Author: Phil

August began hot as we expected.  We continued to enjoy all the activities of Colonial Beach with our friends in town.  While enjoying, we also planned a long weekend to Aquia Harbour, VA where the local yacht club, Aquia Harbour Yacht Club, had organized a fun-filled weekend that included a crab and Bar-B-Q feast.  The best part of the weekend though was visiting with boaters.

After the Dog Day’s event we had to take care of basic living type stuff but looked forward to going to Crisfield MD to attend the Boating Cowboy Rodeo where Chesapeake Bay work-boats competed to be the fastest boat to tie up and moor in a slip.  The event also included a crab-picking contest, music all weekend, and plenty of time to tour the town and visit with boaters.  See some of the pictures we took and then a video of one of the work-boats competing in the Cowboy Rodeo.

We started July getting ready to do some boating.  The first cruise was to Solomon’s Island for the weekend of the 14th.  We had a good crowd of people and enjoyed food, comradery, and hosting a group of boaters from WYA that were on their second planned long trip of the summer.  We gave them a couple of good meals and enjoyed their friendship.  Albert and Veronica traveled with us on BenjOllie and stayed in the forward cabin.  An enjoyable travel event even though we suffered some heavy rain on the trip to Solomons — no strong winds nor rough seas.

During the trip to Solomon’s I found out that my old High School friend Jay White was having some health issues and we decided to fly back to Washington and visit with Jay and Carmen White for a week.  We flew out on the 17th of July.   While out west we saw my cousins Damen and David in Quincy.  To round out the trip we visited my home-town of Ephrata and the college I graduated from, WSU.  I lived in Alfa Gamma Rho fraternity during my stay at WSU, and earned money for college while in High School shining shoes at a local Ephrata barber shop.  Jay and Carmen live in Wenatchee.  A few of the pictures we took are below.

We returned and made a good weekend trip to Point Lookout with the CYC group, then motored home to get ready for more boating.

 

I’ve kept this blog to record what Carey and I have done over time.  I became very lazy and did not keep this up between Jan and Jun 2024.  To catch up I’m going to do a little short hand writing to capture a few of the highlights during this six month time frame.

• In January we had a quiet month visiting with Jack and Ann and spending lots of time in the sun room with the fire place and staying quiet.
• In February I had cataract surgery and started to work with the eight marinas in town on some marketing efforts they needed.  Carey was heavily involved in her breast cancer recovery.  At the end of February I fell and collapsed a lung, starting a 3 and 1/2 week stint in Mary Washington hospital.  This was a scary time and I’m lucky to made it through the time.
• In March and April I did the follow up and recovery from the fall, Carey spent a great deal of time with doctors and the cancer recovery period.
• In May I was back in hospital for pneumonia and sepsis … a second bad period.  I believe I left MWHC with pneumonia and then sepsis finally caught up with me.  Tappahannock hospital “fixed” me and I came away feeling great.  And I’m getting better.
• In June we worked on the boat and handled the arrangements for the June Potomac River Festival Boat Parade that I had to cancel due poor weather.
• That’s a quick summary of Jan thru June 2024.
• Now I’ll try to get back in the mood to keep up with our schedule.

December started out mild.  The sun is shining and the wind is light so the 50 degree temperatures feel pretty good.  I’m getting the boat ready for the winter months and also continuing hope that the 37′ Maxum, Apolonia, will sell soon.  It has been on the market for six months and we’ve had two contracts that have not finalized because of a possible issue with a couple of the stringers.  I’m getting a yard to investigate whether there is a real problem, and if so, how much of an issue is it.

We made a trip to Manassas to visit with Jack and Ann and enjoy a 1950/60s music revue at the Birchmere Club in Alexandria and I attended the installation of a Historic Marker at the end of the Point in Colonial Beach commemorating the Oyster Wars of the 1950s.  One man was shot and killed in Monroe Bay during these “wars,” where Maryland and Virginia residents fought over the oyster beds in the Potomac River.

 

Carey spent a good deal of time during the month decorating the home for Christmas.  She is a real pro — see a few of the pictures below.

And we also attended the 50th Anniversary of the Colonial Yacht Club, a club we rejoined after returning to Colonial Beach.  They have new members that are fun and exciting.  We are enjoying the time with them and are looking forward to more events in 2024.  They talked me into being the Vice Commodore, even though I’ve been through this yacht club bridge drill many times before.  It should be interesting and not too time consuming.

 

At the end of the month we enjoyed a trip to Annapolis for Christmas with the grand kids.  Cynthia was able to get the day off, even though she is has very junior seniority at her new job in her new professional, a registered nurse.  We enjoyed a great day with presents and food.  We made the decision to do a variety of fondu; meats, vegetables, cheese, and fruits.  The grand kids really enjoyed it.  And we finished off the month with a New Year’s Eve party at the Ice House.

It seems like many days are taken up by doctors appointments but we are still sampling the restaurants and activities around the town.  It was the right decision to move back.  We’re active and love it.  As members of the Colonial Yacht Club we helped the club put on the Annual Rockfish tournament in mid November.   Bill Bowman held the Boathouse Marina’s annual  BBQ cookout and we enjoyed socializing with all the boaters at the Marina.  Most of my time this month was organizing the Annual Colonial Beach Lighted Boat Parade that took place on the 25th of the month.  It has been a reoccurring event for a while in the town and at times we have trouble putting together more than a few boats.  We made it to 10 boats this year and all of them were really decked out.  It was fun and we had a large spectator crowd.  Hopefully we are on the road to a larger and larger boat count.

 

We also had a great Thanksgiving, just Carey and I with a large Turkey and all the trimmings.  We usually did the solo events while traveling on the boat and we enjoy it.  This year we’ll be with the grandkids in Annapolis for Christmas and we’re looking forward to that.  We also enjoy the local restaurants and our friends that like to join up at them for fun and entertainment.  Below is one view of the Icehouse Marina Brewery & Kitchen with the crowd playing trivia.

And at the end of the month the town decorated Town Hill along Washington Ave that makes the town look restive and ready for Christmas.  A short video below shows its look