forest and Winston-Salem, giving us a chance to see all of Cathy’s sisters and their families and to spend several days with Cathy’s mom. On our return, we arrived in time for the last day of school in Emporia. After helping our daughter, Bonnie, move her classroom, we took Troy and Taylor home and spent the next day with them while mom finished up her final school day. Grandpa even learned how to give Taylor a manicure, but he has a little to learn yet.
Just before leaving town, we met Bonnie and the kids in Portsmouth at the Children’s Museum, where we had a great time doing “kid” things, the highlight of which was making some giant bubbles. Taylor showed her skill at the cash register in the market, and Troy cashed our checks at the bank. We spent several hours and the time flew by.
Enjoying the Bay
Over Memorial Day weekend, we joined Steve and Linda for a sail across the Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles on the southern tip of the Eastern Shore. The Old Point Comfort Yacht Club was gathering there for the weekend. As the Down the Bay racers were completing their run from Annapolis, we picked up their wind to sail the latter half of the trip over. We were buddy boating with Steve and Linda’s friends, Jeff and Lisa on Sailmates. Given the tight quarters on Bay Dreamer, we made arrangements to spend the night with Steve and Sue on Pretty Woman. They also carried our bikes over, so we spent Sunday biking around the area. The weekend included potluck dinners and a pancake breakfast on the dock. On Monday, we sailed back to Hampton, enjoying another good sail home. It was a lot of fun.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we joined Steve and Linda for a sail across the Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles on the southern tip of the Eastern Shore. The Old Point Comfort Yacht Club was gathering there for the weekend. As the Down the Bay racers were completing their run from Annapolis, we picked up their wind to sail the latter half of the trip over. We were buddy boating with Steve and Linda’s friends, Jeff and Lisa on Sailmates. Given the tight quarters on Bay Dreamer, we made arrangements to spend the night with Steve and Sue on Pretty Woman. They also carried our bikes over, so we spent Sunday biking around the area. The weekend included potluck dinners and a pancake breakfast on the dock. On Monday, we sailed back to Hampton, enjoying another good sail home. It was a lot of fun.
Over the course of our time at Steve’s, we finally pulled the bikes off the RV and started exploring the Poquoson area in morning and evening rides. We began to understand why the name Poquoson is an ancient Indian word for great marsh. There is water everywhere, much of it wetlands or shallow rivers that feed the Bay. We explored many of the fingers of land that extend into these watersheds.
We joined Sue and several friends at a concert at Fort Monroe on the lawn by the Chamberlin which was close enough to the shipping channel, that the big ships seem just impossibly large as they pass by. The Langley AF Wind Ensemble played while we munched on cheese and crackers and enjoyed some good company. We said goodbye to Sue and Steve on Saturday, with a breakfast on Pretty Woman, soon to be appropriately renamed Koinonia, a Greek word that means “fellowship”. Good choice.
After a couple of years traveling in different directions, we were delighted to hear from Randy and Sherri on Priorities, who pulled into Atlantic Yacht Basin in early June. We took them on a tour of Hampton, taking in the VA Air and Space Center and a local fresh seafood market that we only recently discovered.
It Can’t Be All Play
When we weren’t busy socializing, we spent time helping finish Steve’s attic room. When we arrived, it was shortly to be drywalled. When we left, we had helped paint, wire and install fixtures throughout the room. It was ready for the flooring. Cathy also made some shades out of Coolaroo to help block the sun on the porch in the early morning.
When we weren’t busy socializing, we spent time helping finish Steve’s attic room. When we arrived, it was shortly to be drywalled. When we left, we had helped paint, wire and install fixtures throughout the room. It was ready for the flooring. Cathy also made some shades out of Coolaroo to help block the sun on the porch in the early morning.
Cathy pulled out the sewing machine to make a new helm cover for Sue and Steve. And then she made a bike cover for our bikes as they ride on the back of the RV. With the RV having sat for several weeks, we decided to flush and sanitize the water tanks. We filled the tank with bleach and water and drained it twice. The final flush removed the bleach residue from the water tanks.
As we prepared to head out our last morning, we had re-loaded and prepped the RV for travel. Or so we thought. When Dave turned on the tire pressure monitor, he was dismayed to see that the passenger side rear tire was dangerously low. This was the same tire we had had issues with when we arrived. So, we had to scramble to change it. We used the same technique we had used before, raising the other tire on the same side with several boards. The tire change went smoothly and we headed out on schedule. But not without some sad looks from Jessica and Angus, our charges for the past few weeks. The puppies were going to miss us.