Saturday, August 9 — Directly northeast of us, just across the bridge, was a place called Cova Brewing Co & Coffee House that we’ve been meaning to go to since we arrived. We were told they sold only coffee and beer, though sometimes they’d let a food truck onto the property so people could buy food while they hung out.
Seating was outdoors, with a large grassy area, lots of tables, and even a fire pit. In the evenings, it was packed with families.
We’re not sure why we never went, but yesterday morning, we realized that needed to go over there right then or it would never happen. So before we took Keith to camp, we walked over to get some beverages. There was a cool wind blowing, making the morning temperature pleasant. The walk was a lovely way to start the day.
The majority of the indoor area was dedicated to beer brewing.
The beers on tap had some interesting flavors, and they had a few wines on tap, too.
They made sodas with some interesting flavors, as well. The coffee and teas we ordered were great, and we were sad we hadn’t gone sooner since there were several more things we wanted to try. After dropping Keith off, Eric drove to the mouth of Little Creek Harbor to watch the waves in the pass for a few minutes. Sometimes, passes can be rough in big winds, and since the winds were expected to continue, he was making sure that it would be safe for us to leave tomorrow. He reported back that all looked calm in the pass.
We spent the rest of the day getting ready for sea. The longer we were in one place, the more stuff we pulled out of deep storage, and the harder it was to get it all put away again. After 5-weeks in Norfolk, it took all day to get everything properly stowed and ready for sea.
After we picked up Keith from camp, Blue Heeler came over for a quick visit. In the evening, we went to the movies with Karen and Mark at the Lynnhaven Mall. As we drove around the mall, we would have sworn we were at the mall in Temecula. We had dinner in the food court and saw Superman, which was not a bad movie.
This morning, the full moon set just before the sun rose, and it was stunning.
And the sunrise was nice, but nothing particularly special.
Eric returned the rental car and we all worked on the last minute things to get boat ready to go. We were ready to untie much earlier than we were scheduled to leave, so we walked back over to Cova for more coffee/tea. We noticed that the bird that lives on our dock had taken up residence on one of the boats.
We untied at 1100, which was slack tide, and set course for Baltimore. The first four hours of the passage were rough. We were heading north, farther up into the Chesapeake Bay. The winds were averaging about 12-knots coming from the east, and with Little Creek being so close to the mouth of the bay, we were regularly getting hit on the starboard bow with big waves that came in from the ocean (so head seas). We were taking a lot of sea spray over the bow. Eric was a little sick.
But after we cleared the mouth of the Chesapeake and were in more sheltered waters, the waves steadily calmed down. The wind also calmed down in the later afternoon, dropping to 3 knots. By sunset, the bay was glassy like a lake. It was a beautiful sunset, too.
Shortly after sunset, Eric noticed one of the navigation lights was out, and it was easy to change with the water so calm. The wildlife was really active right before and after sunset, with lots of schools of fish and lots of birds catching dinner.
The full moon rose at 2000, and it was a dramatic red.
Once the moon was higher in the sky, it gave off so much light that we couldn’t see the stars. It was like a spotlight over our heads.
We ran at 1800 RPM for most of the trip. Our speed varied between 5 – 7 knots, depending on the current. The skies were cloudy all day/night, with a mix of gray and white clouds. The temperatures were pleasant; there was no need to run the A/C. We even needed sweaters when we went outside after dark.
To be continued…