July 17, 2008 Hampton, VA

We are waiting for a favorable weather window to head up the coast of the DeMarva Peninsula ( Delaware, Virginia, Maryland) and then on to New England. We are currently anchored in a small anchorage between boat docks along the Hampton shoreline. One could literally swim to the shore in about 5 strokes. I wanted to add a post script to yesterday's blog regarding the history of the area. In 1752 Col. William Crawford, a merchant and ship owner founded the town of Portsmouth and many of the streets of "Old Town" are named after its "sister city, Portsmouth, England. The British occupied the town in 1781 headed by the patriot-turned traitor- Benedict Arnold. The area is really steeped in early American History, and later in the Civil War, the battle of the iron sides- the Merrimac and the Monitor occurred in Hampton Roads Harbor a few miles west of our current location. My mind is on early American history, not just because of our location but because I am currently reading David Hackett Fischer's Washington Crossing (the Delaware) which is about the battles of Trenton and Princeton, N.J. It is a "good read" and the author has you right there in the early years of the American Revolution. I purchased the book while at the National Achieves in Washington, D.C. An excellent book to read while we are waiting for a favorable weather window.

A clock tower at the local college campus just across from our anchorage.

The full moon rising after a beautiful sunset while we are at anchor.

Today, Captain Bloom took a few minutes to relax and catch up on his current novel after checking several weather reports and planning our course headings for the next few days.