We normally head north during
the heat of the Virginia summer, but this year Jean had a course of physical
therapy that kept us home until almost the middle of September. Not that it
wasn’t still pretty hot at that time. The end of the therapy came just before
the Watermen’s Museum in Yorktown had their annual Oyster Feast, so that’s
where we started the trip.
We left on Friday, September 13th.
We had left on a trip once before on Friday the thirteenth and it turned out to
be a great trip. Perhaps we will have
the same luck this time. (Though no sailor would ever leave port on Friday the
thirteenth.) We were too busy to think about such things. First we had to
finish loading the Roadtrek, then Jean had a doctor’s appointment before we could
get underway. Once we got on the road it was misting almost all the way to
Williamsburg. The mist was not enough to affect visibility, but enough to
require the windshield wipers every few minutes. We hit one rainstorm that
lasted less than a minute.
We had a couple of stops to make
in Williamsburg, so that by the time we got to Yorktown it was after the museum
closing time. But there was a free concert in town, and they were holding the
parking lot open for that. Our usual space was tighter than usual, but we
managed to shoe-horn the rig in and get hooked up. Then off to the Yorktown Pub
for clam chowder.
We had some problems with the
electricity in the middle of the night, but made it through with the help of
the generator. I have often thought that the generator, which we rarely need,
was some weight we could get rid of, but once in a while it saves the day, so I
guess we will keep it.
Saturday was the Oyster feast,
which was a great success. Jean, who has loved and eaten oysters since she was
a child finally learned how to shuck them.
She already knew how to eat
them.
The serious oyster connoisseurs
were talking like wine lovers “The oysters from the Rappahannock are more
buttery, while the James River ones are salty.” Jean just grabbed a pile and
ate them.
Also at the festival was the Edna Lockwood. She is the last surviving Chesapeake Bay bugeye.
These vessels were built for dredging oysters under sail. Ena was built in the 19th century. The hull is made of nine logs, spliced together and shaped.
 |
| Model of a nine-log hull |
The next day we were off for
sure. Our plan was to go up the Eastern Shore to Cape Henlopen, take the Cape
May ferry to New Jersey, and on to Mystic, CT. But we couldn’t just rush up the
Eastern Shore. It is too interesting. So we made a stop in Parksley to go
through Jaxon’s.
That is a real, old-fashioned five-and-dime.
It is full of interesting and uncommon things. Where else can you buy wooden
clothes pins by the apiece?
Jean wanted to go to a beach, so
we headed for Chincoteague and Assateague. Beside the beach, the area is famous
for the wild horses (Think Misty of
Chincoteague).
We walked the beach for a while
but there weren’t many shells to find. Back on the road, we spent the night in
Cape Henlopen State Park. Having checked
the ferry schedule on the internet, we headed out early next morning to be in
good time for the 9:30 sailing. When we got there, it was an 8:45 departure. We
were the last vehicle on the ferry (and the last one off).
We had hoped to get past New
Jersey, but we made it all the way to Mystic. We stayed in the same campground
we had stayed in last year. Next day, we drove in to Mystic to visit our friend
Whit Perry at the museum shipyard. He is in charge of the restoration of
Mayflower II.
When we arrived, the first thing
we saw was this large Viking ship.
It is the Draken Harald Hårfagre, a reproduction of an old Viking ship that
sailed across the Atlantic and has been cruising over here.
She is in Mystic for the winter. But
interesting as that ship might be, we were here to see Whit and Mayflower II.
After extensive bottom work, she is back in the water again, and looking fine.
We got a tour of the work that
still needs to be done to the inside. The rig was getting ready to be added in a
couple of days. She is scheduled to return to Massachusetts next spring; first
to Boston and the Constitution, then
back home to Plimoth Plantation. I hope we can be there to see her sail in.
After leaving the Seaport, we
headed to downtown Mystic. There is a public parking lot, where we parked for a
couple of hours last year. This year when we pulled in they wanted to charge us
$40, so we went elsewhere (where we parked for free). We had some lunch, then
strolled around downtown. There is a massive drawbridge at the edge of downtown
that we found interesting.
Last year, we just drove through
New Hampshire. We decided to take a closer look this year. So off we went to
Keene to see what we could find out about Ralph Page, the father of New England
contra dancing. Jean spent some time at the library, but we spent more time
getting lost trying to find our way back out of town.
Our next stop was at Lake Winnipesaukee,
the largest lake in New Hampshire. It is a popular summer getaway.
We wanted to take a lake cruise,
but the only one available was a sunset cruise, so we took a train ride
instead. The train runs alongside the lake, with occasional views between
trees.
It was a Sunday, late in the
season, so things weren’t crowded. We had a pleasant meal at a café with a view
of the lake.
We had hoped to see lots of fall
color, but the trees are just beginning to turn.
We saw more color as we got
further north and higher into the White Mountains.
The best color so far was going
through Franconia Notch, which would be impressive any time. You drive between
huge granite cliffs, then out into lower country. When we got to Vermont, we
began to pass through more familiar territory. Route 2 approaching Montpelier
was pretty awful, though they are beginning to repave in Plainfield. It was
overcast and dead calm when we got to Burlington, Monday afternoon.
We will spend the next several
days visiting with Alan (Gene’s son) and Valerie.
