Hampton, VA to King's Mill Resort, VA

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

Arms on wall in 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.