Washington, DC to Urbanna to Deltaville, August 12--16

After a delightful week with Stacy and Jordan visiting aboard in our nation's capital, they hopped into a cab at 0430 in the rain to fly home to hot Houston.  We had anticipated leaving, but heavy rain was forecasted, so we elected to wait another day to depart back to the Chesapeake.  We had favorable current for most of our ride down the Potomac, and anchored at nearly the last anchorage on the Virginia side in The Glebe.  It was a peaceful, serene, and isolated anchorage, complete with a bald eagle and a local man who rode by to visit with his grandson who was visiting him from Sugar Land! 

The following morning we traveled to Deltaville for one night, and then up the Rappahannock River to Urbanna, a quaint small town we had not previously visited.  We enjoyed Friday and Saturday nights there (the town closes up except for the latter part of the week), with good restaurants, a pharmacy with a lunch counter complete with milkshakes, and an interesting general store and other shops.  On Sunday afternoon we returned to the Jackson Creek side of Deltaville where the boat spent the 2013-2014 winter, and we will spend some time and have some minor maintenance issues attended.  We may even travel home before venturing north into Maryland. 

Mount Vernon

St. Clements Island

Urbanna Courthouse 1748

Lee Home, Urbanna 1750

Deltaville, VA to Washington, DC August 1 -- August 11

Though we have been to many large and historic cities on our boat, we had not been to our nation's capital aboard Texas Ranger.  We traveled from Deltaville into the Potomac River, and anchored in Canoe Neck Creek off of St. Clement's Bay on the Maryland shore.  It was a beautiful, pastoral setting and a quiet stop.  The next day we traveled upriver past Quantico to anchor across the river from Mt. Vernon.  The following morning we traveled in the dinghy to the Mr. Vernon dock, and toured George Washington's estate.  After returning to the boat, we continued on to Alexandria.  This old historic town survived the Civil War without destruction because it was occupied the entire war by Union forces, and we enjoyed touring the pre-Revolutionary War streets and houses.  Of course, the river past Alexandria is the approach/departure flight plan for Reagan National Airport, so jets went overhead almost constantly.

After a couple of days, we continued the short distance to Washington, DC, and docked at the Capital Yacht Club.  Though there is ongoing major reconstruction of the DC waterfront, and temporary quarters of the club are perfectly fine, and the docks are brand new.  The members and staff were all gracious hosts, and it was an excellent setting for a visit from our granddaughter and her aunt, our eldest daughter who lived and worked in DC for over five years before returning to Houston.  She was the official "tour guide" to introduce the granddaughter to DC and its many monuments, memorials, museums, buildings, and other attractions.  Of course, with a five-year-old, we couldn't see everything, but the scope of what we were able to see was impressive!   In addition, she rode almost all forms of modern transportation during her stay, and learned about navigating airports, subways, and bus routes.  I'm sure that some day when she returns with her parents and brother, she will view herself as the expert tour guide.  We also had a great visit with Kay's cousin and family who live here.  And not to have quiet airspace, government helicopters frequently fly (at very low altitude) right along the harbor channel where we are docked en route to their destination near the Ellipse.  The northern flight path to Reagan is a bit farther off, but not beyond hearing!

Large and Small

Tourists

The Ladies

About to Tour my Aunt's Former Workplace

Seeking my Roots

Star of the Zoo?

The REAL Star of the Zoo