Magical History Tour

We began our U.S. history tour in Old Town Alexandria, walking the streets our forefathers tread while hammering out the principles of our nation.  We did a walking tour including Market Square, Gadsby’s Tavern, the Lyceum (with displays commemorating the 100th anniversary of WWI), Christ Church (even sat in George Washington’s pew!) and the Torpedo Factory (now converted to an art center).  Really cool old walking town (Jim insists I was trying to kill him😊).

From Alexandria, we made a short hop past Reagan National, with planes taking off and landing right on the bank of the Potomac, to the Washington Channel.  From our mooring ball, we looked right down the channel to the Washington Monument.  The city is putting a lot of money into the waterfront; the wharf development was awesome!  The free trolley picked us up at the wharf and dropped us at the National Mall; very convenient. 

We toured the monuments and the war memorials.  It was very moving to see Honor Flights and so many elderly veterans at the WWII and Korean War memorials as well as family & friends tracing names from the Vietnam War memorial.  Emotional day.  We visited our nation’s capital, the botanical gardens and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum including an Imax on NASA’s plans and progress to travel to Mars.  Fascinating!

Our friend, Dale Baer, flew in to D.C and joined us for a couple weeks of our Loop.  We all had a fun day at the Washington Nationals’ ballpark watching the Nat’s destroy the Tampa Bay Rays, our first major league baseball stop on the Great Loop!  We completed our D.C. tour with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and paying respects at our friend Thomas Kelly’s grave.

We completed our history tour with a visit to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate.  Very impressive grounds (spent 5 hours there!), a man ahead of his time.  After a week immersing ourselves in history, we began retracing our wake back down the Potomac.

Cabin Fever

I knew the day would come, and it did.  It finally happened.

We knew the forecast was ugly; perfect day to spend in a couple of the Smithsonian museums.  We planned to dinghy in from our mooring ball in the Washington Channel and take the free shuttle to the National Mall after a quick breakfast. The rain started before we could choke down our nabs and Belvitas.  We ducked back in the cabin for cover. 

No problem, we’ll just wait for it to let up, don our raingear and head for shore.  Jim did some boat maintenance and I did some work on the laptop.  And the rain continued.  Jim wrote a couple of blog entries and I caught up on journaling our adventure.  Still pouring. 

Time for lunch so I heated some soup and made grilled cheese sandwiches.  We watched the radar and saw our window of opportunity.  We put on our raingear and Jim started bailing the dinghy.  After numerous unsuccessful attempts to start the motor, the rain became heavier and we retreated to the cabin.  We watched a movie. Checked the radar with no letup in sight.  We read.  Will this rain ever end?

Well, now it’s time for dinner so I heated up some Cincinnati chili.   Still raining.  We pulled out a new game (purchased just for this event) and read the instructions.  Played 3 games of Sequence.  Still raining and now it’s getting dark.  Back to the computer, we posted our new blog entries and uploaded pictures before calling it a night.  Miraculously, after 24+ hours cooped up in the boat cabin, the rain stopped.  Just in time for a good night’s sleep😊.  We had survived!

Up The Potomac

We decided on the Boathouse Marina in Colonial Beach as they advertised laundry facilities and we wanted (needed) to catch up on that before arriving in DC.  The marina had new floating docks and the staff were very accommodating.  The dryer, however, left a bit to be desired.  After the third cycle (hour) trying to dry the sheets, Bev brought the remaining two loads back to the boat; we looked like a Chinese laundry.  It took the entire day to do three loads, so we decided to stay a second night. 

Around 4 o’clock, a trawler came in and it was Loopers we met in Norfolk at the rendezvous a month earlier.  The four of us joined the marina owner on his 60’ Berger cruiser for a glass of wine then we all went out to dinner together.  Great evening of food and conversation.

The next morning, we were off early for the long trek up the Potomac River through the Naval Surface Warfare testing grounds.  According to their website they were to be testing today, however, we never saw any action.  We anchored for the night in Mattawoman Creek.  Entering at low tide, we saw depths of 2 to 3 feet on the depth sounder!  It was a quiet, secluded creek; perfect for winding down and relaxing. 

The next morning was a very early start with the idea to stop at Mt. Vernon before continuing to Alexandria.  Once again, the weather was threatening, so we decided to skip the stop and forge onward.  It always astounds me how fast a river can change from what appears to be miles and miles from any pocket of dense population and then you round a bend and Bam! you are in a highly populated and/or industrial area.  Such is the case with the Potomac River.  You are cruising along with farmland and some pretty nice estates along the bank, you round a bend and there sits National Harbor, the 12-lane I-495 bridge and Old Town Alexandria.  What a change in just a few miles!

We tied up at Alexandria City Marina and set out on foot to explore the town.  I think we have now walked more miles than we have boated!  Leaving Alexandria for the short run into DC takes us by the Reagan National Airport.  I felt that we may snag a plane or two in our rigging as we passed the end of the runway.  We entered the Washington Channel and secured a mooring ball at the Wharf Gangplank Marina.  From here we can walk (ugh!) to the National Mall and all the museums and monuments.