Blogs from Yorktown, Virginia, United States, North America

THE SIEGE OF YORKTOWN America won the Revolutionary War and independence from the Crown of England when General Charles Lord Cornwallis suffered defeat at Yorktown and surrendered the Redcoat army. George Washington commanded the American forces at Yorktown, but would not have even dared to attack there without the generous assistance of the French. We would not have won the war without their help. Cornwallis gathered his army in the late summer of 1781 at Yorktown, near the mouth of the York River where it entered Chesapeake Bay. They were a bit ragged and weary after defeats at Kings Mountain and at the Cowpens in South Carolina, and the pursuit of the combined colonial militia commanded by Nathaniel Green and Daniel Morgan as far as the Dan River in North Carolina. The Redcoats retreated to Hillsboro ... read more

Our ports of call (anchoring outs or marinas) included so far very interesting and historically significant places set up in a beautiful part of the country. But before we could get to Chesapeake we had to round Cape Hatteras and that was a bit of adventure with a night of steady 25 knots gusting to 28. A double riffed main with the staysail carried us through admirably even if there was too much noise that night for Natalya's taste. The seas did not look pretty. But then again no one looks pretty all the time save our friend Carrie (I hope she reads this):)! The morning saw us coming into Norfolk, yielding the channel to G.H.W. Bush - one of if not the largest aircraft carrier in the world. And the world is apparently its oyster. ... read more

Die Bikes in Kartons verpackt gingen knapp in mein Auto hinein (Kangoo sei Dank!). Anita war so lieb uns zum Flughafen zu begleiteten (Danke!). Das Einchecken mit den Bikes ging relativ gut vonstatten. Der Flug war so weit o.k. Wir hatten genügend Platz weil wir ein Upgrade gebucht hatten. Leider war die Klimaanlage so kalt eingestellt, dass wir trotz Decken fast erfroren... In Atlanta kam dann das grosse Warten bei der Passkontrolle (siehe Bild)... Man gönnt sich ja sonst nichts... Endlich mal durch, mussten wir unser gesamtes Gepäck holen und damit durch den Zoll (nichts mit Gepäck durchstellen). Als wir mit allem durch waren, bemerkte ich, dass ich meinen E-Book Reader im Flugzeug liegen liess... (und er wurde nie mehr gesehen...). Dann rennen um den Anschlussflug nicht zu verpassen. In Newport New kamen wir um 19.00 ... read more

I laid out my route from Wanchese NC to Williamsburg VA on MapQuest and downloaded it to my Garmin so I could avoid the freeway congestion around Norfolk VA. All was going well. Although the backdrop was rural interspersed with small urban pockets, the drive on April 3, 2012 was relaxing and enjoyable. (Informational) Irene was taking me on the route I had planned. I wanted to exit from I-664 onto US 17/VA 626 and take US 17 over the James River via a bridge (where I could enjoy the skyline and the river activity) instead of using the Interstate route via a bridge/tunnel. Since I had been advised that RVs must turn off propane tanks before entering the tunnel, just as must be done on the ferries in North Carolina, I had turned off my ... read more

I have been docked in Hampton since I got back to Salt Ponds. I went to Richmond for a week to build my daughter a deck for her new house. It almost killed me. I think that is the last deck I have in me. It took eight days and 135 trips to Lowes and Home Depot. I could not move for two weeks without pain. I have slipped back into Keys Disease. Very lazy. Good thing is that the less I do the less I spend which means more time for my mini retirement . I went to see some friends in NJ last week so I could not help stopping by Atlantic City since I was so close. I got a room for last Tuesday. They did not have a regular room so I ... read more