The AGLCA Rendezvous ended and we were back to constantly checking numerous weather Apps and planning stops. With the weather in Chesapeake Bay being unfriendly for cruisers, we chose a short 12 Nautical Mile trip across the James River stopping in Hampton, VA.
Our intention was to stay two nights in Hampton but with continued high winds on the Bay, we extended our visit an extra night. This stop checked all our boxes: bikeable, walkable, a unique coffee shop, multiple breweries, a historical downtown, museums and even a National Park. Since the cruise across the river only took two hours, we had a full day of exploring after we docked. We walked the historical town and visited the Hampton History Museum learning about how this town moved from Native American days to the Space Age. A special exhibit was on display telling the legacy of Chris Kraft who grew up in the area. It was quite interesting to read about Kraft who was worked for NASA and developed the manned space flight. We continued walking the town and finally stopped at The Vanguard for dinner. Day two was bike day and our 9 miles of peddling took us to Farmers Market at Buckroe Beach, Firehouse Coffee Shop, Fort Monroe and the Oozlefinch Brewery. We ended day two at Bull Island Brewery with M/V Wings aka Peter and Tracy. Day three started with coffee and pastry at FIKA Coffee Shop. Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to walk back to the brewery and check out the Farmer’s Market they were hosting. We took a longer route so we could check out Phoebus along the way.
During our time at The Docks at Downtown Hampton we joked that we were put in the corner. However, we did enjoy our quite, peaceful, remote spot. The legend is that in 1905 officers saw this strange bird out side the Fort Monroe Officers’ Club. Then and now folks follow this statement with “much alcohol was involved in the sighting.” The tale spread and the bird named Oozlefinch became the mascot of the club.Definitely a favorite! True confession – we hit this brewery twice, once biked and the next day walked. The second day they had a great Farmers’ Market on the premises. We were astonished at the amount of families and groups enjoying the grounds with picnics and games. We did not know much about Fort Monroe prior to our visit. We learned lots and we were quite impressed with its size and cleanliness. The Casemate Museum is located within the fort’s walls. The museum contains a chronological history of Old Point Comfort and Fort Monroe. We also learned a casemate is a room within the walls of a fort, used for a variety of different purposes including as gun emplacements and living quarter. Confederate president Jefferson Davis was imprisoned in the casemate here at Fort Monroe. The story of his capture and how he was held was quite interesting. There is still a moat around the fort.Definitely a 10! The Vanguard has an array of house-made beer & spirits, a menu of bar food, and housed in a historic building with a great deck space. The winning feature of this place is the large stage with live entertainment.Tracy’s new joy is stickering everywhere she goes!Finally, the captain is on the dark beer train. Umm? This may have been a one and only.The second museum, The Hampton History Museum, of this stop where we meet a lovely local who set us with a bag of pamphlets and filled our brains with facts of the area. A beautiful day for a cruise and surprisingly the Norfolk Harbor was not filled with crisscrossing large boats and zooming smaller boats; we did have to go around one boat; the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69).
The biggest negative of this nomad lifestyle is missing family especially during holidays. Mother’s Day was tough one for Tracy but her heart was filled with joy knowing everyone was safe and happy. Phone calls from Dartmouth, Oklahoma, and Japan made it more special for sure.
Zach and his crew feed 500+ folks a delicious brunch.Cory left Hitachinaka, Japan on a the maiden voyage of newest Green Line ship, the Green WaveA brand spanking new boat where the plastic on the bridge just came off.Jacob and Regan celebrate her graduation from the University of Oklahoma! Congrats Regan!
