Meeting friends old and new

Meeting friends old and new

We left the York River and travelled to the MIGHTY Rappahannock and a berth at the famous Tides Inn Resort and Marina.  This is not your typical cruiser hangout and a refreshing change of pace.  If we were on a more leisurely pace and hit a warmer less stormy day, this would be a wonderful place to relax on the pool deck, bask in the spa, and recharge in the sumptuous dining room.  Needless to say the amenities were first class including a pass to the fitness center, huge towels, toiletries and a hairdryer in the bath house. (Oh, and a very, very nice gift shopJ) For us the real treat of this stopover was a visit with Cindy and Mike Greene who kindly retrieved us from the dock, toured us around the Northern Neck to their river home on the Rappahannock and treated us to dinner in a local – off the water –  hot spot. It never ceases to amaze us how friendships formed in Saudi Aramco endure and years of separation drop away when we have the chance to reconnect.  We hope to see them again as we move up to Alexandria, VA.

 

 

From the Rappahannock we went back out into the Chesapeake Bay on our way to the Potomac. Our trip up the Rappahannock had included some rock and roll that vaulted Frankie off the bench in the pilot house to hide hole in the lowest berth. We had hoped that the seas might have settled a bit after the big storm blew through overnight. While it was less rocky, we had some roll that slowed our progress and resulted in a late arrival at the Corinthian Yacht Club off Smith Creek near the mouth of the Potomac. We felt lucky to only be late since we heard a boat – Maycraft 25’ – had overturned in the rough water near where we had passed. The rivers were full of fishermen which we found hard to understand with the turbulent waters and freezing temps, but later learned this was the opening day of Rockfish (striped bass) season and the hardy souls were determined.  The friendly folks of the CYC welcomed us, tied our ropes to their T-dock for the night and invited us to their Mardi Gras themed mixer. This is a very historic club celebrating 110 years this season.  With the lively atmosphere, they will be here in another 100 years. Again, we experience the generosity and warmth of fellow boaters eager to share ideas and recommendations for our trip.

 

We had planned a very short day for Sunday – but in making changes earlier, I lost track of the small fact that our destination, St. Marys City, is not open on Sundays.  So, we flew with the rising tide up to Colonial Beach, VA and will stop at St. Marys on our return trip down the Potomac. Colonial Beach is a quiet small town on the river with an actual beach front and long history of serving as a retreat for city folk.  First it was visited by steamships from DC and then later with the better roads and cars, it was popular in the 50s and 60s. Recently the character of the town has been revived and preserved with a mixture of Victorian houses among some Art Deco motels and tons of cute petite cottages strung along the riverfront. One claim to fame is the house that was owned by the family of Alexander Graham Bell which is now a charming bed and breakfast.  Oh, yes, there is gambling here too due to a quirk in the laws. The state line between Virginia and Maryland is at the low tide mark in the river, so anything built over the water is technically in MD where liquor and gambling laws are less strict than VA.  It is still chilly, but a two mile bike ride to the grocery store warms the bones and there is enough warmth in the afternoon for Steve to work on his new paint job. Heading to the big cities shortly.…. This would have been posted sooner, but a virus crashed my PC resulting in an unplanned vacation from all computer tasks…