The windy Chesapeake Bay

During the middle of the night Tuesday/Wednesday the winds kicked up and had us wondering if we should leave our anchorage Wednesday morning at Hudson Creek or stay another day. The winds were from the NW and we knew they would be ripping right down the bay. We decided to stick our nose out into the bay and decide from there what the course of action would be. The waves weren't too bad and it certainly looked "doable" but the salt spray from the waves impeded our view. Sometimes "doable" just isn't worth doing and with all the crab pots to watch for we turned around and headed back to our anchorage. We really hated not being able to make tracks on a sunny but cool day but we were entertained by a loon that was singing and diving not far from us.

The winds were forecasted to calm Thursday morning and continue to decrease over the day. The bay was a little snotty when we left, as we figured it would be with the amount of wind from yesterday. After a few hours the winds decreased and with them at our stern (back) we had a pleasant ride to Fishing Bay near Deltaville, 88 miles. We anchored in 15' of water, mud bottom, good holding and great protection from north winds along with 6 other boats.
Today also brought the first sighting of pelicans. I laughed once again as I watched them flop in the water. At times they are the most ungraceful birds when they land and they remind me of someone doing a belly flop.

The goal for Friday was to get to Norfolk before the rain started. We missed the mark by about 20 minutes...we got wet. We weren't the only ones as we sat on the bridge in the afternoon and watched boat after boat go by on the Elizabeth River. The remnants from Hurricane Willa brought rain from 11 am to well after midnight and some winds but not as bad as they first forecasted.

Hampton Roads, where you enter the Elizabeth River at Norfolk was a hub of activity Friday...we heard the security call as we were entering that a submarine would be leaving and to make sure you were 500 yards from the sub and by no means were you suppose to cut in front of it. As we were watching the sub and it's escorts we looked behind us and a warship was coming back into port. It was so neat to watch all the activity, it's such an interesting port. As we went by the aircraft carriers I would look them up online to see their name and what was going on with them, where they had been, how long they were in port. It reminds me once again to thank all of those that serve and have served to give us the freedoms we enjoy.

We decided we were going to stay at Waterside Marina in downtown Norfolk for 2 nights as they were forecasting more rain Saturday. The rain never really materialized Saturday but was cloudy, windy and cool. Mark kept busy changing the oil, working on maintenance items and I walked to the mall, which was only a couple blocks away. We ended our evening Saturday having dinner at a restaurant that use to be a church that was built in 1873. The building was in need of repair and was purchased for renovation to become a restaurant in 1987...we had to have the crab cakes and she crab soup...you can't come to the Chesapeake and not try some of these delicacies!
We've been gone for a month and Sunday we didn't go far and stopped at Top Rack Marina so that we could re-provision at the local Walmart. A close Uber ride and one of our drivers was a Navy aircraft engine mechanic, such an interesting conversation with her.

Leaving the anchorage Thursday morning we had the sunrise

to the east and the moon to the west. The sky was beautiful!

 

Temperature 54 degrees, winds from the stern,

brilliant sunshine warming the bridge as the captain drives

 

Mark asked me if I have enough sunrise/sunset pictures...

nope here is the sunrise Friday morning

 

and another...they are all so different

 

The submarine heading out to sea

 

Aircraft carriers - USS Abraham Lincoln and George H. W. Bush

 

A warship coming into port behind us

 

Arriva - a 156' custom motor yacht at the marina,

it was a beauty!

 

Beautiful architecture - this church built in 1894

 

Freemason Abbey Restaurant

 

Original stain glass windows in the restaurant

 

A beautiful Sunday morning as we left Norfolk

 

The Navy's next generation of Warships being built

at General Dynamics

These are fall temperatures we can live with!