Today, Kelly, Jen and the girls on Silver Linings (Katie, Ruby and Violet) visited Jamestown Settlement today. It was a memorable experience. English settlers came to Jamestown in 1607 (before the Mayflower!). They lived there from 1607 to 1624. It was a tough time for them. The Indians attacked them a few days after their arrival. They didn’t plan on a land attack. Instead, they focused their energy on a potential Spanish attack on the waterway. When they arrived the water was fresh water and in the fall the currents shifted and it became more saltwater and caused people to become ill and die. The English were not interested in doing manual labor to survive. It was said to be the starving years. There is even evidence of cannibalism after the person died. They also stole from the Indians. When they were caught the Indians told them that if they left their camp again, they would kill them. Basically, the Indians starved them. As a result, the settlers eventually left Jamestown. This was the era of John Smith and Pocahantas….and Disney got the story wrong!

In the 90’s, the town of Jamestown took over ownership of the land from a private owner and began archaeological digging.  Until this time, it was thought there was no evidence of the settlement. While we visited, they were still digging. We got a presentation from an actual archaeologist! They were uncovering building foundations, a water well and their kitchen (ditch). It was in the kitchen that they discovered cannibalism.  

We really enjoyed learning about the settlement and the role of an archaeologist. It was a highlight of our trip.

Afterwards, we made a short drive to downtown Williamsburg.  The main street is closed to cars and has cute little shops and restaurants. We had a girls lunch at a cheese shop with a charcutier tray and wine on their outside seating.  

After we got back to the boat, we made good use of having a rental car when to Lowes to get supplies for some future boat projects. While at Lowes we met someone who recommend we go to Rick’s for ice cream after… so obviously we did lol

In the morning, the Silver Linings girls, Jennifer, and Kelly traveled to Chesapeake, VA to get our hair done. Kelly got a contact from her boat neighbor. The stylist, Jenni, worked at a salon but since COVID, she now works from her home. She is a very nice lady and did a good job. Katie, Ruby and Violet all got haircuts. Kelly got a cut and color. We all looked fabulous!

Later that night, Mike, Kelly and Jennifer went to Smokey Bones for dinner. We bought a discounted gift card in Florida and this was possibly our last opportunity to use it. Food was good and it was nice to be back together.

Happy Father’s Day!! Mike you are the best dad and captain, we love you so so much.

Kent from Silver Linings left early in the morning for Seattle for work.The girls spent the day with us at the Norfolk Tides baseball game! It was a perfect day to spend Father’s day – beer, hotdogs, and baseball! It was an exciting, close game and the Tides won.  

Afterwards, we took an Uber to pick up another rental car. The short story is that we didn’t keep the one we had because they wanted to charge us too much. It was cheaper to turn it in and get another one. 

Then Jen and Mike made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. The Katie, Ruby, and Violet joined us for dinner. Teddy gave us a special opera singing preformance after we ate. He’s so cultured.

Today, we took the ferry from Portsmouth across the river to Norfolk to spend the day in Norfolk. When the ferry pulled into port, we could see the girls on Silver Linings waving to us. Every time we get to see them it feels so good, it reminds us how far we’ve come in our journey and that we are not alone.

The silver Linings crew had a big breakfast and wanted to take some naps and relax so we agreed to meet up later for a movie and dinner.

So in the meantime we found a s’mores station, they make everything homemade. Per usual Jen made sure to capture pictures 🙂

Afterwards we walked over to Grain, its a rooftop bar. They have over 25 beers on draft. It was fun to hangout there and enjoy all being together again.

Next was movie time! We walked over to the mall, which was the the first time we had been to a mall since we left. We went to see the new Top Gun movie. It was amazing!! We all loved it.

Then we ate at Blue Moon with Silver Linings, the food was good but the portions were very small.

Welcome home Jennifer and Mike!!

Kelly spent the day cleaning, so the boat looked nice for Jennifer and Mike’s arrival. Their flights came in about an hour apart so picking them up was uneventful. While at the airport, Kelly also turned in the rental car. So the crew took an Uber home.

The dogs were so excited to see them. They practically knocked Jen over!