More from Horn Harbor

These are just a few lingering shots from last Sunday's trip to the beach at Horn Harbor.

This weekend promises to be a hectic one . Today's forecast includes heavy rain and winds thanks to a tropical storm, which will make my 100-mile commute to and from work even more delightful.  Saturday my friend Lucy's* daughter is getting married, and I'll be taking pictures and serving food at the reception.  Sunday I drive Son to Newport News for Boys State orientation, then we're off to Charlottesville to meet with UVA admissions people Monday morning.

The words do not exist to express how much I am so looking forward to my vacation in July.

I hope your weekend is relaxing, free of stress and obligations.


*Click here for a 2010 blog post which includes a picture of me and Lucy at the Christmas parade.  Be sure to read my mother's comment about a remark Lucy once made in during one of our high school basketball games.  She'd have no qualms making the same remark today. She tells it like it is.

Fun in the Sun II

Wolf Trap Light is off in the distance, a speck on the horizon.

After a full range of stumbling blocks, which included wheels randomly falling off of boat trailers, the better part of Sunday afternoon was spent at a Horn Harbor beach celebrating my friend's Glenda's birthday.

Captain Craig and Billy

Lisa (left) is Capt. Craig's wife.  Billy (upper right) is Glenda's boyfriend.

(There will be a pop quiz* at the end of this blog post, so hopefully you're taking notes.)

Catherine

See?  I told you there were cupcakes in the cargo hold of that skiff.

Glenda

Alda

Cupcakes

Lisa

Henry and Luke

A Flock of Sea Girls

In spite of all outward appearances, the water was only about four inches deep here.

Most of the day's participants are hovering near the age of 50.

Happy Birthday, Glenda!

A great time was had by all.

*Pop Quiz

1.  When do almost-50-year-olds stop feeling and behaving like 18-year-olds?
2.  Why did we use floats when the water was ankle deep?



Answers:  1.  Hopefully never.  2.  Who knows?

Fun in the Sun

On Sunday, in celebration of our friend Glenda's birthday, several high school classmates invited me on a little boat excursion to a beach near Horn Harbor.  Because there were so many adults, kids, and the associated beach paraphernalia, two boats were needed.  On the way to the landing at Horn Harbor, however, one of the boat trailers lost a wheel.

That meant the responsibility of ferrying all the people and paraphernalia fell on one person and his not always reliable trusty boat.

Here he comes now. Craig and his wife Lisa are sometimes ribbed 
because their boat is often the one that isn't working.
But today? Craig was The Man.

Betsy and Henry, my friend Alda's children, are becoming regulars on this blog.
They were eagerly awaiting a day of fun and frivolity at the beach.

The cast of characters:  Billy, Birthday Girl Glenda, Alda, Catherine, and Willie B.
Here, everyone offers advice on  the most efficient and effective way to transport everything in one smallish boat. A decision was made to make four two trips.

More than a few of us contemplated offering the people in this pontoon boat
twenty bucks just to help tote everything, but we never got up the courage to ask.

After so much debate about the logistics, a few of our
younger passengers started to wonder if this celebration was
ever going to get off the ground.  Or away from the dock, as it were.

Finally, someone made some executive decisions, and we started the embarkation process.
Safety was first and foremost on everyone's minds.  Somewhere under
all that jumble of stuff were ample life jackets.  (And a kitchen sink, too.)
(I'm not kidding when I say there were cupcakes,  fried chicken, and strawberries with chocolate sauce.  All beach essentials, no?)

Cruise Director Betsy was offering opinions on who should sit where.
(She even looks a little like Julie from The Love Boat.)

The Birthday Girl didn't care about the logistics.
She was thrilled to be on board
and just as happy as a birthday clam.

After the captain reviewed the emergency evacuation plan,
they were off!  Alda is giving the signal that all systems are go.
~~~Giddy up.~~~

Attention!  Passengers must remain seated with hands and feet inside the
vessel at all times.  I used to work at an amusement park, so this
was my first reaction upon seeing Catherine stand up.  Alda can tell
quite the amusing story of how Catherine capsized in a canoe on an overnight trip down the Rappahannock River. Poison ivy and other unfortunate events were involved.
Although I've heard the story more than a few times, I'm always begging her to stop so I can catch my breath. It's that funny. 

And they're off!
(What, exactly, is Alda doing back there?)

I was one of three who stayed behind for the second trip.

Tune in next time to see how our passengers fared with  their three hour tour and an afternoon at the beach.

Mitchem Seafood

These shots, taken a few weeks ago, are from the Horn Harbor area of the county.

The sights and smells of a dock or a work boat or the water are very evocative. 

At least to me.

I could have spent hours going over every piece of this structure with my camera but was content to be able to take these few shots from the driveway.

High school classmate Waterman JP took me down here and told me so much I had to start taking notes--furiously.  One of these days, if things ever slow down, I hope to videotape conversations with my fellow Mathewsonians, to record what they know about the county for posterity's sake.

In their own words.

And their own voice.

I'd begin with Mrs. Trusch and would then interview my parents and their friends; then my high school classmates and friends. There is so much valuable information just waiting to be recorded. It just takes time. Precious, precious time.

If you could record a conversation or interview with one person still alive and somehow connected to your life, who would it be and why?  

Have a great weekend.

Horn Harbor Nursing Home

Just off the road leading to Sandbank down New Point sits the former Horn Harbor Nursing Home. Although I'd heard of the nursing home, I'd never been there before and was startled to see its condition.  In spite of its state of disrepair, the nursing home facade has many photogenic features.

Almost all the windows are framed by weeds and vines.

This lonely old ladder leans lifelessly against the exterior.

The building struggles to look alive even as dead weeds choke it out.

 There's all sorts of graffiti on the inside.

(Not that I went inside or anything.)

(Well, maaaaaybe I was in there for just the quickest second or two to take this picture. It's hard to say for sure.)

Just down the way from this nursing home lives a flock of domesticated geese that look exactly like Killer Goose Gustav.  I was so shocked at the sight of that many Gustavs concentrated in one area, that I lost all my wits and failed to take a photo of them. But rest assured there were Gustavs comin' at me from every which way.

I'm thinking the next time ol' Gustav gets loose and swims up Queens Creek, I'll point him in the direction of Horn Harbor rather than risk life and limb trying to herd him back home to my parents' house next door.

Click here if you missed that hour of my life that I can never get back that gripping saga.

Have a great, nursing home free goose-free Monday.