August 9-21: OBX
This was the annual family beach trip and although there was nothing out of the ordinary as beach trips go, it was great to have Lulu, Barb & Ray, and Missy there. Lots of home cooked meals, lots of sun (with only one or two indoor days), and lots of doing a great job of doing nothing!
After the family left, Patsy and I had a few days of wind-down time, including this near perfect day on a long flat beach, mild seas, perfect weather, and very few people - for August!
September 5-7: Sailing
Patsy's activity level had been improving greatly leading up to this trip to the point that she decided to come along, and it turned out to be a perfect trip for her - and me.
We arrived at the boat fairly late on Saturday of Labor Day weekend, got the boat squared away and had dinner at Cafe Mojo in town. I'd never been before, but it was a great place to have some snacks and drinks while watching the first half of the VaTech-Alabama game. Next time, I need to try an actual meal! We got back to the boat in time to catch the second half in the captains' lounge at the marina, and hit the hay.
Sunday, we set out for Carter's creek and sailed & motored all the way up creek to the famous Tides Inn & Lodge.
This could not have been a better day! The winds were brisk enough to be exciting but not so much so brisk as to require a whole lot of work, the weather was warm enough to be comfortable but not blistering hot, and the trip up Carter's Creek was beautiful. It was so beautiful, in fact, that the old captain got momentary grounded on the trip out admiring the scenery more than the depth gauge!
The next day we had planned to get a fairly early start to beat the Labor Day traffic, but were shocked at the extent of the high tide in the marina. The water was a good 4-6" over the dock. That was not so much the problem as was the impossibly of Patsy getting off the boat riding so high in the water. So, we settled in and passed the afternoon with lunch, gin rummy, and naps.
To avoid the rush on I-64, we took the back roads home and had lunch at Almost There, a great little place I knew about from my trips to Cole's Point.
September 20-21: Sailing
This was a trip primarily designed to get my ducks in a row for a meeting with the folks at Deltaville Yachting Center about some repairs that I'll have done over the winter. Most of Sunday was spent below decks getting organized, and Monday morning headed out for a sail.
I took the easy wind direction and sailed about 4 miles upriver to the mouth of Greenvale Creek. The upriver leg was fairly easy, making about 4+ knots, but coming back the wind picked up and changed into my face a bit which made for a faster and more challenging sail.
I had called the folks at DYC about dropping by Monday afternoon, so I timed my sail to get me there in time. Lew Grimm talked to me for 30-45 minutes and we arranged to have them come look at the boat in Urbanna on Oct.5.
On my way out of town I stopped long enough to catch up on a little Urbanna history.
