VA: Cape Charles

Day 347
NM Today: 35
NM To Date: 5597

Clark saw thunderstorms predicted in this afternoon's weather forecast, so we got up early to make a trip across Chesapeake Bay to Cape Charles. An estimated distance of around 30 or so miles in combination with our 8 knot speed meant approximately four hours of travel. An arrival of 1:00 p.m. would allow us to arrive in port before the storms came.

I noted as soon as I awoke this morning that the wind blew heartily in our marina, and I wondered what that would mean for our conditions crossing the bay. We left the dock in Portsmouth at 9:00 as hoped. The wind made the ride somewhat rocky, but we have gone out in a lot worse than today's conditions. In fact the breeze from the wind felt so lovely it more than made up for any rocking we encountered as a result of it.

How different the scenery became as we crossed from the busy port of Norfolk / Portsmouth to the opposite, less-traveled side of the bay.

As we left Norfolk / Portsmouth, we saw ...

Naval Vessels

Container Ships

Loading zone lifting containers onto trucks

Hospital Ship

Security Zone Fence around Naval Ships

Not pictured - several tugs heading towards the port

As we moved away from Norfolk the scenery started to change. First with homes and lighthouses

A more residential area

Thimble Shoals Lighthouse

I found the story behind Thimble Shoals Lighthouse interesting. The first lighthouse on this site replaced the last lightship on the Chesapeake Bay in 1872. A fire destroyed the lighthouse and a replacement was put in place in 1880. This second structure seemed to have been doomed as, over the years, not one but three different vessels struck this lighthouse - the last being a towed schooner that took out the foundation of the lighthouse. Thus, in 1914 a third structure, the one shown above, was built next to the damaged one. The latter was eventually removed but only in very recent years. The current design is referred to as a "sparkplug" lighthouse. It was sold into private ownership in 2005 but still serves as an aid to navigation.

As we got closer to Cape Charles, we saw signs of less industry more fun. No war ships or tugboats prowled these waters - just a kayak!

Cape Charles Beach

We chose the marina located about one mile out of town as opposed to the one right in town as Clark had referrals telling us we would enjoy the Kings Creek Marina more. Besides having cheaper fuel this marina has a pool! We fueled up, docked in our slip, pulled out our bikes, and rode into town.

Clark mentioned that somewhere in town we could get ice cream treats, and I immediately got busy pulling out my bike and getting ready to go.  The short trip into town took almost no time by bicycle. I would not have wanted to make the same trip on foot. The heat and humidity would have been unbearable. Riding on a bike generated its own breeze - especially on the downhill bits though the terrain was mostly flat.

Sadly, we chose the wrong day to arrive in Cape Charles. The ice cream shop is open every day except Tuesday when they make the ice cream. Rotten luck! We did find a soda fountain in the local pharmacy that had a few flavors of ice cream as well as rainbow sherbet. I took a vanilla cone and Clark took the sherbet. Afterwards we rode our bikes around town checking out the sites.

Main "drag" through town

Beach from the street side this time -
note the osprey nest between the V and the E
(we saw one from our boat with a mother and 3 chicks in nest)

another beach scene in Cape Charles

Street by Beach Entrance

 When we quite literally "crossed the tracks" near the town marina, the scenery changed yet again - not necessarily for the better.

Crossing the tracks ...

Cement Works

"Southern Comfort" Railroad Car

We also found signs of fishermen in the area.

Fishing Boat near the Town Docks

Those "pesky" traps!

On a positive note, while wandering the area by the tracks and the town docks, we found Billie Crystal.

After our exploration of the town and docks, we circled back towards the soda fountain / pharmacy and headed back to the boat.

Along the way, we passed

Cape Charles Water Tower

Loan Locomotive making his way towards town

By the time we got back to the boat the cold ice cream treat was long forgotten. We needed another way to cool down, so we jumped into the pool here at the marina and went for a different kind of dip before dinner. At the pool Clark met a family from the Chesapeake Bay area that came to Cape Charles by boat on holiday. He spent a good long time picking the poor guy's brain for where-to-go and what-to-see ideas. With this boater's input Clark now has a solid plan for our Chesapeake Bay tour! Yay!

As a result of the time spent planning our trip we ended up with a later dinner than I had hoped. Afterwards Clark grabbed the nightly sunset picture

View from the boat at sunset

and then went to work on investigating a VHF radio problem that popped up today as we crossed the bay. Periodically, as I worked on the blog, I got volunteered to assist with the VHF radio surgery.

"Here, hold the light"

 I also got to wiggle the volume control knob. I was definitely a big help!

Dr. Woodworth performing a delicate operation on his VHF radio
with his "makeshift" soldering iron

He reassembled the radio with hopes that his soldering of a switch connection will "do the trick" and fix the issue.

By the way, we never did experience any storms - thunderstorms or otherwise. Hot muggy day, but no rain!