We left Hampton Roads around 7:00 AM on Wednesday morning
and headed up the James River. Hampton
Roads is the site of the March 1862 naval battle between the Monitor and the
Merrimac. These were the first ironclad
ships. This Civil War battle received
worldwide attention from naval powers such as Great Britain and France who
halted construction of wooden hulled ships after hearing about the ironclads.
This is a picture of a modern submarine in port having work.
As we cruised up the James River. A strange site came into
view. Just a few miles south of Williamsburg
and on the opposite side of the River from Fort Eustis is the Ghost Fleet. After WW I the US Navy and merchant marine
had extra ships and no place to store them.
So, in 1919 the James River became a sort of parking lot for these
vessels. Officially known as the James
River Reserve Fleet, people began referring to them as the Ghost Fleet. At its peak in 1950 there were some 800 ships
present in the James River, but over the years many were removed to fight in
other wars, dismantled for scrap, or sold for artificial reefs, etc. Today only 9 of these now obsolete vessels
remain. Many hope they can be removed
soon. They are an environmental problem
as well as a danger should a major hurricane break one or more loose as they
could be swept into a major bridge in the region causing severe damage. They certainly are a strange site, and I
would suspect even stranger should one be coming past at sunset. (cue creepy
music).
Ghost ships on the James River
We arrived at the King’s Mill Resort and Marina around 10:30 AM which was
ideal as Captain Keith had a tee time to play the River Course early in the
afternoon. King’s Mill Resort arose from
the desire of August Busch II, president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch, to find a
new location for a brewery. In 1969 he
purchased 3,900 acres here on the James River including 300 acres of land that
was originally granted to Richard Kingsmill in 1617. These 300 acres were to become the
resort. It is very nice with 2 golf
courses, several restaurants, a spa, tennis center, and marina. They were getting ready to host the LPGA
tournament next week so the River Course was in excellent condition per Captain
Keith. The resort also provides free
shuttle service to Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens and Water Country. This was very
convenient for “car-less" boaters.
With Keith playing golf in the afternoon, I took the kayak
out and did some exploring on the river.
There are many fossils in this area and just down river from where we
docked is a cliff with some many ancient scallop shells which were amazing to see. Chesapectan jeffersonius is the state fossil
of Virginia. This now extinct fossil
lived between 5 and 8 million years ago in this region of the Virginia coastal
plain.
Kayaking on the James River
Shells in the side of the cliff along the river
My Chesapectan jeffersonius next to a quarter for size reference
Wednesday evening, we had a quiet and simple dinner on
board.
Thursday morning Keith and I took the first shuttle and
spent a good bit of the day touring Colonial Williamsburg. It was
very interesting and we particularly enjoyed the Governor’s Mansion and
Wetherburn’s Tavern. Williamsburg was
once the thriving capital of the colony of Virginia. In 1780 Thomas Jefferson, the then Governor
of Virginia lobbied for the capital to be moved to the more central location of
Richmond. Williamsburg then became a simple,
quiet college town. It was 1926 when
Rev. W.A.R. Goodwin along with John D. Rockefeller began the task of preserving
the city’s colonial history. These men
were responsible for the preservation of over 80 original structures, the
reconstruction of scores of additional buildings and the construction of
extensive facilities to accommodate the visiting public.
Governor's Mansion
Front Gate to Governor's Mansion
Pengi in Colonial Williamsburg
After a busy day of site seeing we went back to Southern
Style to freshen up before heading back to Williamsburg to meet Keith's neice Lydia. Lydia is a freshman at the College of William and Mary. Lydia provide a tour of the campus and then we all went out to dinner together.
The College of William and Mary is the second oldest in
America. In February 1693, King William III
and Queen Mary II of England signed the charter for a perpetual College of
Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and other good Arts and Sciences to be founded
in the colony of Virginia. William
and Mary (W & M) was born. At the
age of 17, George Washington received his surveyor’s license through W & M
and would return as its first American chancellor. Presidents Thomas Jefferson, John Tyler, and
James Monroe received their undergraduate educations there.
Pictures of Williams & Mary Campus
It was so awesome to be with Lydia as she gets ready to finish her
first year at William and Mary before going off to St. Andrew’s in Scotland
next year. We all had a great dinner at
The Blue Talon Bistro then had to say goodbye to Lydia so we could catch the
shuttle back to the resort.
We are
looking forward to seeing all of the NJ Mackeys in a few weeks as we cruise
along the NJ coast.
5 comments:
Awesome update and you all look great! Lydia especially well since she is in finals week! Love the fossil though I think Scotch Bonnets still rule!
Thanks, but not sure who this is...
Keith, I didn’t know you owned any real shirts!😉
That's not my shirt. The restaurant let me borrow it so I could eat. Nice of them don't you think.
“Looks good on you though”
We miss you guys! Safe travels!
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