Dear family and friends, I am having a hard time getting spacing right with pictures so keep scrolling.
I realize that my messages are not getting through and I have completely lost our trip through Virginia. I will remember the best I can and try again to get it to you.
We were up early at Alligator River Marina because we wanted to get across the Albermarle sound when the wind and water were low. It has quite a reputation for bringing boaters to their knees if conditions are wrong. It is a large body of water and there are a lot of shallow spots. It was like glass and we had no problems. Our next stop was Norfolk. We had left our friends, Forrest and Lewis but they caught up with us. We came in to the largest naval facility in the world, passed a huge air carrier guarded by patrol boats armed with sub-machine guns and docked right across from the navy seal training center. We awoke with reveille and the star spangled banner being played right across from us. We
were looking forward to having Lang and his family come on board on the second.

When they arrived, all three children were excited and covered the boat in minutes. They were starving so we had a very early dinner. Sandy and Langdon took Bradshaw and Audrey swimming and Langdon and Lang wanted to fish. We thawed out some chicken and they caught a few croakers. There were people there crabbing so when the other two got back, they shifted over to that. We did not have the right equipment so were not successful.
We woke up the next morning with the wind and rain. It was time to leave for Yorktown The rain did not slow the kids down nor was the captain deterred.
It was not long into the trip that the 1 to 2 foot seas we were expecting turned into 5 to 7. What we had mercifully been spared from on the Albermarle Sound, the Chesapeake Bay made up for. The wind and waves were coming on the starboard beam (out of the east). This was where the British took significant damage to their fleet in the Revolutionary war due to bad weather conditions. They hightailed it back to New York. Several of us would have been happy to hightail it back to Norfolk. Dooley and Audrey particularly who succumbed to sea sickness.
These rough conditions caused door and drawer slamming, and objects to fly off shelves. Dishes were moving around in their cabinets. The water and weather Langdon and I encountered earlier in the trip had spoiled me. Nothing had been secured . We were in this situation for over an hour until we were able to get in the Lee of the land. We were glad to get to Yorktown. (When the children were with us last summer on the boat, we took them to Bush Gardens and arrived in time for torrential rain. Our only activity was buying a sandwich and getting each of us a blue, Bush Garden Poncho.) It was raining as we docked in Yorktown but the kids were prepared. Out came the bright blue ponchos and the Smurfs were out in force helping us land. We had had problems with the lowering mechanism on the dingy, but Lang and Langdon finagled the boat into the water. Lang and his family went for a ride. Langdon iv had been successful catching fish in Norfolk and was soon on the front of the boat pulling them in. Bradshaw joined him in the haul. They had a great time catching and throwing back.
You can tell by the picture below, that Langdon HAS been schooled on how to properly display your catch! Good Job Lang.He has also been schooled on the proper school. Notice the tee shirt..🐝🐝🐝
We ate at the marina restaurant where Bradshaw found out about she crab soup. The next morning, the 4th, we took it easy but decided to take the kids to the Victory Museum in the city proper. It was very interesting with people dressed in period costumes full of information of the day. We also hopped a trolley and learned about some of the historical sights. It was a shame we could not go to Jamestown or Williamsburg, but we only had a day. (There were a lot of miles to cover to get us to Baltimore in time for the young Flowers crew to catch their airplane.)
We got back to the Marina where they were having a low country boil. Most of the food was gone but apparently everyone got enough. The grand fireworks we had hoped for were canceled because of the weather. The city had expected ten thousand people for the display and we're going to park the cars in the battle ground. Because of the muddy conditions, all those tires would have rutted it.
Lang took his family out on the dingy and watched the fireworks across the way. Everyonenjoyed them except Dooley. She found a great 'hidey' hole underneath the shirts in Langdon's closet. The 4th of July is her least favorite day of the year. She gets suspicious when it thunders that it might be another Fourth of July.

We left Yorktown about 7:30. We let the kids sleep through the leaving in order for it not to be such a long day. We were heading for "Someplace, Maryland", ( not really name but don't know what it was.) We were looking forward to this Marina because it had such wonderful amenities. We hustled to get there before 6 so we could get helped docking the boat. We got there at 5:30. This was Tuesday. The restaurant was only open Thursday-Saturday. The swimming pool was ¼ mile away and closed at 6, the bicycles had flat tires and the 'loner' car had gone home with the Marina owner. It was a beautiful spot but not what we had imagined. I put together a duck casserole while Lang and his family pumped up tires on two of the bikes, they used our two and put Audrey in the basket in the three wheel Marina bike. They went about a mile down the road to this restaurant where the man goes fishing everyday and whatever he catches, his wife cooks for supper. They had an appetizer and came back and had some casserole. We were out of there by 7 the next morning heading to Annapolis.
Many of the places we have seen are beautiful. Annapolis ranks right up there with them. We got in around 3:30 and were surrounded by huge boats. The one two away from us had a hot tub on the top deck. I think it was 100+ feet and the other one was about the same size. Most of these Marinas have free wifi but ours was blocked because of our neighbors size.
We went to a restaurant called Middleton Tavern which was an 18th century place to lodge and dine. It was much more than that in the day. It served as a communication network where news was carried from port to port. This tavern hosted such greats as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamen Franklin. To be melodramatic, 'the halls dripped with history.' The food was very good also. Most of us left , but Sandy and Audrey stayed for dessert in the piano bar. Lang went back to get them on the dingy and found his daughter doing what her Godfather, Craig, would have been doing. Conversing and enjoying the band. Before the evening was over, she was the lead tambourine player. Langdon and I had Langdon and Bradshaw. Bradshaw was sleepy, but Langdon was not. I had on my pajamas but the two of us decided it would be a good idea to walk to the end of our dock where a GREAT BIG YACHT, 140-150 feet long was sitting. They had on their underwater flood lights. We got down there without our fishing rods, but when we saw the number of large fish in the water, Langdon and I went back to get them for us. We fished for a while and had a good time. If you want to see the boat, look up Vera Vida. It will give you an idea of who our neighbors were.
The next morning, we caught a trolley and toured Annapolis. You can see the capital from this memorial overlook.
It was sad that our time with Lang, Sandy, and the children was drawing to a close. We left Annapolis heading for Baltimore, our final stop with them.
WOW! What a place. We are at Inner Harbor Marina, smack dab in the middle of everything. A science building with hundred of interaction opportunities, the national aquarium, and the Baltimore stadium to name a few. With only this day left, we took full advantage. Langdon, Lang, Langdon, Bradshaw and Audrey went to see the Orioles and the Angels, and Sandy and I stayed on board and went to the Rusty Scupper, the Marina restaurant, for dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed our mother daughter time.