I’m a Mermaid.

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It was a very calm and misty day motoring to Old Point Comfort, a very historic place for those of you who know your Civil War History (or the battle of the Northern Aggression as taught by some). Chuck and Dana were there to greet us and we had great fun catching up. Chuck told us about taking the lines from a girl on the boat and she was still looking at her cell phone. The first line she threw short and the second line she threw both ends of the line still with phone in hand. Chuck told her to let down the phone first. She replied

‘He didn’t bring me onto the boat to be a dock hand. He brought me to be a mermaid!”

I have to say I am getting a bit tired of Crab and shrimp and don’t like oysters anyway. I was telling Pat that maybe we should eat on the boat more often and I can cook. He replied that if things got desperate He could cook!

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Dana drove us to the Maritime Museum. I had read about it before and the reviews were accurate. Really it was amazing. Museums are so much better that when I was a child. I remember walking around looking in boring glass boxes of spoons from the Stone Age days or the highlight for me was the Egyptian Mummy but in a glass box it was presented in the most boring way possible.

The layouts of the current museums are more eye-catching and they give just the right amount of information to make you want to learn more. There are so many models of boats from all over the world and time. Then there was another room with real boats like the tin boat with a lawn mower engine that a cuban couple escaped in wearing their swim suits and the 16ft boat a guy sailed from Casablanca to Florida in. It was called April fool! There were extracts from his book including how on June 14 he ran out of toilet paper and “thank god for the Readers Digest” And the list goes on. A dollar entry fee, $60 Uber ride back. But I would have gladly paid double that. We also had a lovely trek around it and I twisted my ankle.

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The following day Chuck was our guide around Fort Monroe. I am now really interested in learning a lot more about the Civil War. There was a brass quartet later that night and we picnicked as the sun went down. It can really stir up emotions as they play the American war tunes. Later we went to Chucks boat with its bow thrusters and dingy lift and everything working, to play the guitar and sing a few songs.

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We left the next morning for Dismal swamp and spent a very peaceful night …. Well except for the frog who clacks all night but by 2am you can manage to ignore it. Saw a couple of deer and bald eagles.

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And we hit one or two branches on our way. Well, there were leaves everywhere and we even still have some beside our wind vane still.

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We are now docked by Alligator River ( No gators here!) and the Restaurant advertised is in the gas station. Chicken wings and Corn dogs and a room you could eat them in. but the last meal is at 6PM. She did say that they had a beautiful breakfast at 6am. I thought it was a wee bit long to wait and told her We’d cook on the boat. Tinned Tuna it is.

I forgot to add. When we came in to dock here. I was checking details and the guy said ‘whatever you or your captain would like ‘. I paused and then said. ‘I am the captain’. He graciously Apologized