Belle Isle State Park, Lancaster VA
July 2020

On July 9th, we celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary at Belle Isle State Park on the Rappahannock River. We arrived, set up camp, and then ventured out to find a restaurant with a water view and fresh, local seafood. We found the Horn Harbor Restaurant in Burgess, VA.

The restaurant has a small marina, so guests can also arrive by boat. We sat outside, in the shade near the dock area, and enjoyed some bubbly along with steamed clams and fried oysters. Warm breezes and blue skies with big puffy clouds made it a lovely evening to be by the water. Restaurants are just starting to reopen in Virginia. CDC guidelines are in place, with waitstaff wearing masks, tables spaced further apart, and menu boards on wheels to limit hand contact.

Back at the campground, the property was wooded and green, with campsites well-spaced and quiet. Folks are keeping pretty much to themselves these days, which during this social distancing time, is okay.

On our second day, John was Jones-ing for steamed blue crabs. So, we went for lunch at the Urbanna Seafood Market. Wow! What a find! We sat outside on a covered deck, right on the river. A steady breeze blew the whole time we were there. Delicious crabs, hot fries, and cold beer. Friendly staff, too. Excellent. If you’re ever near Urbanna, this place deserves a stop.

In between food fests, we rode our bikes around the park and along the river, checked out the small town of Kilmarnock (I dare you to try to pronounce that one), and enjoyed the country views. The meadows are in midsummer bloom, with Blackeyed Susans, Queen Anne’s Lace, and native grasses.

We did everything in small doses. Midsummer in Virginia is hot. Upper 80s and 90s, with plenty of humidity, are the norm. We are glad that our van has air conditioning for afternoon retreats and comfortable sleeping.

Chippokes Plantation State Park, Surry, VA
July 2020

We switched rivers, moving slightly south to camp near the James River. Established in 1619, Chippokes is one of the oldest working farms in the United States. Some of the historical displays, including the manor house and the forestry museum, were still Covid-closed, but we enjoyed biking through the park and looking for shell fossils on the banks of the James River. The James is fed by tidal creeks, so you can find seashells along the river banks.

Chippokes Plantation State Park is not close to shopping or restaurants. In fact, the locals frequently take the free, 20 minute, 2.5 mile Jamestown Ferry ride from Surry to the Williamsburg side for supplies, dining, and activities. We did, too.

We visited the Williamsburg Botanical Garden, which is a petite garden maintained by volunteers. It looked like the volunteers were just getting back in action after the Covid-closures, so they were as busy as the bees on the flowers.

Great selections of heat resistant phlox were loaded with white blossoms and a long-blooming, fragrant rose called Apricot Drift still looked good. It was also nice to see interpretive signage about their native plant collections.

We drove the Colonial Parkway partway to Yorktown. It’s more like a wide, paved sidewalk than the main drag to Yorktown. No traffic, no stop lights, no line down the center of the road. Just woods, water, and scenery. Before taking the free ferry back to Surry and our campground (did I mention that the ferry was free?), we had a yummy lunch at Craft 31, a craft brewery and pub. (Yes, it IS all about the next meal. Have I become my Mother?)