July 12-18 Farewell to Hampton Roads -- Into Chesapeake Bay: Urbanna VA and Solomons MD
Urbanna VA offers the typical Chesapeake Bay small town charms -- tree-lined streets with historic and attractive buildings, quaint local businesses, waterfront seafood dining, picturesque sunsets.
Urbanna also offers something unique. In 1755, John Mitchell, former Urbanna resident and physician, drew this iconic map of the North American colonies.
One of only four remaining original prints resides in Urbanna where it is preserved and explained in the Urbanna Museum and Visitor Center, itself a former general store built in 1766. The map is not only beautiful and impressively detailed, but it has been important in resolving boundary disputes, beginning with the 1783 Treaty of Paris defining the borders of the new United States, up to a 1980's disagreement between the U.S. and Canada over fishing rights.
Urbanna also gave us the chance for an evening with Ed Tilletts and his wife Anne. Ed is Editor of the Waterway Guides, our bible for this journey, and owner of Adonia, the vintage Trumpy yacht that graces the cover of the Chesapeake edition.
On July 15, we cruised 8 hours from Urbanna to Solomons, Maryland. Solomons, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake is a major sailing center, and we appropriately happened onto sailboat races as we entered the harbor.
Calvert Marine in Solomons has two outstanding amenities that we enjoyed. While many marinas have small book exchanges, Calvert's puts all others to shame:
Calvert Marine is located on the Dowell Peninsula, former site of the U.S. Navy Amphibious Training Base, where 68,000 men trained between 1942-45 for landings such as D-Day. Some of the WWII buildings remain as part of Calvert Marine.
On the way to the grocery store on our bikes, we visited the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center.
Howard also took the dinghy to Calvert Marine Museum and wished that Elle was still with us to enjoy the interactive exhibits there.
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| Landsdowne, 1741 |
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| The Marble House, so named for its marble steps and floors |
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| 18th Century home |
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| "Grounded" coffee & sandwich shop - no Starbucks in sight |
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| Urbanna City Docks' say LOVE |
Urbanna also offers something unique. In 1755, John Mitchell, former Urbanna resident and physician, drew this iconic map of the North American colonies.
One of only four remaining original prints resides in Urbanna where it is preserved and explained in the Urbanna Museum and Visitor Center, itself a former general store built in 1766. The map is not only beautiful and impressively detailed, but it has been important in resolving boundary disputes, beginning with the 1783 Treaty of Paris defining the borders of the new United States, up to a 1980's disagreement between the U.S. and Canada over fishing rights.
Urbanna also gave us the chance for an evening with Ed Tilletts and his wife Anne. Ed is Editor of the Waterway Guides, our bible for this journey, and owner of Adonia, the vintage Trumpy yacht that graces the cover of the Chesapeake edition.
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| Ed Tillett and Howard |
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| Howard and June at Urbanna Seafood Market Restaurant |
On July 15, we cruised 8 hours from Urbanna to Solomons, Maryland. Solomons, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake is a major sailing center, and we appropriately happened onto sailboat races as we entered the harbor.
Calvert Marine in Solomons has two outstanding amenities that we enjoyed. While many marinas have small book exchanges, Calvert's puts all others to shame:
Calvert Marine also offers a large sparkling swimming pool where Rachel, Ryan, Elle and Abby joined us for an afternoon. Needless to say, their visit made our Solomons stop especially memorable.
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| Howard takes Elle for her first dinghy ride. |
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| Ducks and jellyfish apparently cohabit peacefully. Elle was delighted with both of them. |
Calvert Marine is located on the Dowell Peninsula, former site of the U.S. Navy Amphibious Training Base, where 68,000 men trained between 1942-45 for landings such as D-Day. Some of the WWII buildings remain as part of Calvert Marine.
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| WWII buildings at Calvert Marine |
On the way to the grocery store on our bikes, we visited the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center.
Howard also took the dinghy to Calvert Marine Museum and wished that Elle was still with us to enjoy the interactive exhibits there.
Chesapeake Sunsets:
