Historic YorktownVirginiaWe spent a week in Virginia staying close to Williamsburg and we thoroughly explored the historic triangle during that time. You really need a week as there is so much to see in this area.This particular little town known as Historic Yorktown, is just…Read More

Historic Yorktown
Virginia

We spent a week in Virginia staying close to Williamsburg and we thoroughly explored the historic triangle during that time. You really need a week as there is so much to see in this area.

This particular little town known as Historic Yorktown, is just a short 15 minute drive from Williamsburg along the scenic Colonial Parkway. IT is remembered best by Americans as it was place where the battle that resulted in their victory in the American Revolutionary War.

We spent a full day in this area and during that time we took the Alliance tall ship sailing cruise up the river. We took the free trolley ride through the town and you can walk around the town with a marked map by yourself but if you actually want to go in any of the historic places then that is when you have to pay. It was actually a lovely little town to walk around and many of the buildings were picturesque and photogenic and it helped that the afternoon we were there it was lovely and sunny even if it was not quite as warm as we might have liked.

PRICES AND OPENING TIMES
Adult - $14; good for 7 days entrance to Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefield.

We chose to buy the LOCAL PASSPORT for America's Historic Triangle which is $83.50 for 5 Days this year and covered all the sites we wanted to see in the Historic Triangle from Jamestown through Williamsburg to Yorktown sites. All park grounds are closed at sunset. Yorktown Visitor Center: Opened daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.

We started our day at the YORKTOWN BATTLEFIELD
This is part of the National Parks and as such the America the Beautiful card will get you in free or pay the price at the time. The entry fee also covers some of the other places of interest in the town so check to see if you are interested as then you get your full money’s worth. This is where the actual battle took place and they have built a Visitor centre there where you can watch a very good film telling you the story to the lead up, the battle and what happened after. There are exhibits and also the inevitable shop.

From the battlefield centre you can walk over the actual fields and into the earthworks where the battle took place. We drove around using the guide map to the battlefield sites, siege lines and encampments. It is too big to walk around and they have done the drive tour very well. If you are very into this area of history then you can go on a guided tour of both the battlefield and the town.

One of the interesting facts we learned during our visit was that Artillery played a decisive role in defeating the British at Yorktown. "According to Brigadier General Henry Knox, the American artillery commander, the Americans and French fired 15,437 artillery rounds at the British during the eight day bombardment. This is an average of 1.2 shots a minute!"

One of the sites you can explore are CORNWALLIS’ CAVE where he is reported to have his headquarters but in fact history has recorded that as actually located in a bunker near Tobacco Road.

The first place we visited when we arrived at Yorktown was the VICTORY MONUMENT which was built to commemorate the victory at Yorktown between 1881 and 1884. "ONE COUNTRY - ONE CONSTITUTION - ONE DESTINY" is the inscription and it is a tall monument with the figure of Liberty at the top . It is a memorial to those who died in the battle.

MOORE HOUSE is where they negotiated the British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. This was well out of the lines of fire and on neutral ground and convenient for both sides to reach. The house was derelict until 1881 when repairs were carried out ready for the Centennial Celebration of victory.In the years between 1931 and 1934, the National Park Service restored the Moore House to its original colonial appearance. It is an interesting house and attractive too so worth a stop to visit.

NELSON HOUSE which is a restored mansion of Thomas Nelson Jr.who was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. The house was interesting to see as it still had a cannonball embedded in its outside wall. Inside the house is fully restored to its colonial appearance with reproduction furniture and is also part of the National Parks service so entry is included with your ticket.

The YORKTOWN VICTORY CENTER is open every day and in here you can learn the full story of the American Revolution, from colonial unrest to the formation of the new nation. There are many interesting exhibits and mini recreated scenes showing different aspect of the Revolutionary war such as an army camp and a farm of the 1780s. It was well done and s but not so large as to make you suffer information overload which we tend to suffer if a museum has too much in its halls.

There were many small museums and even more shop and places to explore but after walking all around the town with our map showing sites of interest, we decided we need some lunch before our sail on the Alliance sail so we headed to the river side shopping area and found a café for our lunch where we could sit outside and watch things along the river and enjoy the sunshine.

The shops in this area we all rather twee and gifty and very expensive so not tempting to us at all. Expensive children’s clothing and American home decorations as well as nik naks that were not to our taste at all.

If you are not interested in the historical Revolutionary stuff then you can explore the history of the river and those who earned their living on the river at the WATERMEN'S MUSEUM & GIFT SHOP which does cost extra and tells the story of the people who worked on and harvested the bounty of the bay in the past and to this day too. Then head for the WATERMEN'S MUSEUM MARITIME EXHIBITS which is free so we peeked in there and inside there are many artifacts and bits used by those involved in earning a living on boats .

This is but a quick taster of this rather lovely little town with its rich and interesting history. If you are there for a few hours then you will more than likely be able to catch the FIFES & DRUM band playing wearing their uniforms of the American soldiers in the Revolutionary war. They march through the town at different times and if you ask someone will point you in the direction of their performance times.



If you are interested in American history then Williamsburg and the historical triangle is well worth a visit. We spent a week in the area and managed to see quite a lot of both the Revolutionary period and then the Civil War as well. It is full of so much history and the stories are well told, the museums created in a family friendly way and the re enactments done brilliantly.
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Our week long stay started with a ride through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, $12 per car toll fee. The kids were excited and seemed amazed at the thought of going under the water in a tunnel instead of over it on a bridge.…Read More

Our week long stay started with a ride through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, $12 per car toll fee. The kids were excited and seemed amazed at the thought of going under the water in a tunnel instead of over it on a bridge. As you turn off US 13N onto VA 175 Chincoteague Road, stop at the Food Lion to stock up since there are no grocery stores on the island (unless you stop at the Walmart in Onancock VA or Pocomoke MD). After you cross the draw bridge and come to the stop light, you will be at the intersection of Maddox Blvd. and Main Street, the two main roads. Following Maddox on down will take you to Assateague Island National Park, where you can pay $8 per day, $15 per week, or walk or bike over for free. We found the rental office, and since it was after hours, our keys were in the drop box. The rental was on the channel side with great views of the lighthouse and marsh. We took some tours to see the wild horses, which were actually in the marsh across from our house, but just a little too far to see. We did a kayak tour which we enjoyed; but the kids favorite was the boat tour with Captain Barry! Very entertaining. You could rent a scooter or one of the little two seater cars, have ice cream, play putt putt, bike around town - enjoy the slow pace of life! There's even a Mcdonalds if you need your fix. Main Street is full of shops, and don't forget to catch the sunset anywhere along Main Street, or the sunrise over the lighthouse. REMEMBER - if it's summer the mosquitoes will be relentless over on Assateague, even during the day. If you plan to hike along any of the many trails over there, bathe in repellant and take more with you! We enjoyed our stay, and are looking forward to visiting again!Close

In the southern part of Hampton Roads is the city of Chesapeake where one of the main roads is Battlefield Boulevard. Going down this road several miles from the I-64 you will eventually come to a very modern drawbridge before you come to the town…Read More

In the southern part of Hampton Roads is the city of Chesapeake where one of the main roads is Battlefield Boulevard. Going down this road several miles from the I-64 you will eventually come to a very modern drawbridge before you come to the town of Great Bridge. To the left before you get to the bridge is a monument that has no easy way to gain access to or figure out what is represents. It was here at the Battle of Great Bridge that the end came to the British Colonial Government in Virginia almost eight months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1775.
In the late 1700’s, the area that is now strip malls and great restaurants was a causeway that was surrounded by the Great Dismal Swamp. The town of Great Bridge was a shipping point for the goods coming up from the Carolinas to the port of Norfolk and the local ship building industry. The area that was where the Great Bridge was at was a natural barrier to stop any attack coming from the south and rebel forces mustering in the Carolinas. It was likewise a barrier from an attack from the British forces in Norfolk towards the Carolinas.
At the time, Norfolk was one of the key centers of Loyalists in a heavily divided Virginia. The last Royal Governor of Virginia was the 4th Earl of Dunmore, who had moved to Norfolk with some British and Loyalist forces after a hasty departure from Williamsburg in June 1775. After his arrival in Norfolk, resistance to the British began to increase in the surrounding countryside. Lord Dunmore ordered the building of a military stockade called Fort Murray on the Norfolk side of the Elizabeth River. This was manned by a platoon of soldiers from the 14th Regiment. The soldiers then removed some of the bridge planking, destroyed 5 or 6 houses on the Great Bridge town side shore and fortified the narrow causeway bridge approaches with two cannon that were manned by Royal Navy sailors.
By October, the British forces in Norfolk had grown strong enough to begin raiding the surrounding countryside. The 2d Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army was ordered by the Continental Congress to march on Norfolk and on 2d of December took up position on the Great Bridge side of the bridge and dug fortifications after failing to realize they vastly outnumber the current British and Loyalist force at Fort Murray. By the 8th of December the Colonial forces under Col. William Woodford of Continental soldiers, minuteman riflemen, and state militia soldiers numbered over 900 while the British forces had grown to 400 men.
British intelligence vastly underestimated the number of Continental forces, and Lord Dunmore ordered for an attack to take place across the bridge on the Colonial positions. The bridge planks were replaced in the night, and by carefully avoiding any attempt at using any military strategy or planning, the British forces attacked across the bridge with bayonets fixed early in the morning on the 9th. The exchanging of shots between the advancing grenadiers and the Continental forces lost the British any chance of surprise and slowed their crossing. They were already too late, the Colonial’s had been alerted and were ready.
The Colonial earthworks were manned by about 60 men under LT Travis while the rest of the camp mobilized. They waited until the British grenadiers were within 50 meters before opening fire. The British attack faltered as half of the grenadiers fell, including their captain, who died just steps from Colonial position. Only 11 of the 60 grenadiers leading the attack survived the battle. The British then retreated across the bridge and fall back to Fort Murray as the Colonial rifleman began firing on them. The British forces, after a true to collect their dead and wounded, sneaked out of Fort Murray that night and escaped to Norfolk.
With losses of 102 men killed or wounded, it was a complete disaster. Royal authority in the Virginia Colony was at an end. Lord Dunmore moved to a Royal Navy ship, and Norfolk was soon captured by Colonial Army forces.
Now you know where there is a monument next to the bridge.
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Having been surrounded by the wine culture of Northern California’s Bay Area before moving to sourthern Virginia, I was very surprised to find the wine culture alive and well here in the Mid Atlantic region. Actually, Virginia is currently in the stage of vineyard growth…Read More

Having been surrounded by the wine culture of Northern California’s Bay Area before moving to sourthern Virginia, I was very surprised to find the wine culture alive and well here in the Mid Atlantic region. Actually, Virginia is currently in the stage of vineyard growth because of several factors that would have had Thomas Jefferson smiling if he was around today. With over 160 wineries now dotting the map heavily in the center of the Commonwealth, it would be hard not to find something that you like amongst the varieties offered.
It was over 400 years ago that English settlers in Virginia hoped to establish a flourishing wine industry at Jamestown and become a source of wine for the British home islands. A law in 1619 was signed making it a requirement for each male settler to plant and grow at least ten grape vines. Unfortunately, the vines were of European origin and they could not stand up to the diseases found in the new world. Both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington tried to cultivate European grape vines for many years. Washington gave up and stuck to ciders and whisky, while Jefferson spent more than 30 years trying and his Monticello vineyards never produced a single bottle of wine. It would only be after the grafting of local and European grapes in the late 1800s before a break through was made on grapes that could grow in Virginia. Soon after that, prohibition occurred and there were very few vineyards left afterwards.
In the late-1950s, experimental plantings of a new grape showed promise. With the firm establishment of six new wineries in the 1970s, the recovery of the Virginia wine making was underway. Today, wineries in Virginia are mostly small family operations, with a few larger exceptions to that rule. If you go to a winery for a tasting - your likely to meet the whole family and find their passion for creating a world class wine while talking with them sipping their product. And here you will find the merlot, rose, red, and white wines are now plentiful and of a huge variety of tastes, tectures, and alcohol contents.
Knowing the history of how the other than local grapes could not grow in Virginia for so long, it is much easier to see how the fruit wines came about here. These can be found in many of the wineries, with some of the best being apple, blackberry, pear, or pomegranate wines. There may have been a time when the limited selection of these made them a poorer showing item, but that definitely is no longer the case these days. As a guy who really likes sweet white Riesling wines and dessert wines – Virginia holds many great surprises with all the fruit wines being produced in small batches.
Both Hilltop and Horton offer a great variety of fruit wines that are well worth a sample at any wine tasting. It is also surprising how many meads are available now. Mead has been around since time eternal, and made by almost all cultures. But finding mead in the USA takes some searching. Some meads retain some measure of the sweetness of the original honey, and some may even be considered as dessert wines. But it is the mix of the fruit wine and mead that really creates a unique wine that I probably never would have tried if not for a wine festival tasting. If you happen to see Dragon's Blood and sample it - I am sure you will be buying a bottle of it just like the rest of us have.
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www.ChesapeakeVAWineFestival.comAnother great Hampton Roads festival during wine month in Virginia is being added to the list with the 1st Annual Chesapeake Wine Festival in Chesapeake, VA OCT 30-31. This will be a mid to large wine festival with an expected large turnout if the weather…Read More

www.ChesapeakeVAWineFestival.com
Another great Hampton Roads festival during wine month in Virginia is being added to the list with the 1st Annual Chesapeake Wine Festival in Chesapeake, VA OCT 30-31. This will be a mid to large wine festival with an expected large turnout if the weather holds. Gate Entrance fee is $35 for wine tasting and includes a event wine glass.
Festival hours are from Noon – 6:00 pm at the Chesapeake City Park on Greenbrier Parkway. The Chesapeake Wine Festival is the major fundraiser for the Chesapeake Rotary. The festival will benefit the Sid Oman Cancer Center of Chesapeake Regional Hospital, as well as the community charities of the Rotary. The festival will offer premier wines from the around the world for tasting and many of Virginia’s wineries and vineyard will participate. Entertainment will be provided by Lewis McGehee and Charles Darden.
For those looking to educate themselves on how to identify the finer qualities of wines or to increase their knowledge of wines, several wine seminars are to l be offered during the festival. The best part of a wine festival is that it offers a place to taste wines from all of Virginia’s varied appellations side by side. They also offer a great value –since participating wineries run specials at events, and, instead of the typical $5-$15 tasting fee you pay at each winery, the ticket fee is a consolidated price to taste wines from all participating vineyards. That works out well in figuring out just which wines you like. Each winery also offers the wine for sale by the glass, bottle, or case. There are also specials to be had from some wineries in buying three bottles, such as the XOCO sweet white dessert wine with a white chocolate taste that is spectacular.

With so many different vineyards set up for sampling, it does pay off to read ahead on which are the up and coming wines in Virginia. I have found www.vawineevents.com or www.virginiawine.org both to be a great help in making a list of some wines and identifying which wineries boths I wanted to find first. Sometimes it’s the smaller unknown ones that are the great surprises at a wine festival, and the ones you actually may want to take a visit to on a later weekend.
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We are coming up on the one year anniversary of the integration of NorthWest Airlines into Delta Airlines after their merger about two years ago. As much as people liked to fuss about "NorthWorst" little did they know it could get worse. I…Read More

We are coming up on the one year anniversary of the integration of NorthWest Airlines into Delta Airlines after their merger about two years ago. As much as people liked to fuss about "NorthWorst" little did they know it could get worse. I became a frequent flier, and a rather loyal one at that, with NorthWest, back in 1994. Since that time, I had far more good experiences than bad. For the most part, if they lost (aka "misrouted") my luggage, it was delivered to me within four hours. If they were oversold on a flight, they were generous with the "bump" money.

All airlines have to deal with weather issues and mechanical problems so when those things happen, I’m more than happy that they do what they need to do to assure safe travel for the traveling public. Since the merger of NWA into DL, I must say, things have not been smooth flying for me. Maybe it is because they have reduced the overall number of flights and routes thereby driving aircraft capacity to the max. Or perhaps it is simply that with the union concessions and other labor issues, they have lost sight of the customer. I would hypothesize that "Frankly Scarlett, they don’t give a damn."

Case in point this trip for a three-day weekend home to Virginia. My 7:00am DL flight out of Milwaukee was delayed more than two hours for the most ridiculous of reasons . . .
"a minor maintenance issue" that the inbound crew reported when they brought in the aircraft the night before but apparently the maintenance crew at Mitchell Airport (MKE) decided to let the morning crew worry about it. When the flight crew arrived and began their checks of the aircraft they brought in the night before, they realized their maintenance report was not addressed.

It took obtaining a part from elsewhere (I’m assuming on an inbound flight from one of their hubs) and then making the repair. It was not good that the Milwaukee maintenance crew did little to nothing to address the issue; it was worse that the Delta pilots completely threw them under the bus with 100+ passengers boarded and ready to head off to Atlanta. The groans were audible throughout the cabin.

Next up in this fiasco was the gate agents and the people left to address the mob of frustrated passengers, many of whom had tight connections in Atlanta. Hell even my two hour layover was not going to be enough. With all of this turmoil, you would expect there to be more than one agent available to assist passengers requiring rebooking. I also expected that they would have rolled out the little red rebooking cart that would enable folks to call Delta directly for assistance.

I was about 30 deep in the line for gate assistance to rebook when I got through by cell phone. After 15 minutes, I was taken care of and rebooked on a later flight into Newport News/Williamsburg with an anticipated 3:20p arrival time (about an hour and a half later than originally scheduled). With earlier air traffic control issues (A power outage? Are you kidding me?), flights throughout the Atlanta system were delayed. I eventually got out of Atlanta and into Newport News/Williamsburg at 4:10pm. Ironically, we had a 15 minute gate delay because the flight attendants couldn’t find the demo safety equipment. To his credit, the pilot did come on the mike to let us know his mea coupa and that we’d be taken care of quickly.

When my weekend was over and it was time to return to trust Delta to get me back to Milwaukee, I learned that they had an early morning flight cancelation out of Atlanta essentially overbooking all of the DL flights out of Richmond for the day. My flight was already overbooked and I knew it days ago. When I arrived at the airport, I asked the ticket agent about giving up my seat for a later flight. She said I would need to keep my current arrangements as there were no other flights that would get me to Milwaukee on the same day.

Once there was a gate agent at my gate, however, she was more than happy to accept my volunteering of my seat and made arrangements to get me on US Airways through Philadelphia, out an hour later than my previous scheduled arrival time. Not bad, and $400 for my troubles. I may use my travel voucher for my Kenya trip next summer, or perhaps that Las Vegas trip David and I have been talking about.

A few lessons learned . . .

1. Atlanta adds NOTHING to the former NorthWest hub system. It was always bad enough to know you’d have weather related issues in the winter connecting through Minneapolis and Detroit. Now passengers can look forward to summer-hell with weather in Atlanta.

2. Keep your travel plans fluid and you can use their issues to your advantage. I was happy that I had the flexibility to go home later on Sunday night so that I could offer up my seat for the $400 travel voucher.

3. Be patient. I know when flights don’t happen the way you need for them to, the way that you counted on them for, it can make for a painful travel experience. More often than not, it’s not the gate agent’s issue or even the pilot’s. Unfortunately, however, they are poorly equipped to deal with such issues and generally make things worse and not better.
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Needing to log in just a few more miles on Northwest/Delta Airlines to be upgraded to "elite status" for 2010, I decided to fly back east "home" to Virginia to spend the weekend with my sister Pam who still lives in the area. I…Read More

Needing to log in just a few more miles on Northwest/Delta Airlines to be upgraded to "elite status" for 2010, I decided to fly back east "home" to Virginia to spend the weekend with my sister Pam who still lives in the area. I timed the trip to hopefully coincide with the annual migration to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Skyline Drive for the fall colors.

Arriving at Washington, DC's Dulles Int'l Airport around noontime, it was raining and nasty but by the time we go a bit west and south of the airport, the rain stopped and the skies further to the south looked like they were trying to clear. We got out onto I66 until we reached 340 to Waynesboro where we jumped up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway heading south towards Lynchburg.

The drive along the Blue Ridge was very peaceful and rather void of other vehicles. The weather must have kept some folks away as this was to be the peak for fall's foliage . . . the colors did not disappoint!

As the temperatures rose, you could see the dense fog and low clouds atop the mountains. The contrast was quite striking. Throughout the drive, the sun was darting in and out of the clouds making for some unique photo opportunities at the scenic overlooks. At one such stop, we were back in the car ready to head on when the late afternoon sun returned highlighting the beauty of the fall colors across the landscape. I jumped out to snap the photo of the lone tree with the darkened skies behind it, as the setting sun made the colors jump to life in the picture.

We decided as night approached it was time to head down into civilization to find a motel and some supper. Lynchburg was about 20 minutes away. There we found a Texas Roadhouse and a Best Western to address our evening needs. It was homecoming night so the restaurant was a bit busy. After a 30 minute wait, we were seated . . . our meal was outstanding and well worth the patience to stay.

Our motel room was the standard double with two standard beds, clean bathroom and a free continental breakfast which included fresh locally grown apples. At an AARP rate of $89, we were very happy with the accommodations provided.

Admittedly, I was disappointed that we hadn't seen any black bears during our drive on Saturday. This area is well known for their bears; heck my sister even hit one a few weeks earlier in the fall about two hours from where we stayed. But alas, no bears for us. Pam teased me a little saying she should have taken my photo with the stuffed bear in the visitors center.

On Sunday morning we got up early as we had about 150 miles to traverse back towards the city so that I could catch my 4:00pm flight back home to Milwaukee. The plan was to take the main roads back to Waynesboro and head north, this time on the Skyline Drive.

US29 is one of my all-time favorite road trips to take through Virginia. I have many fond memories of it as a kid with my dad and as a young adult with my bowling buddies. The scenery between Lynchburg and Charlottesville was beautiful, as lovely as I remembered it to be. We took I64 over to Waynesboro and hopped onto the Skyline Drive.

The leaves were noticeably darker, drier and gone from the trees. I would guess that "peak" was probably a few days to a week earlier in the month. Still, there were some nice valley views especially facing to the east. Of course, I was still on the hunt for a bear calling out "here bearsy bearsy." My sister just chuckled.

As we rounded the corned just beyond Big Meadows, there was the first car back-up of our two day drive. Moving at a snail's pace, I told her that in Alaska this would mean one of two things . . . an accident involved a cyclist or hiker or a wildlife sighting. About that time, two men carrying huge cameras on monopods were seen approaching our direction on foot. An indication of wildlife if ever I'd seen one!

Up around the next corner was another photographer shooting up into the trees . . . and there it was! A small, young black bear cub!!! Woohooo . . . we have a bear sighting! There was a park ranger in the area to keep the hikers and cars moving along. What was noticeably missing was a momma bear.

As we drove on, there was a small parking turnout where I suggested that we turn around. Closer to the bear, I could jump out, take a few photos and Pam could swing back by to pick me up heading back north. It worked out perfectly for me to jump out; walk down the 50-75 yards to the area where the treed cub was, and shoot some photos. The ranger was nice enough, only asking that I snap a few shots and then move on.

By the time I finished and started in the direction Pam would be coming from, there was another back-up as people were wondering what I was photographing up in the tree. The ranger had to come back through, to clear the road again . . . still no momma bear in sight.

Excited that I finally got to see a black bear in the wild, I was satisfied! Even during our trip to Alaska we never got to see one in their natural habitat. Sure grizzlies in Denali National Park, but not the normally shy black bears that are elusive in many areas of the USA.

We hustled the rest of our journey through Skyline Drive so that I would make my flight home. It was funny because my sister has a Garmon that didn't much like the route we were taking. "She" kept telling us to turn around and go back to get out on the main roads. The more we kept ignoring the voice, the later our ETA was for the airport. Good thing that we knew just a little more than our computer friend.

It was a wonderful whirlwind 26 hours or so with my sister. We had a grand time and thoroughly enjoyed the time spend together. And guess what? We saw a bear!


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My daughter and friends took a white water trip through the blue ridge mountains of Vaginia. We had been looking forward to it for some time.During the briefing session the guy accompanying us in our canoe gave us a safety briefing and issued us with…Read More

My daughter and friends took a white water trip through the blue ridge mountains of Vaginia. We had been looking forward to it for some time.
During the briefing session the guy accompanying us in our canoe gave us a safety briefing and issued us with mae west life vests and we set off to enter the river.

A very rude man with a small child in tow pushed his way in front of us to get to the river with his canoe and off he went.

We got our canoe into the river and slowly paddled in the calm waters. We could see up ahead the beginnings of the rapids. The speed of the canoe got faster and faster and before we knew it were were hurtiling through the rapids beings splashed and thrown about in our canoe.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of something near some rocks. It was the man and his daughter holding on for dear life. I shouted out to all of us man over board. We turned the canoe around and started to paddle like mad and make our way up to the rocks to rescue them. It was absolutely hilarious because it reminded me of something out of Hawaii 5 O where they are paddling like crazy but we were getting no where fast.

I was at the front of the boat and managed to haul the little girl into the boat. Trying to haul the man in proved much more difficult and one of the others threw down his paddle to help me. The man who was a doctor thanked us for saving them.

The guide on the boat started to get the heebee geebees and said that the boat was not insured and they should not be in the boat. I told him not to be so bloody daft or is he suggesting I throw them back out again.


We rode down the river for a while where another group had rescued the mans canoe and we dropped him and his grand daughter off at this landing stage before heading off down river again.

We stopped for lunch and all of a sudden I realised I had lost my wedding ring. I was very upset about it as it had several rings in it. My mothers my grand mothers an aunts and my own. It was thick and chunky.

My friends were saying dont worry just buy another one and since that day I have not worn a wedding ring as it was irreplaceable due to the sentiments of the ring. I will never replace it as it was irreplaceable.

My hands had shrunk in the icy cold water and the ring had slipped off my finger whilst helping those people lost for ever to the river bed somewhere in the mountains of Tennessee.Close

This was a very short trip to Virginia, to spend the weekend with my two sisters . . . one who still lives in the DC Metro Area in NoVA and the other who has since moved out west to the high desert of California.…Read More

This was a very short trip to Virginia, to spend the weekend with my two sisters . . . one who still lives in the DC Metro Area in NoVA and the other who has since moved out west to the high desert of California. My youngest sister had also been down to Myrtle Beach for about ten days before heading north to Williamsburg, so she brought along her daughter-in-law and her 15 month old grandbaby.

I flew into Richmond which is generally the most convenient airport, although many use the Norfolk/Newport News Airport probably because the airlines call it the WILLIAMSBURG/Newport News Airport. If you are planning a trip to Williamsburg, I would personally suggest looking into Richmond as it is very convenient and for me, it's been less expensive too.

Now for the logistics of traveling or staying with a toddler. Noah is a wonderfully happy little boy. I have never heard a child giggle as much as he does, although, if momma left his sight for more than about a minute, he became fussy. Even with MeMa who he knows, I think having other big people around who are strangers, was a bit overwhelming for him.

That said, he enjoyed playing with his toy cars and a big stuffed puppy that sang songs to him. He was also fascinated with his mom's I-Phone and her MP3 player. He enjoyed wiggling and bobbing to the music, and was generally easily entertained. The biggest thing was watching your step to avoid stepping on a toy . . . or letting out a swear word if you did step on something.

For us, eating breakfast in each morning was best, given we were all on different wake-up schedules. My sister and niece did a nice job stocking the fridge so we all had enough to get our day started.

At the resort, we had a nice area to walk each evening, including the sand filled play ground area. Noah really enjoyed swinging and did do the slide, on his belly, feet first. As nightfall approached, so did the night critters. Mosquitoes were hungry and seemed to enjoy munching on us at dusk. They also have "no-see-um" bugs that will bite you and yet you see nothing in the air. Word to the wise, spray the OFF before going out at night!

Williamsburg in May is a very busy time, even though from a tourism point of view, it is considered a "shoulder season." May brings not only Mother's Day, but also the LPGA tour to Kingsmill and graduation at William & Mary. Add to that prom night, and you can see why the city seems to bust at the seams. Be sure to keep all of this in mind as you go out to enjoy the restored area or a nice restaurant for lunch or dinner.

For me, May is the perfect time to be in Williamsburg however. While on this trip it was particularly warm (high 80's on Friday and Saturday) May is typically pretty moderate without a lot of humidity. Trust me on this, if you do not like the heat and/or humidity, plan your visit before June 1st or after October 1st. Summer is hot and filled with tourists. No thank you!

EXCEPTION . . . Fourth of July/Independence Day is magical in Williamsburg. If you luck out and happen to be there when it is unseasonably cool, you will be treated so wonderful reenactments in Colonial Williamsburg . . . and a great fireworks display after dark.
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A few months go when I received an invitation to my cousins wedding I got excited. Any excuse to travel and I hadn’t seen Jeff in a while so a new adventure was on the horizon. I called Jeff to see to see how far…Read More

A few months go when I received an invitation to my cousins wedding I got excited. Any excuse to travel and I hadn’t seen Jeff in a while so a new adventure was on the horizon. I called Jeff to see to see how far it was and to see where we could stay. Since I wanted to stay in a hotel, he suggested Wytheville. He said it was about 30 minutes away. I knew that was just over the NC/VA border since a friend of mine lived there. So I sent away for my information and made reservations.

As it drew closer for our vacation, I once again called Jeff to let him know where we would be staying and when we would be arriving. We were invited to Jeff’s for the rehearsal cookout on Friday and Jeff gave me the address.

Friday arrived and John and I took off for a weekend away. I had hoped to make it up to the big lookout for some amazing views. But since we now had the cookout we thought it was best to locate our hotel and rest a bit before the cookout. Instead we napped and while I was getting ready I heard John call me in to the bedroom. He asked me if I was sure Jeff gave me the correct address. I confirmed it and he told me this was over 70 miles away! What happened to 30 minutes???!!! He checked the address for the wedding and that was 40 miles. Not exactly 30 minutes, but better. I called Jeff and confirmed it was more like an HOUR and a half. We bowed out of the cookout and told Jeff we would see him the next day. Now faced with nothing for the night, we decided to go find dinner and the go see the newest version of The Hulk staring the very handsome Edward Norton , the very lovely Liv Tyler , and the very gorgeous Tim Roth .

Since it was 40 miles to the wedding, we figured on leaving out by 12:30 giving us plenty of time to get to the wedding and change clothes. We had to check out of our hotel by 11 and had to have something to do, we decided to go to an herb farm first. We checked out, visited the herb farm, and left right at 12:30.

Now I should have known when we got onto a state road that was 666, things would not go well. Our next maneuver according to our GPS would take us on another state road that was 15 miles to Tazewell. So 20 minutes top, right? 45 MINUTES later we arrived. The road we were on could give Lombard St. a run for its money and in places 15 MPH would have been speeding! The wedding was at 2 and by the time we arrived at the town’s limit it was 1:55.

Our plan was to quickly dash into the bathrooms and change clothes then quickly duck into the back and not disturb anyone. So when we arrived at what should have been the church, surprise…no church! We drove up and down the small main street several times before finally seeing a group of women coming out of the library. We asked if they could tell us where the church was and they all stated that they had lived there all their lives and never heard of it. And now this is the kind of small town where everybody knows everybody and every place. Yet half a dozen people later we still could not locate the church. Dying of thirst we finally stopped at a convenience store and asked yet again, and yet again they had never heard of the place. They did, however, direct us to the fire department behind us and felt sure they would know. Guess what? They didn’t either.

At this point it was almost 3 and I knew the wedding was long over and we were still in jeans and shorts. We still had that long drive back in the rain and needed to check into the B&B by 6 and we were starving. In the end we admitted defeat and called and left my cousin a message and wished him lots of luck. It was off to the mansion and back to our long drive.

Now you would think that would be enough of a misadventure for one weekend right? Wrong! Anyone who has read my journals knows John and I have the worst luck with restaurants. At least one of our picks won’t pan out. So I always plan for that and check out what I see when I am pulling into town.

On Friday I had originally had dining plans and when we didn’t get to the cookout, I was glad I had made them. I had chosen a fish house I had seen in our visitors guide. We followed the directions the GPS provided and had also taken our visitors guide. We again drove up and down trying to find the fish house and wondering how we were missing it. We finally saw a lady checking her mail and stopped and asked her. She told us the place had been closed for a few years! So we went back out and in search of an Italian restaurant I had taken note of and I felt confident if this place as it had a website that was recently updated. We quickly found it but this would be the week they were closed for vacation! We finally decided to head back to the movie theater and luckily we ran into the Ocean Bay and had food for our now growling tummies.

Saturday would bring us double bad luck. After we arrived backed to Wytheville we went in search of yet another restaurant that I found in the visitors guide. And again it was nowhere to be found. So we saw Troy’s and decided to find out if you could find a real Philly cheese steak in VA. And were glad to say…yes you can!

While our wonderful B&B hostess, Patti, was giving us a tour of the mansion, we ran into some other guests looking for dinner suggestions. She suggested the Log House, but warned service was slow. We now had exhausted our list of restaurant picks and didn’t have anything for the evening. I had looked at the Log House Restaurant but after a number of bad reviews decided to forgo the place. Most people agreed the food was wonderful. They just all said the service was slow and he staff was rude. But one did say it was under new ownership and there were changes being made.

Perhaps that person was right. We laid down took a nap, got up and got dressed for dinner. We arrived at the lovely building around 8 and went on in. We went to the hostess station where we were very rudely told that they were not seating anyone else without reservations. They never asked if we had one. The dining room was far from full and the only people we saw waiting was a group of 3 women. So we went back to the Trinkle Mansion and employed Patti’s help and this time she sent us to Kimono Japanese Steakhouse. Which it turns out was perfect.

Then on Sunday we were once again out of luck. While passing though Lexington on our way to Wytheville, John suggested we stopped by on the way back and get some BBQ and that way we didn’t have to worry about cooking when we got home. I had been wanting to go to Lexington BBQ, which was featured on the Travel Channel. John couldn’t locate the address in our GPS. So we decided to just stop and get directions when we hit town.

We stopped at a gas station and asked where we could find Lexington BBQ and the gal at the counter informed me that the restaurant was closed on Sunday. She then tells me Jimmy’s is open, just around the corner, and would be her suggestion for BBQ. I had heard of Jimmy and heard it was good and was really wanting some Lexington Q. So why not? It turned out to be the best suggestion of the whole trip.

Now despite all these problems, our trip was still wonderful. I was with my husband and we were away for the weekend. And for me that was the best thing of all.


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