Meriwether Navigator Brittany Highland and Captain Eric Highland of RV Wanderlust- Date: 08-29-2014
- Current City: Williamsburg, VA
- Current Location: King’s Creek RV Park (Naval Weapons Station Cheatham Annex)
- Site Number: 42
- Wi-fi Signal: Verizon – Good / AT&T – Weak / Campground Wi-fi – Intermittent but Free
- Cell Signal: AT&T – Extremely Poor
- Mission: Work / Explore
- Compliment: 2 Officers, 1 Crew, 0 Guests
- Captain: Eric Highland
- Navigator: Brittany Highland
- 1st Mate: Trogdor the Burninator
- Guests: None
- Weather: Mostly Cloudy / 73°
- Precipitation: 10%
- Humidity: 78%
- Wind: 0 mph
- Fuel: 66 Gallons of Diesel
- Odometer: 104,697
- Generator Hours: 4613.6
- Estimated Date of Departure: Friday, August 29th.
- Next Destination: Williamsburg, VA
Special Orders: Prepare to shove off
Captain’s Remarks
08:58 – Since we left Fayetteville, NC much has happened. We went to Little Creek, VA and spent time with some friends and even met some new ones. Connecting and reconnecting is one of the really nice perks of full time RVing.
While we were in Little Creek we stayed at the base there. The campground was just ok, but the location was great. I suppose we would have liked the campground more but it had some issues.
Our not so great spot at the Little Creek VA FAMCAMP1. We were in a spot right next to the office. meh.
2. We had to share a water spigot with our neighbor which wouldn’t have been as big a deal if we didn’t have to go out and buy a longer potable water hose in order to make this happen. Just one more thing to stow.
3. It seems as though our spot in the campground was the only spot that had a consistent mud puddle. There was an indentation in the ground near our front left tire that was basically a haven for mosquitos.
Other than that though we had a really nice time in the Little Creek area. So nice that we’re actually headed back there on our way South. We’ll be switching parks this time though, and staying at Fort Story. We’ll see how that goes. We know that Fort Story doesn’t have a sewer connection, but we’ve got some pretty big tanks, and it’s right near the beach so we’re going to give it a shot.
9:09 – While in Little Creek, VA we spent time connecting with friends and family. We got to see my brother-in-law Adam and his wife Linia. They have a lovely home about 20 minutes from the base. They took us to an area called Ghent which was a fun little neighborhood, filled with little shops and eateries.
Brittany with her little brother Adam HardyThese two really love each other so much!!
We also got to go to Doumar’s, it’s an iconic little place. The owner is credited with inventing the ice cream cone. They also have old school drive up style service in your car.
Old school Drive-In type joint. The owner of Doumar’s is said to have invented the ice cream cone.We also got to see my friend Jason (from my Coast Guard days) and his wife. They took us to a little local pizza joint. It was really nice to catch up with him.
Great to see my old friend Jason. We had awesome times in the Coast Guard together.We connected with Brittany’s best friend from when she was in middle school. Heather and her husband David joined us for dinner at a Gastropub in Ghent called Public House. Unfortunately we forgot to take a picture!!!
Finally we got to meet Michele and Ryan for the first time. Fellow full-time RVers who were an absolute blast to hang out with. We went to two different bars and ended up getting a tour of their rig. We’re hoping to see them again when we make our way back to VA Beach. They blog at Color Outside The Lines RV.
RV Wanderlust and Color Outside the Lines together at lastWe also did the obligatory history type tours. We went to see the Old Coast Guard Station, the Cape Henry Lighthouses, and First Landing Cross.
The Old Coast Guard Station in VA Beach
The Cape Henry Lighthouse. There are actually two of them. This is the newer one. They are very close together, maybe just a few hundred yards apart.
The site of the first landing of English Settlers in 1607.09:20 – On Friday the 22nd, we headed up to Williamsburg. Our goal was to do the historic triangle. This consists of Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center. We did all three but will be sharing about them in another article here on the blog. They were awesome. But here are a few photos:
The Historic Triangle is made up of these three locations in Virginia
The first in the Triangle is Historic Jamestown. This is where the first permanent settlement of the British took place in America
The second part of the Historic Triangle is Colonial Williamsburg. Here is Brittany getting shots for our upcoming article.
Lastly the third part of the Historic Triangle is Yorktown. Where the final decisive battle of the Revolutionary War took place and where Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington.We also made the 2 hour drive to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. It was magnificent. I hope to do an article on that too.. or maybe Brittany will ~nudge nudge~ Oooh and we found an epic burger joint called Citizen Burger in Charlottesville just a few minutes away from Monticello. Anyway here are a few photos:
If you’ve ever seen a US nickel, you’ve seen this building. The home of Thomas Jefferson
Here we are in front of Monticello. It was a life long dream of Brittany’s to come here. Check this one off our bucket list!
The Gardens at Monticello are lovely, and the view from here is magnificent.
Citizen Burger is AH-MAZE-ING. If you are ever in Charlottesville, VA or visiting Monticello, make this a must stop.09:22 – We’ve found some really good eats in the Historic Triangle area! Three that deserve mention are:
Yorktown Pub: The clam chowder is what you go there for. Their burgers are really good, and their loaded potato skins were good, but the clam chowder.. oh the clam chowder. #nomnomnom
The clam chowder here. Do it.Peter Chang’s: This is a multiple award winning restaurant. A must stop. The food was incredibly good and at reasonable prices too!
Pan Fried Noodles at Peter Chang’s. Do it.Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream: So smooth and creamy, the flavors are just full of burst and the smallest dish you could order had 2.5 scoops! So good!
Some of the best Ice Cream we’ve ever had.09:26 – We failed to plan in advance for the Labor Day weekend and we were almost without a place to stay. But Brittany in her resourcefulness found us a spot just 18 minutes from where we are now at Willamsburg Campark. So we’re headed there today.
As full-timers sometimes we lose track of the day, they all seem to be like holidays in some way. But when an actual holiday comes where people like to camp, it’s a good thing to have reservations. It would have stunk to have spent our Labor Day weekend in a WalMart parking lot. Glad we were able to find a spot.
09:28 – I’d been on a weight plateau for about a month. It looks like that cycle has broken and I’m starting to drop weight again. I’m currently down 21 lbs since May 21st. Been using my FitBit Flex, eating smaller healthier meals and walking.. A LOT.
09:57 – In the past week we’ve been contacted by a reality show and a documentary filmmaker. We aren’t really supposed to talk about it, so there isn’t much to say. I’m actually more interested in another thing I’ve proposed to a friend who I’m waiting to hear back from. I shouldn’t talk about that either.. but it’s on my mind. So there’s that.
Who knows if we’ll ever decide to do something like this, but it is something to think about.Remarks – The weather has been sublime, we really love the Virginia area. We are getting ready to start making our journey back down south. We were hoping to get further north this time around, but it just wasn’t going to happen. We plan to be in Orlando in November and Austin in December. Some of that stuff in between is kind of fuzzy right now, but hey that’s all part of the adventure. ~ E
Navigator’s Addendum
11:41 – It’s been too long, so I should take some time to catch up. But I’m in a rush because we’re supposed to be shoving off shortly. I absolutely love this part of the country (Virginia was my favorite state when I was in high school, and I think it’s still in my Top 3) and am glad we still have a couple of weeks before we have to drive south.
For now, one little tip: I found an awesome coffee shop on the edge of Merchant’s Square in Williamsburg, called Aroma’s. The lemon berry cake was amazing! -B
Going to have to knock some of these off of our list over the next couple months as we tackle the east coast! Thanks for sharing 🙂