Stingray Point Marina

A few weeks ago I took these shots from Stingray Point Marina in Deltaville.

It's a busy week in the Chesapeake Bay Family household.




If I don't have the opportunity to post again, Merry Christmas.

Boats III

These were taken from the boathouse at J&M Marina in Deltaville.

This workboat's captain evidently can't be tamed.

He's untamed, and he's unashamed to admit it. 

Opposite Wild Bill's boat sits Miss Kristina.

Kristina looks like she has the potential to have fun, but she's just so tied down right now.

Instead she gazes wistfully at Wild Bill's boat.

These last two shots have nothing to do with the unfolding story of Wild Bill and Kristina.

Just some empty baskets stacked neatly in the corner.  Waiting patiently.

The End.

Have a great weekend.

p.s. If you live in or near Mathews, come out to the high school tonight for the girls' basketball games.  JV starts at 6, and varsity is at 7:30, and we need overzealous enthusiastic crowd participation and support.

Three Things

It appears that Thursday is here once again, and that means it's time to share three things, three thoughts, three whateverisonyourminds.

(One of the advantages of not writing for money--or for anything, actually, other than your own amusement--is the ability to completely botch the English language force words together like whateverisonyourmind and then have the audacity to make it plural.)

Anyway, back to the three things.

1.  The Mathews varsity girls won last night against a very tough opponent, Lancaster.  After they lost Monday to Northumberland, I was a little worried about this game. However, after I gave Daughter her highly embarrassing, pregame, good-luck kiss, I knew it was all going to turn out fine.  And it did.

2.  These are more shots from J&M Marina in Deltaville.

3.  I just finished reading the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and am seriously contemplating a New Year's resolution that involves signing up for a full marathon. I am also very glad I never spent more than $50 on a pair of running shoes, because the gist of the book is we were born with everything we need for distance running, all we have to do is get out there and do it.  Too much support and cushioning throws off our natural stride.  I was also highly intrigued by the Tarahumara Indians studied in the book.  But that's a topic for another day, outside of a blog that's supposed to be about Mathews.

That's it from me.  If you have something--or two things or three things or more things--to share, please do so.  If you are still wondering why a grown adult would squish whateverisonyourmind together and then make it plural and then write it down and hit the "publish" button on her blog without batting an eye, join the club.  Let's blame it on another long day and the fear of starting the Christmas decorating, which hangs like the sagging branch of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree over my entire existence.

Boats II

Here are more shots from the boat graveyard at J&M Marina in Deltaville.

I could wander around this place for hours and be easily amused; this is just a small sampling of all the characters hanging out there.

Right now, though, what's hanging out is my tongue--as in I am dog tired.  I awoke at 5:30 Monday morning, left the house at 6:15, and didn't return until almost 11:00 p.m. after driving 180 miles, crossing three rivers twice and cheering on two games of basketball.

(I've grossly exceeded my monthly allotment of references to numbers in one sentence alone. My brain is waving a surrender flag.)

(Also, Mathews JV girls won against Northumberland.  Daughter is now on the varsity team; they lost.  Still, they played a good game, and the season looks promising.)

There are more shots of J&M boats, including some from the "living" part of the marina, that I'll share later in the week.

Boat

This old lady sits quietly in what might be called the boat graveyard of J&M Marina in Deltaville.

There are plenty of fully functioning, floating boats at this marina, 

but I happen to love this section the best.

And this boat in particular.

This bird was watching my every move.  She evidently likes the boat as much as I do.

The flurry of Thanksgiving is over, and now we're plunged head first into the frenzy of Christmas.  All this comes at the time of year when my energy is zapped, and my desire to do anything or go anywhere sinks to an all-time low.

Never mind.

Basketball officially starts this week with an away game tonight at Northumberland.  I will drive the hour to work in the dark, put in my day there, and race the I Don't Know How Many Miles after work to see the game, then drive the hour or so back home in the dark.  There is another away game on Wednesday and a home game Friday night.  Somewhere in between, I have to take Daughter to town (an hour away) to shop for a dress for the upcoming Holly Ball.  Son is frantically applying to colleges, and I must try to figure out when I am setting up the Monster Tree that, along with all the decorations, must be hauled from the depths of the cold, dark basement.

Anyway, it's going to be a very hectic month. I just want to sleep.

Hope your December is off to a better start.

Hills Bay

This stretch of road on Gwynns Island is my favorite.

Wednesday, since I hadn't exercised since before Thanksgiving in a while and the weather was unseasonably warm,  I decided to go for a jog.

That's Deltaville off in the distance.

But rather than jogging down Beaverlett way where I normally go,  I decided to change things up and drove to Gwynns Island.

I'm a little bit bored with the Beaverlett route even though I have lots of options to take different roads.  I've never jogged on Gwynns Island before and there are lots of back roads that are infrequently traveled, perfect for a leisurely run.

Mouth of the Piankatank River

I parked the car at Tin Can Alley and jogged down to the campground, then down Gum Thicket Road, then down a few dirt roads and back to my car.

Only two cars passed me the whole trip, which was somewhere between three and four miles in length.

Both drivers waved.

Reason #99 I love living in Mathews.

Have a great weekend.

Three Things

Sunset off Gwynns Island, October 2010

Welcome to the Three Ring Circus of my life Three Thing Thursday, where I share three things and you share three things, on whatever topic happens to come to mind.  Anything at all.

Let's begin.

1.  This Saturday from 10-4 is the Deltaville Seafood Festival, also known as the Holly Point Art and Seafood Festival except if I called it that everyone on this side of the Piankatank would be all "Holly Point Art Festival?  What?" The Deltaville Seafood Festival promises to be chock-a-block full of good things like seafood, BBQ, Blackbeard's Scallywag School (because evidently one must obtain the proper training and certification to be a scallywag), 70 artisans and craftsmen and more.

Click here for more information.

Click here for an audio clip of one of my favorite scallywags.

2a.  Much to my chagrin, I had to don shoes, actual shoes, shoes that were not flip flops or sandals--shoes!--this week because it was so cold in the mornings.  (Since about March nothing but sandals, flip flops or bare ground have touched these feet.)

2b. If I had my way I'd never put on another shoe again.  Alas, society has its rules and my workplace wouldn't take too kindly to me showing up barefoot, although nothing would surprise them at this point.

2c. Let it hereby be known and declared thusly:  I despise shoes, except when it comes to shopping for them.  And socks are straight from the devil.

3a.  Much to my utter and sheer surprise and delight, I realized today that Monday is a federal holiday! Since I am off from the paying job the next two days, I do not have to don shoes, actual shoes, until Tuesday of next week. Hallelujah. I'm considering a celebratory sock-burning bonfire this weekend, but I'm not sure if the county's burn ban has been lifted.

3b. As wonderful as 3a is, I do have to work on Thursday and Friday, just not at a job that pays.  I'm cleaning the house, doing laundry, paying bills, grocery shopping, taking kids to school, making sure they get to and from practices, cooking and feeding them dinner working on my side project which involves painstaking research and sleuthing.

3c. Still, I can wear flip flops or go barefoot if I want, and I can remind myself there's no 100-mile commute and 8.5 hours of work on Monday.   Oh, what a wonderful feeling.

Now it's your turn.

Please share three or more things, whatever you want.

Storm Clouds

In spite of all appearances, this is not a scene from the Wizard of Oz and the picture was not taken in Kansas.

August is the unofficial thunderstorm month around here, and many evenings treacherous storms race up the Piankatank River before spinning off angrily towards the bay. They're very rude, these thunderstorms. They barge in, wreak havoc and don't even say they're sorry.

Although this looks very ominous, no ruby slippers or flying monkeys were involved in this particular storm which came through a week or two ago.

This was taken along what some folks call the river shore road on Gwynns Island.

(I'd capitalize River Shore Road, except the Virginia Department of Transportation has officially declared this Old Ferry Road. And who am I to quibble with a posted sign unless it says No Trespassing?)

Right below those storm clouds is Deltaville, which is in Middlesex County.

Deltaville has several claims to fame including Sting Ray Point, where Captain John Smith is rumored to have wrangled with a ferocious sting ray; Taylors Restaurant, formerly the home of the world's greatest seafood buffet ever; the baseball stadium which uses crab pot wire to protect the audience from fly balls; and Jamie, who writes a blog about her childhood memories in that area. You didn't hear this from me, but she's been known to splash about in these very waters atop a rubber ducky float. Not that I have photos or anything.

As we take a step or two back, the distance between the island and Deltaville becomes more apparent.

With yet another step or so back, the ferocious temperament of the clouds becomes apparent too. Clouds are extremely temperamental, you know.

Yep, it's cyclone thunderstorm season here.

Auntie Em!

There's no place like home.