Yorktown, Jamestown, Williamsburg

We left Portsmouth and proceeded north through Norfolk and on to Yorktown on the York River. As we traveled through Norfolk we saw all of the ships that make Norfolk the largest Naval Base.


On our way to Yorktown we passed by Langley Air Force Base and noticed a plane circling overhead. It turns out it is a stealth fighter. Why it was just circling overhead we don't know.


For all of you real estate people, location is everything. We found out that this house is for sale. There is another that is lived in somewhere in the area. It does seem that the commute could be tough.

We arrived in Yorktown and got a slip at the Riverwalk Landing after finding out that our reserved mooring ball was not ready for use.

This marina is in the heart of Yorktown. Yorktown is famous as the place where the final decisive battle of the Revolutionary War was fought. Washington's troops along with French troops put Yorktown (occupied by the British) under seige and eventually caused Cornwallis to surrender to Washington. We toured the battlefield and some of the houses in town. One house in particular still has two cannonballs lodged in the brick wall.

A monument was erected near the battlefield commemorating the victory.

We visited Jamestown nearby. Jamestown is the first permanent British settlement in the U.S. 104 men and boys settled here in 1607. This was the famous Captain John Smith of Pocohontas fame. They built a fenced fortification and lived in an area of about one acre. Many of them died early on as there is no good source of fresh water at Jamestown. Archeologists are currently digging up the area and are finding more information about the settlement. This year is the 400th anniversary of the settlement and the whole area is preparing for a celebration along with a visit from the Queen.

The oyster shell covered rectangle in the photo above is a grave yard of the original settlers. They are currently digging the area just behind it. The tree line in the distance is the extent of the area they originally settled. Once Jamestown became established, it grew out from this original fort. There are foundation ruins of the original settlement and we were struck by how small the houses were. Stacy is standing in front of a set of three row houses. Each one is 20 by 40 feet (roughly the size of our boat).

We spent one day visiting Williamsburg. We did not purchase tickets to see any of the exhibits (and are glad we didn't since many were not open) but we did wander around town.

We decided not to try to go to Williamsburg yesterday, the day the Queen was to tour the city. She was there last night and we would not have been able to get back to Yorktown that late. Today she is in Jamestown. The area around Jamestown including the James river is a security zone and the general public is not allowed entry.

We had a visit from Spencer Dicks, a friend from Athens that now lives close by here. We caught up and then Stacy and I prepared for our departure.

We have said our final farewells to Bill as he has left his boat in Yorktown with a broker and has returned home to be with Ellen for her upcoming surgery. We had a great time traveling with he and Ellen and we will miss him. We may surprise them one day and pay them a visit in Newburyport.

We departed this morning and are anchoring for the night in Antipoison Creek. This is a creek where Captain Smith was stung by a ray and the local Indians treated the wound with "Antipoison".

We are now trying to decide whether to take two weeks to go up the Potomac to Washington, DC and are awaiting word on whether there is a slip available for us at the marina there. I hope to know by this afternoon as it will determine where we go from here.

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