Chesapeake Chase Days 23-24: Independence Day and Yorktown

July 4, 2022

We had a nice slow start to the morning.  When Judy’s friend arrived, she, her daughter and boyfriend had a quick tour of the boat.  We took the traditional picture to show that our guest crew had returned safely from the voyage then hugged and waved goodbye with cherished memories to hold on to.

We had a lot to do on the boat to prepare for the next leg, but we also wanted to walk around Yorktown and visit the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.  Fred decided to ask if we could stay one more night in this marina.  The answer was yes, so now we could make plans.  We checked the weather and determined that today would be cooler than tomorrow.  It made more sense to do our walking today and boat chores tomorrow.

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

We had an early lunch and called for Uber to take us to the museum.  Since we knew we would be gone awhile, we took waters and a backpack.  We chose the right day to go to the museum.  First, we walked through the exhibits. There were lots of extra activities celebrating the holiday.  The list included: a Continental Army encampment, a variety of activities on the farm such as cooking, gardening, basket weaving and such, 30-minute educational talks, music with the Old Cigar Box String Band, and an artillery demonstration. 

Fred and I attended a talk about Black men who served with the Patriots and those who served with the Loyalists.  More actually served with the Loyalists because of the more liberal offers of emancipation offered to slaves by the British.  By 1784, five northern states had passed laws that would outlaw slavery either immediately or at some fixed time in the future, but no state south of Pennsylvania ended slavery. Many southerners believed emancipation would lead to economic collapse and feared the social and political consequences of emancipated slaves gaining citizenship.

British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army to George Washington at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781, the last major battle of the revolutionary war. Washington’s victory led to the end of the war with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

An effort during the 1787 constitutional convention to ban the slave trade failed, and, instead, a special provision was inserted in the constitution to ensure the new US government could not ban the trans-Atlantic slave trade for at least 20 more years.

We also attended the artillery demonstration – cannons being fired.  They discussed the process first and enlisted folks from the audience to go through the motions.  Three re-enactors in uniform finally fired the cannons.  I am guessing that soldiers of that era suffered early hearing loss!

Yorktown

We finished up at the museum about 3:30 PM and then took the scenic riverwalk down into Yorktown.  At one point along the walk, there were two police officers blocking any traffic wanting to get down by the water. We didn’t think much about it at the time. 

Once we reached the water, there were families everywhere.  Some were set up on the small beach areas.  Others had found shady spots along the walkway.  Many others were still coming into the area. 

It’s been a long time since I have seen Fourth of July crowds. It was festive.  Across from the largest of the beach areas were lots of food vendors and music.  I should have done my research.  I thought we would get to the historic district, but this was more the entertainment section. 

Uber!

We began to walk in a different direction to look for more of a downtown, but it was getting later, and we weren’t having much success, it was time to get back to the boat.  We came across another police blockade and asked about where the best place would be for Uber to pick us up.  A nice man who worked for the city offered to drive us down to a spot. 

There was another police block here, but Rt. 17 was open.  The man let the officers know why we were there so they would let the Uber driver stop and pick us up.  We gave them the description of the car and found some shade where we could wait.  The officers were both friendly and helpful.  Unfortunately, the Uber driver didn’t stop when he saw the police car, and then canceled the ride.

We decided to go back to the museum where we were dropped off earlier.  We were getting our steps for the day!  To our great dismay, the museum was closed and now that road was blocked, too.  Heat, fatigue, thirst, and frustration were beginning to take hold.  The best the officer could do was let the officers at the next roadblock know that we would order another Uber and they should let the driver through. 

After more than one try, Fred was able to get another Uber.  He gave instructions for the driver to use.  The police at the next block were notified.  Fred tracked the driver.  She apparently did not stop at the block to inform the police she was picking us up.  She turned around and tried another way.  Same thing happened.  I can’t remember if she tried one more time, but she eventually cancelled.  We walked down to the last roadblock.  We had walked just over 5 miles by now and were not as happy as when we began this trek.  By now Fred’s phone was dying.  We were very thirsty, hot, and tired. 

We finally used my phone to call a taxi service we had called in the morning to find out what he charged.  He was more expensive than Uber, so we had not used him.  Now we really needed him.  He responded and yes, he could come.  Fred explained exactly where we were and told him we would wait at some townhouses across the road.  It would take him about 20 minutes. 

Eventually one of the policemen came over to speak with us.  He figured out we were the people who had called the Uber, so we explained what had happened.  He told us they had been waiting for the Uber to let her through.  She never mentioned anything to them.  He truly felt bad for us, but there was nothing he could do.  We had a friendly chat for a few minutes, but he needed to help his partner.  He told us if his supervisor came with water before we were picked up, he would make sure we got some.

Shortly after our taxi showed up and we were happily on our way, and it was a pleasant experience. The taxi only took cash (more than we had on us), so he had to wait at the end while Fred retrieved more cash from the boat.

Fireworks

The earlier part of the day and the remainder of the evening offset the day’s challenges.  We ate dinner at the marina restaurant and returned to Betty Lou in time to watch the fireworks from the flybridge. 

The other impressive sight was all the small boats, with lights on out in the river to watch the fireworks.  There were probably a hundred or more. 

We were tired but in the end, it was all worth it!

Captain’s Comments:

My Uber experience average took a sharp downward turn today. Not only did we end up waiting longer and walking further in the heat for canceled rides, but they had the nerve to charge me for it. I complained! (They gave me a credit–small consolation.)

July 5, 2022

Today was chore day.  The list on paper seemed short, but each task was a time consumer. Of course, we also walked the docks.

To Do List: 

• Wash the outside of the boat
• Check the anchor locker to see if the leak might be in there
• Defrost the refrigerator
• Laundry including sheets and towels
• Clean and vacuum inside
• Grocery shopping

The frost in the fridge was close to two inches thick.  I remember back when my mother periodically had to defrost our refrigerator at home.  We are so spoiled now with frost-free refrigerators in our homes.  Bigger, fancier, more expensive yachts have the bigger, frost-free (higher energy consuming) fridges, but we are happy enough to have the one we have on Betty Lou.  It took me several hours, but it was sparkling clean when I finished!

I am not a multitasker, but I had laundry washing and drying on the boat and in the marina laundry all while I was defrosting and cleaning.  Somewhere in the mix, I also helped Fred get the anchor and chain out onto the dock so he could inspect the anchor locker with it empty.  That was the easy part.  Fred getting into that tight space was not easy at all – more boat yoga!  He found nothing!  Mystery of the leak source remains a mystery.  We put the anchor and chain back in the locker, and he moved on to washing the boat.

The final thing on the list was shopping.  We called Uber, this time no issues.  A very friendly gentleman drove us to the store.  We worked as a team and soon had everything on the list.  The last item was ice cream of course.  Shopping done, we called Uber.  This time we were picked up by a very friendly woman.  Other than yesterday afternoon, our experience with Uber has been wonderful.  

We ended the evening with showers, dinner, and looking at tomorrow’s plan.

It was a very satisfying day.

WHERE WE ARE:

Here is a link to show the progress of our Chesapeake Chase.