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|  Sophia and Isabella on Clean the Bay Day!
6/05/2010
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| Crown Pointe Marina is surrounded by a variety of fun and fascinating places to visit; there are always things to see and do. Below is a sampling of the opportunities for exploration that the Chesapeake Bay provides! All trips can be completed on a round trip basis to the marina, as weekend excursions, or within one to three days. | |
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Cities, Towns, and Fun Places
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Urbanna, Virginia
Urbanna was established as a port for the shipment of tobacco to England. Urbanna’s Tobacco Warehouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1766 and serves as a visitors center today. The Urbanna Courthouse, also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1748 and is one of 11 colonial era courthouses still standing in Virginia. Urbanna is full of quaint shops and restaurants that will please even the most esteemed traveler. The Urbanna Oyster Festival is held in November of each year. This annual event features oyster specialties and other Chesapeake Bay seafood, a parade, fine arts exhibits and visiting tall ships. The event attracts some 75,000 visitors a year.
www.urbanna.com
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Poquoson, Virginia
Poquoson, Virginia is located at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on the Poquoson River. This small city, with a population of about 12,000 residents, was chartered in 1631. "Poquoson" is an Indian word meaning "marshy lowlands."
Poquoson offers a selection of unique shops including antiques, art galleries and gift shops. These businesses host two annual events for shoppers; one in March and a holiday open house on the 1st weekend of November. The annual Poquoson Seafood Festival attracts visitors on the third weekend of each October. Poquoson is also located close to other area destinations such as Williamsburg, Yorktown, and the Newport News Mariners Museum, which features ship models, figureheads, scrimshaw, steam engines, and more.
www.poquoson.com
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Tangier Island, Virginia
Where time stopped-still some twenty years ago! One visitor to Tangier Island states, "The most unbelievable sunsets you can ever imagine; no doubt, the next thing to heaven. It is truly a great experience, getting back to the roots of your being."
No cars, no trains; the only transportation to Tangier Island is by boat or by small airplane. When you arrive, plan to leisurely stroll around the island. Rental transportation in the form of bicycles and golf carts is available, simply ask anyone on the island and they will send you where you need to go.
www.tangierisland-va.com
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Onancock, Virginia
Onancock, first called Port Scarborough, is one of only a handful of towns and cities that exist today in Virginia that were founded in 1680, the year of the Virginia Assembly’s Act of Cohabitation that encouraged the development of a few key, port-of-entry towns throughout the colony. The winding deep-water creek linking the high-banked land to the GreatChesapeake Bay was the main reason for the selection of the port that was to serve the Eastern Shore.
In spring, summer and fall, boaters traveling the Chesapeake Bay tie up in Onancock’s sheltered harbor by the night and by the week. On any day, ocean-going sailboats dock alongside trim yachts at the townwharf or anchor out in the creek. Commercial fishing vessels, too, use the wharf, and working tugs maneuver barges loaded with oil as well as sand, stone and gravel used in the manufacture of concrete blocks. The wharf is much more than a glossy picture in a leisure boating magazine – it is a working wharf as well as a pleasure wharf. Onancock Wharf & Marina boating facilities are available to Chesapeake Bay Sailing Vessels and Chesapeake Bay Power Boats.
www.esva.com/dock.htm
www.onancock.com
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Smith Island, Maryland
For generations, the people of Smith Island have crabbed the island’s waters, six days a week from 3 a.m. to at least 6 p.m., April through December. It is possible to read the names on the tombstones next to the church in the middle of town and prove that the present inhabitants are direct descendants of British colonists who first settled the island in the late 1600s. The island was originally populated in 1657 and named the Russell Isles by Captain John Smith in honor of Smith’s ship doctor, Walter Russell. Later, Captain Henry Smith, a prominent landowner and families named Evans and Tyler settled on the island. Population peaked at 800 during the early 20th century, but slipped to present number levels due to young people leaving the island for jobs other than fishing. Today the prison on the Eastern Shore in Princess Anne employs some of the younger generation. The island recently welcomed its first newborn in more than 18 months.
Inhabitants of Smith Island have a distinctive accent reminiscent of their British forebears and preserved by isolation. One noted custom is that islanders in cars and trucks honk their horns and wave. Although cars are few, there are bicycles (allowed on the ferry) and golf carts can be rented.
Smith Island Center is a small museum in the tiny community of Ewell provides a spot for increasing numbers of visitors to learn about the Island, its history, economic and social life. The center includes permanent exhibits and a 20 minute film on: the history of the Island, working on the water, the interaction of people and the Chesapeake Bay, the role of women in Island life and the distinctive speech patterns which have developed on the Island.
www.smithisland.org
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Reedville, Virginia
Reedville is named for Captain Elijah Reed, a sea captain from Maine who came down to this area in 1874 and saw in menhaden (a kind of small fish) a golden opportunity. Legend has it that, as early as the 1620’s, the Indians taught the Pilgrims the value of burying menhaden in each hill of corn for fertilizer. By 1885, there were many menhaden factories on Cockrell Creek producing fish oil, meal and fertilizer from menhaden.
Factory owners and fishing boat captains who made their fortunes from menhaden built homes along what is now Main Street. The "Millionaire’s Row" mansions are now on the National Register of Historic Places. The Reedville Fisherman’s Museum has restored some of the oldest homes, and has information about the menhaden industry and the history of Reedville. Menhaden fishing has declined until there is only the one Omega Protein plant remaining on Cockrell Creek. But Reedville is also a significant charter fishing center for Chesapeake Bay bluefish and rockfish with more than 50 boats operating out of the area.
The Reedville Fishermen’s Museum is located on the banks of Cockrell’s Creek on land once owned by Captain Elijah Reed. In 1867 Reed sailed down to the Chesapeake from Maine and into the creek, setting up his first small fishery. Today Reedville remains one of the most active fishing ports in America and the heart of the menhaden fleet. The museum houses a collection of artifacts and historical material covering the history of menhaden fishing from its inception to the present. Unique models of fishing vessels and tools used for building and maintaining the fleet are on display. Museum exhibits include a history of watermen’s activities from early Native American practices to those used today by oystermen, pound fishermen and crabbers. Part of the museum houses rotating exhibits and educational programs, and from the deck there are views of Cockrell’s Creek from which two modern fleets still set out to fish for menhaden from May through December.
www.rfmuseum.org
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Hampton, Virginia
The City of Hampton has two distinct areas with links to the Chesapeake Bay. The downtown waterfront area has been renovated and welcomes visitors. Attractions downtown include cobblestone streets, brick sidewalks, and shops, restaurants, pubs, galleries, an air and space museum, restored antique carousel, and a waterfront park.
The Phoebus/Fort Monroe area is located on Hampton’s eastern side. Phoebus was once an incorporated town and has retained its individual character. Today’s Phoebus is experiencing a renaissance and features a nice mix of older homes, antique shops, arts and crafts galleries, and restaurants. Fort Monroe, at Old Point Comfort, is the largest star fort ever built in the United States. A visit to this fort’s casement museum, surrounded by beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay and picturesque structures, should be part of any visit to Hampton.
www.hamptoncvb.com
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Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles, located close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, was founded in 1884 as a planned community by railroad and ferry interests. Cape Charles was, for many years, the terminal for passenger and car ferry service across the Bay to Norfolk and Hampton. The last ferry left Cape Charles in 1953. Cape Charles still serves as a terminal for railway barges that carry rail cars from the Eastern Shore Railroad across the mouth of the Bay to Norfolk. Ferry service from the Eastern Shore was terminated in 1964 with the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Cape Charles has one of the largest concentrations of late-Victorian and turn-of-the-century buildings on the East Coast, with most of its structures built between 1885 and 1920. The town has been designated as an Historic District on the Virginia Landmarks Register and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Visit the Cape Charles Museum and Welcome Center for more information on history of the town and the ferry and railroad service. The museum is located on Randolph Avenue in a former power plant and features photographs and items from the town’s past.
The town of Cape Charles fronts on the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay and has a sandy beachfront park.The beach is a great place to view Chesapeake Bay sunsets.
Cape Charles features a small town harbor, used by residents and visitors. The Cape Charles Harbor has 51 boat slips, a harbor master’s office, and two public boat launching ramps.
www.ccncchamber.com/treasure.htm
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Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is centered around the port of Hampton Roads, one of the largest, naturally deep, ice-free harbors in the world. You can see tugs, barges, sailboats, commercial vessels, and navy ships moving in and out of the port through the Elizabeth River.
Norfolk’s downtown waterfront area is located right on the banks of the Elizabeth River. The Norfolk Waterside Marketplace offers a shopping, dining, and entertainment adventure. Poised at the mouth of the Elizabeth River on Norfolk’s downtown waterfront, The Waterside offers major restaurants, specialty retail shops, and international food court and exciting nightlife with music, dancing and live entertainment. Special events, such as the annual Norfolk Harborfest, are held next to Waterside, at the waterfront Town Point Park.
www.norfolkcvb.com
www.watersidemarketplace.com
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Other Attractions
A large number of attractions are available at the following websites:
www.baygateways.net
www.baydreaming.com
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Hotels and Motels
The newly constructed Hampton Inn at Gloucester, Virginia was commissioned in June 2008 and is fully equipped with an indoor swimming pool and an ergonomic feel throughout the entire hotel. Come join the Hampton Inn for a relaxing stay and enjoy the great breakfast bar.
www.hamptoninn.hilton.com
The Comfort Inn located in Gloucester is adjacent to the Hampton Inn and has every "Comfort" of home plus an outside swimming pool. Come and enjoy the breakfast bar and have one of their great waffles.
www.comfortinn.com
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