Dear Friends and Loved-ones,
Today is moving day, once again! We enjoyed our stay at Chesapeake Bay RV Park; however, we found our spot small and cramped, and Lucy did not care for our neighbors being so close by. We waited too long to book our stay here, so we ended up with a Standard Site. Whenever we had our window shade up, and she could see outside, she would complain loudly. So, we sat in the RV (most of the time) with the shade down, nestled into our dark little cave.
We found five days was not nearly enough time to explore the rich Colonial History all around us. We arrived on Saturday afternoon, set up our RV, and took the rest of the afternoon to relax and unwind from the day’s drive. On Sunday, we went to Church in the little town of Gloucester, and then in the afternoon, we spent some time becoming familiar with our RV Park.
Monday morning started out a little rainy and overcast. So, our plan for Monday was to simply go into town, buy some groceries, return to camp and do some fishing. But, while in town, I wanted to explore Gloucester Point and find somewhere to purchase fresh produce and seafood. We made two stops that day for produce, and unfortunately, we did not find any stores selling fresh fish. We bought a massive head of green leafy lettuce freshly picked at our first stop; it was waiting for us to take it home! Our second stop was very interesting.
We pulled into the parking lot of the second stop, and everyone who worked at the store was outside assisting customers who were buying garden plants. I looked around for their produce and was greeted by a man who said, “Can I help you?” I told him I was looking for produce products, and he led us inside the store. I then asked what they had in-season. He told me about his cantaloupes and offered us a free sample. I am not one to ever turn away free food, so naturally, I said, “Sure.” The man disappeared into the back of his store and returned with a ziplock baggie of cantaloupe pieces. He said, “I thought I had some cantaloupe leftover from lunch on a plate back there, but I guess the girls went ahead and put it away.” Then pointing to the sealed bag of cantaloupe, he said, “I guess you can grab one of those little swizzle sticks and poke you a piece, or just stick your hands in there. That’s what we do. We don’t mind.” At this point, it would have been very awkward to refuse the man’s kind gift, so both Joe and I grabbed a swizzle stick and jousted with the slippery little bites until we each had a piece securely pierced. The cantaloupe was delicious, so I offered to buy some.
I spotted some Feta Cheese in a refrigerator section of the store about the same time. I asked the man to tell me about his Feta Cheese. He told me that it was produced by a local farmer and it was a very popular item for them. He offered to get me a sample, to which I immediately declined! When we went to pay, Joe pulled out his green debit card. The man said, “Oh no, I don’t do plastic!” As I was rummaging around in my purse, I said, “I’m not sure I have any cash.” He said, “Don’t worry about it. Just pay me when you are up around this way again.” Luckily, I managed to find a twenty-dollar bill hidden away for emergencies! We left that store the proud owner of sweet cantaloupe and creamy feta cheese!
After purchasing our products, I wanted to explore Gloucester Point and see the beach at the very tip of the peninsula. As I was trying to navigate Joe to the beach, the bridge crossing the York River loomed closer and closer. Finally, I figured out how to navigate to the beach, but it was too late. We were committed to crossing the bridge at this point with no other options. Once across the bridge, there was a sign to the immediate right which said, “Historic York Town.” As fate would have it, we decided to check it out!
One thing led to another, and before we knew it, we visited a museum, walked to a monument, took a trolley ride, and stopped for lunch at a nice little restaurant. After our wild excursion, it was five o’clock in the afternoon, and we still had not bought any groceries. So we scurried to the nearest Kroger and skedaddled home to rescue Lucy, who was wondering if we had completely jumped ship!
Tuesday, it rained all day long. We hunkered down and spent the day planning out a timeline for our trip this coming Fall/Winter/Spring, in which we will visit the west coast.
On Wednesday, we wanted to spend the day visiting Jamestown. We decided to do this because we had so much fun at Yorktown! The day was misty, overcast, and unseasonably cool. The museum was informative; however, Jamestown itself really didn’t exist. Well, better said, it did not exist as a thriving town. What we saw were the archeological remains of what used to be Jamestown.
In the past, I have had a fairy tale view of Archeology. Images about Archeology, that have crossed my mind’s eye are Indiana Jones as he quested for the Holy Grail. But, after being allowed to see archeologists at work, I realized the work of excavation was a dull, tedious job.
The archaeologists were on their bellies at the dig site, perched over a neatly chiseled square hole, digging with miniature shovels smaller than kitchen spatulas. After each tablespoon full of dirt was extracted, the scientist would carefully examine it with the speed of a sloth, looking for evidence of some long forgotten something. Finding only earth, the scientist would dump the shovel into a little bucket and start scrapping the soil once again. Thus, repeating the process. When the scientist deemed the bucket was full enough, they would dump the contents into a large sieve to ensure they had not missed even a tiny chip of archeological evidence!
Today it was time to move on to a new destination. We are ultimately heading for Pennsylvania. The drive around the Washington circumferential was a little stressful (to say the least!) Tonight we are boondocking (camping without water, electric, or sewer) at Mary’s Land Farm just outside of Columbia, Maryland. It is a working farm, and it is beautiful here! I wonder if they would let me move in??
We bought some grass-fed beef steaks, fresh herbs, and flavored olive oil in the Farm Store. Tomorrow we will have lunch in Columbia with Joe’s cousin before leaving for Pennsylvania.
Love,
Laurie and Joe
330 SQFT 