Cathy on "Dam Bridge #2" at Newport News Park, site of a Civil War battle Making our way to Pocahontas for our hosting duties, we made a stop in Hampton Roads to visit with friends and bide our time to avoid arriving at Pocahontas on a weekend (when the site selection at a sold-out campground is pretty slim). However, on Monday we were ready to hit the ground running with our heads full of tasks in the group cabins in preparation for Cabin Work Week.
Commodore Tim salutes Bay Dreamer as she is blessed for another year. Blessings
As luck would have it, our yacht club was having its first in-person event in over a year on the weekend we arrived in Hampton. The Blessing of the Fleet / Sock Burning event is an annual celebration of the arrival of spring sailing weather. Steve and Linda asked us to join them on Bay Dreamer as she was being blessed. We woke to a gale force wind, which forced a delay in the scheduled boat parade until the forecasted light winds arrived in the afternoon.
As luck would have it, our yacht club was having its first in-person event in over a year on the weekend we arrived in Hampton. The Blessing of the Fleet / Sock Burning event is an annual celebration of the arrival of spring sailing weather. Steve and Linda asked us to join them on Bay Dreamer as she was being blessed. We woke to a gale force wind, which forced a delay in the scheduled boat parade until the forecasted light winds arrived in the afternoon.
Dressed up for the parade As tradition dictated, the procession was led by a fireboat, although this year’s fleet was a diminished version of prior years. That didn’t deter the new commodore who ensured his command vessel, Wine Down, was fully dressed for the occasion. And the lead boats made the most of the event, having us cover in an hour and a half the distance that should have taken about 15 minutes.
Looks like another winter is finally over Once we were blessed, we joined the rest of the club on shore for the sock burning, presided over by King Neptune. So, why burn socks? Well, that’s because we’ve been wearing them all winter and are ready to ditch them in favor of sandals or bare feet. It’s a Chesapeake Bay thing. At any rate, the blustery morning had indeed been transformed into a beautiful sunny evening by the bay.
Being social butterflies, we had to excuse ourselves from the yacht club festivities to go to a Chili Cookoff at Sue and Steve’s church that Steve had organized. We arrived in time to grab a hot dog off the grill and sample some chili, catching up with Sue and Steve who were actively planning a sail north this summer to Maine. As a disinterested party, Dave was tapped to help score the chili competition and determine the winner. After he disappeared for a bit too long, Cathy joined him to finalize the spreadsheet that was needed to find the winner. Luckily, the results came before everyone had left for the evening.
This little guy greeted us at our site one day. Almost too camouflaged to see. Back at Pocahontas
Pocahontas has its beauty in every season, but May has been a special time to be here. After a burst of summer weather when we arrived, the temps cooled to more spring-like levels which has made for pleasant days and cool evenings. Also, we wanted to use our earlier arrival to make some preparations for Cabin Work Week that are harder to do remotely.
Pocahontas has its beauty in every season, but May has been a special time to be here. After a burst of summer weather when we arrived, the temps cooled to more spring-like levels which has made for pleasant days and cool evenings. Also, we wanted to use our earlier arrival to make some preparations for Cabin Work Week that are harder to do remotely.
Dave and Fred inspect the cabins at Weyanock and Paspahegh. Wet wood. This has been the consistent complaint the last 3 years from participants in Cabin Work Week, but no more so than last year. The freshly pressure-treated wood, which lay under tarps during an exceptionally rainy first week, never sufficiently dried out during the project. So, the carpenters encouraged us to order this year’s wood much earlier (aka now), so that it would have time to dry over the next few months. In the past, that wouldn’t have been possible, because we had no place to store the wood. But thanks to the efforts of Maintenance over the winter, and the clean-up crew from the project last year, we now had some dry storage in the Swift Creek area of the park. So, with Fred’s help
(a local volunteer), we surveyed the next cabin sites and estimated the wood requirements for this year’s order. Since we wouldn’t be here to receive it, we lined up Fred and next month’s park hosts (Mary and Angie, also from Cabin Work Week) to help with that effort. We also re-organized the wood currently in storage to make room for the new arrivals.
(a local volunteer), we surveyed the next cabin sites and estimated the wood requirements for this year’s order. Since we wouldn’t be here to receive it, we lined up Fred and next month’s park hosts (Mary and Angie, also from Cabin Work Week) to help with that effort. We also re-organized the wood currently in storage to make room for the new arrivals.
Stored wood for this year's project
The Cabin stabilization project can not happen without volunteers, but it also can’t happen without funding. We have been blessed to have significant support from the Garden Club of Virginia the last 2 years (approximately half of our funding), but that funding ended with last year’s project. That put us behind the eight ball to raise funds for 2021. In addition to applying for grants, we wanted to contact local businesses to solicit their support. To do this, we put together a packet of information in colorful folders and headed out to knock on some doors. We visited a dozen businesses in this effort, some encounters more promising than others. However, so far nothing concrete has materialized from these contacts. We did however receive some promising news from an earlier application. The project is a finalist in the Lowes 100 Hometowns program, making us one of 125 finalists from a pool of 3200. Fingers crossed on that one.
We spent a couple of colder, rainy days installing knobs on about 100 screens in last year’s Chickahominy site. This was at Maintenance supervisor Christa’s request, thinking it would help reduce the damage to the screens when opening them. Only time will tell. But they look nice. When we could take a break from fundraising, we began powerwashing decks that need staining at this year’s and next year's work site.
Family Time
We enjoyed some visits with Bonnie’s and Adam’s families while back in their neighborhood. And on Mother’s Day weekend we drove to NC to be with Cathy’s family for her Mom’s graveside service. After more than a year since her Mom’s death, it felt safe to be together outside for this remembrance.
We enjoyed some visits with Bonnie’s and Adam’s families while back in their neighborhood. And on Mother’s Day weekend we drove to NC to be with Cathy’s family for her Mom’s graveside service. After more than a year since her Mom’s death, it felt safe to be together outside for this remembrance.
Parting Shot – Snake in the Grass
We got a little close to this guy before slowing backing away. He seemed unperturbed by our presence and went on his way.
We got a little close to this guy before slowing backing away. He seemed unperturbed by our presence and went on his way.
