The Tides in VA and off to Maryland

Update from Colonial Downs: Kermit found the betting slips from my $.60 betting spree while cleaning the other day. I checked and I WON A RACE!! The 10^th race I predicted the winner and the next 3 positions. I sent the ticket back to Colonial Downs with a stamped self-addressed envelope to return my winnings in a check. I wonder if I made any money on that $.60 bet or if, like Jim and Joy, I won $.10 on a $.60 bet!! Stay tuned. That big-money check should arrive any day now.

Weather update: HOT Actually it is OMG WTF HOT. I think I am melting...

Rusty update: Rusty is getting a bit stronger. He had a bad event at York River Yacht Haven that caused his back legs to give out a bit. In fact, getting him to the dog walk area involved using his life jacket as sort of a sling. This takes the pressure off the back legs and helps him get stronger. 

This is the view of the fire trucks
from the back of Good Karma

We continue to move north in the Chesapeake Bay seeking swimming pools at every destination. It is warm here, not that different from home I guess. We leave early in the morning around 7am or earlier so we can be tied up before the hottest part of the day.

We left York River Yacht on a rainy dark morning on July 12, 2013. Before we leave we walk the dog. So that morning we got up early to take Rusty for a walk at about 6am to find fire trucks everywhere!! We HAD to know what was going on. After all our lives are so boring without this kind of excitement. 

We "help" Rusty walk by lifting him with the life jacket handle

Turns out there really was a fire was in the restaurant office. They put it out pretty quickly before it spread but the brought out 5 trucks from the Abingdon volunteer fire department.

The firemen standing around by the restaurant office
where the fire was contained

And then the trucks left and so did we!! It rained the entire trip which made the water totally flat. Not a ripple.

Approaching The Tides

We left the York River and traveled about 52 miles back to the Chesapeake Bay around the corner to the Rappahannock River, then west to Irvington to The Tides, an old time resort with a marina. This place is great. For a $25 daily fee we could participate in any activity on the property. They even have a par 3 9 hole golf course that looked nice, but it was way too hot to golf. I don’t care how early in the morning we started.

Kate, the dock girl, hooking us up across from Jim's Joy
and One September

It is really pretty on the deck
overlooking the marina

Mike and Judy from One September

Good Karma at The Tides

The guys waiting for us to assemble to walk to town
L: Kermit, Mike, Jim

We spent time in the pool to cool off, went kayaking around the creeks. I wanted to go paddle boarding but Kermit has this way of putting obstacles in the way so I won’t participate in dangerous activities. I did so want to try yoga on a paddleboard!

Judy and Michael at the pool while we kayaked

Judy and Michael relaxing!

In the salt water pool at The Tides

Nothing like a pool toy to pass the time

They have 2 pools, fresh water and a salt water pool. We kayaked over to the salt water pool to test it out. Pretty neat!! That pool is more shaded so the water was a little cooler.

The boat next to us was a 37' Sea Ray Sundancer - parents with two young teens. See the lime green thingies n the picture? Those are power slides. Hold on to the handle in the water and these little things propel you throw the water. Everyone has one of these, right? I found something similar from SeaDoo ranging from $400 to $800 each and you have to have 2 - one for your friend. The dad said it was a birthday gift for his son. Cheaper and safer than a dirt bike! 

Rusty enjoyed The Tides too. Remember his back legs are injured so he doesn’t walk much. But at The Tides he hobbled all the way down the walkway to the little beach to swim.

Every time he went out he walked a little stronger and a little faster to get there. And he went after sticks just like he used to. It was great to see. The last morning I threw the stick for the 3^rd time and he looked at it, looked at me, and got out of the water. No more sticks for Rusty that day!

I am pretty sure there is another reason why Rusty liked to walk to the beach. This little boardwalk borders the place where they have a wood fire every night for s’mores. The kids fish for crab at this spot so in the morning Rusty would find the old chicken wing the kids fished with. The dog can hardly walk but he will run across the beach to find an old chicken bone. I don't get it.

S'mres along the water at dusk

We went over to the s'mores area one evening and burnt some marshmallows only to discover when we turned around that the darned little kids took all the chocolate and were well on their way to eating all the graham crackers. Little brats!

Judy, Kermit, and Jim waiting for s'mores - no luck

The whole place had a wood fire scent to it that reminded me of camp when I was a kid. I know that is the point.

The first night we ate in the bar. I had rockfish on a salad with the most amazing sauce.

The chef came out of the kitchen to accept our compliments and made the mistake of inviting us to visit the kitchen the next day at about 5pm. So we did!

Chef TV

Joy, Judy, and I got dressed up in our finest for dinner at Trick Dog in town (such as it is… more about that later) and wandered over. Chef TV (that is really his name) has worked all over – Denver, Hawaii, etc.) but wanted to be in Virginia to create a stable place for his kids who are now in college.

In the kitchen

Chef TV showed us the kitchen stations, the prep work, and even cooked us little tidbits of tuna with seaweed salad. It was delicious!!

The Tides entrance

walking out of The Tides - L: Jim, Joy, Kermit

Hope and Glory B and B

On the first day we walked over to the little town about 2 blocks away. There is 2 nice women’s dress shops stuck out here in the middle of nowhere. The best one is just like that nice shop in Port Clinton, carrying a favorite line of mine called Tribal. I couldn’t resist and bought 2 tops – one for this trip for dress up and one made out of cashmere and lace for winter at home.

See the big tooth brushes as columns
in this dentist''s office? Cute....

Keep walking around the corner for another couple of blocks (they aren’t actually blocks just long stretches of street with a few houses). See that tractor? That is the Dog and Oyster Winery. Cute, huh? That is saying what I said.


Wines outside of the west coast are probably bad. I dislike the wines in Ohio, New York, PA, and most other places we visit. They just taste like tin foil in the mouth. If I ever go with you to a winery and say I like the wine I am probably lying.

Rescue dogs guard the grapes
from deer and other critters

So to be polite Kermit and I each did a flight of 5 wines – a tiny taste of each. Either I was really thirsty or this was pretty good wine. They won awards at a San Francisco blind tasting wine festival last year and they are pretty proud of themselves.

They price the wine to demonstrate their pride. The bottle of cab we liked was priced at $28.95 plus $3 because they won an award at the festival. The price actually said that! The flight of 5 tastes was priced at $6 and a glass of wine – local wine, remember – was $9. Can you believe that pricing? Needless to say we passed on purchasing a bottle to go.

Trick Dog

That was also the most economical pricing too. A flight of 5 tastes was $6 and a glass of wine – local wine remember – was $9. Can you believe that pricing?

We walked over to town for dinner at Trick Dog. It was packed. It was a very pretty restaurant with pale sea green walls, black trim, and dark red trim. Not like Christmas colors at all but very sophisticated.

This is the Trick Dog - rub his foot for luck

That brings me to an observation about this town.

There is literally nothing there and what is there is very expensive. People come from far and wide to spend vacations at The Tides year after year. Judy and Mike from One September vacationed there with their kids.

This is a great place for families since there are so many activities all included for the same low price. At the same time it is very restful. The staff was exceptionally nice. The town survives because well-to-do folks from the Bay area visit year after year.

The wedding!

We saw a wedding on Saturday night! It was sweet. A sunset wedding with hors d’oeurves and dessert after. The couple had been coming to The Tides for years!

Our next destination was St. Mary’s on the Potomac River to stay at the Corinthian Yacht Club for a mini-looper rendezvous. The water was absolutely flat and the air still. It was hot. Really you say? I would never have guessed it would be hot in July. Huh….

One September with a freighter in the distance.
This is what it is like to travel on the Chesapeake Bay

Along the way we saw a dead dolphin. Very sad. I guess we should have called it in to the Coast Guard because about 10 minutes after we passed this poor fellow we heard another boat call it in. He was kept on the radio for at least 15 minutes collecting information.

Lighthouse near Lookout Point

I love those osprey

 As we turn to the west (port) on to the Potomac River we started seeing fishermen. Lots of crab pots. We are in Maryland now, our 14th state on the journey.

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 And fish farms. This one is just outside Corintian Yacht Club.

One September turning into Corinthian YC

More osprey - they are everywhere

Corinthian feels like so many of the clubs we visit on Lake Erie. It is clean and well maintained but retains a somewhat rustic quality.

Of course there is a pool! The water temp was about 90 in the evening, reflecting how hot it is during the day. Everyone pitches in to help.

Every marina is different so every marina has a different way to get Rusty in and out of the boat. This series shows how it is done at Corinthian. Keep in mind that it is at least 95 degrees with about 100% humidity and almost no breeze while we are doing this. The saving grace is we are under a roof to protect the boat from sun. One September was in full sun which was almost impossible.

First we put on Rusty's life jacket so we have a handle on him.

 Then we position the ramp in place on the side.

 Then Rusty starts up the ramp with help from Kermit and the life jacket. The ramp is at about a 45 degree angle so there is a lot of lifting involved.

 Then Rusty waits patiently for us to move the ramp so he can go downstairs.

 Kermit is hot and tired.

One September is in full sun. It killed this fender.
Kermit had to dispose of it. 

The club house is really neat. It is an old house that still has 3 bedrooms upstairs. There are small cabins around the clubhouse. The bedrooms and cabins are available to rent for the season based on seniority. A few are set aside for weekly or daily use by folks having company who will not be staying on the boat or for folks who had too much to drink and can’t drive home. Isn’t that clever? Best of all the club house was air conditioned!

The loopers were tucked in all over the marina, a few here and a few there over about at least 10 different docks. We were on a t-head under cover, giving us a break from the sun in the afternoon but it was still so hot we spent every afternoon in the boat.

There were about 20 looper boats here. We only knew a few – Blue Heron and RickNRoll. We met Memory Makers and Coconuts – I think we met them before but can’t be sure. We had great conversations with them and others. Both Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon they hosted conversation about interesting side trips on the Chesapeake and other waterways. It was great to talk to the club members interested in the Loop. 

The Corinthian Yacht Club members were so hospitable!! Tuesday we had a pot luck and Wednesday night they cooked BBQ chicken for us! The members were all over and so friendly! The commodore, Paula, took us to the local grocery store to stock up. My fridge was totally empty. We even ate food out of the cans in the cupboard!!

This club is celebrating its 110^th anniversary this year. It is a merger of the Columbia and Corinthian Yacht Clubs that used to be in DC. In the 1960s the two clubs merged and boat this piece of land so they could have a permanent home. It is not far from Washington DC so folks who work up that way keep boats down here along with more local folks.

The club house is decorated with lots of club flags. We traded so All Ports Yacht Club flag will fly in that clubhouse. Presidents John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush visited so their pictures are featured prominently.

They also have a huge wheel from an old iron clad from the late 1800s that was donated by an admiral who was a member in the early/mid 20^th century.

 

The famous member right now is the family that started 5 Guys Burgers. The Saturday before we arrived (we got there on Monday)5 Guys cooked burgers for the entire club in what is now an annual event. Rusty enjoyed the burger grease on the ground around the grills.

Rusty liked CYC. Although we had a long walk on the dock, he could use the facilities immediately upon leaving the dock instead of having to walk 100 yards to the dog walk. I tried to get him to the boat ramp to swim but it was too far away. Instead I hosed him off. He didn’t mind.

Thank you CYC for your hospitality!!!

We continue our journey to explore a little bit on each river that flows into the Chesapeake Bay.