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Eastern Shore Hospice’s 5th Annual “Corks and Forks” Fundraiser A Complete Success

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

The  Hospice and Palliative Care of the Eastern Shore  organization pulled off yet another great fundraiser party a few weeks ago.  Held once again at Aqua, a fine dining restaurant overlooking the Chesapeake Bay in Cape Charles, VA, the party was just getting into full swing as we arrived.  The great thing about Aqua’s  as a venue for a large party like this is that it is such a beautiful building- from its  long wall of picture windows overlooking the Bay to the amazing translucent bar that appears to be a long stream of liquid gold  to  the fabulous irridescent aquamarine tile covered columns,  Aqua’s offers  terrific ambience for any event. Kudos unlimited to Dickie Foster for building this fine restaurant !

Wine glasses and plates in hand,  we began a slow circuit  of the various food stations, each seemingly with more delicous offerings than the last.  First stop, the Oyster Station.   And not just any oysters, but three wide trays of  ice,  each proudly holding a specific type of Eastern Shore VA  grown beauty.   A  tray of  fat Chincoteage oysters, a tray of salty Seaside oysters and  a tray of tender Bayside oysters,  each  plump and glistening in its briny juice,  ice-cold and with a dash of Mingonette Sauce,  ready to be downed in one great sluurrpp !   My husband loves oysters but I took a pass, concentrating instead on the accompanying sparkling wine from the Scharffenberger Winery in Mendicino, California,  which was also ice cold and absolutely luscious.

Next stop,  the Chicken Satay/Grilled Shrimp Station whose offerings were being paired with  Savigonon  Blanc.  The chicken was grilled to perfection and served with a slightly spicy Thai chili sauce on the side.  The chili sauce was quite good,  although I personally am partial to a peanut sauce with satay,  particularly a sauce made with whole peanuts freshly ground in a food processor rather than made with the chunky peanut butter called for in lots of recipes .  ( However,  if one is in a time crunch,  Smucker’s  brand Chunky Peanut Butter is a top-of-the-line substitute.)   And as my husband was quick to remind me, it’s nice to do things differently from time to time.   Although they were offering both an oaked and a steel vintage of the sav blanc,  I didn’t try either because I was working on my second taste  of the Scharffenberger’s.  It  worked perfectly with the chicken so  I figured,  if it aint broke, don’t fix it……. or some such adage.

Onward and upward to what turned out to be, side by side,  my two favorite stations of the evening.   First station offered  an Italian antipasto,  Kalamata olives, fresh mozzerella and chunks of artichoke hearts transformed  into finger food with skewers and also  mini-mini sandwiches,  styled as  “Turkey Reubens”,  wafer thin smoked turkey with a dab of cole slaw, tucked into small wedges of crusty Italian bread, very, very nice.   Next door to that tasty group was a station featuring sausage chunks atop a bed of ratatulle as well as teriyaki meatballs, both very well prepared although I would have enjoyed  a bit more of  the delicious sauce over the meatballs.  The wine paired with the meatballs and sausage was my very favorite of the night-  an aromatic red Zinfandal from the Big Sur region of  California,  Peachy Canyon Vineyard’s  “Incredible Red”, a wonderful pairing,  a wine with plenty of heft to work well with those spicy meats.

By now the sun was almost setting and we moved to Aqua’s outdoor  veranda to sit for a bit, just relax and  enjoy the sunset and the gentle breezes  blowing off the water.  It was an idylic waterfront scene,  the sun slipping deep to the west, despite the cloud cover trying to paint  the Chesapeake’s waters in pastel shades of  pinks and gold,  a few last  boats cruising in off the  Bay, heading for their marina moorings,  waves lapping at  Aqua’s soft sand beach, candles glowing golden on the tables, perfectly lovely,  absolutely.  We waited until the sun had slipped below the horizon before heading back inside for a bite at the  Dessert Station,  a brie en croute with fig preserve and house made chocolate nut clusters,  paired with a late harvest dessert wine. Yummy !  From there, off to peruse the display  of  the  many donated  “Silent Auction” items.

“Corks and Forks” is an important  fund-raiser for Hospice with proceeds going to its Fragile Hearts Children’s Grief Camp,  a camp to be held at YMCA’s Camp Silver Beach this year for children dealing with grief and loss, a truly worthy cause.   And funds are raised not just through the ticket sales  but also through the donations of various items from local artists and the local business community to be sold at the Cork and Fork’s   ”Silent Auction”.  This year the prime objets d’ art were  paintings  by well-known local artists  Willie Crocket,  Thelma Peterson and Clelia Sheppard and a ceramic  by Vesna Zidovec.  Other donated items included various types of gift baskets,  getaway packages, concert tickets, jewelrey and  sculpture.   All in all,  something for everyone to be interested in.  The countdown to the end of the auction was lively, with folks darting to enter their latest bids on their favorite items.  Some disappointed sighs were heard  the winners were announced but all in all,  loads of fun for everyone.  This post would not be complete without mentioning the music by the Russell Scarborough Jazz Trio.  I am a big fan of jazz and these three guys can really get down, they are wonderful and added a great deal to this delightful evening,  chalk up another winner by the Eastern Shore Hospice organization !

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Sears and Roebuck Historic Mail Order Catalog Homes– Alive And Well In Cape Charles, VA

Thursday, April 5th, 2012
Through the years Sears maintained a selection of some eighty house plans that were updated to keep abreast of developing trends and for the sake of variety.  The plans ran from the smallest sized bungalow  to a number of  truly substantial models including  the elaborate  ”Magnolia”,   which  for about $5.000, offered  ” Eight rooms  and two and a half baths. Two story portico with fluted columns;  open terrace across the front, side porte-cochere;  decks and sleeping porch off second floor bedrooms; glazed front porch with sidelights and arched transom.  Fireplace and nook in living room;  French doors off hall; open stairs” .   But, in general,  the majority of their designs were  in keeping with the  popular American tastes of the period and were designed to have broad appeal by offering a quality modern home for an affordable price. For extra flexibility,  most home plans in their catalogs  were able to be ordered in reverse layouts.  The styles of the homes seem to almost always follow  recognizable architectural traditions.  The gambrel roof was a mainstay of the Dutch Colonial style.  Roofs with steep pitches evoked English ancestry. The most popular style though,  by far, was the well-liked American Colonial,  rivaled  only by the “bungalow” concept.
The building of houses in America prior to World War II reached its peak in 1925,  but Sears home offerings would continue to expand through 1929, the year of the great crash of the stock market.  By 1930, across the nation,  Sears had opened 48 sales offices employing over 350 salesmen. Their 1926 catalog was a masterful marketing piece, presenting their products in color and with exceptionally glowing remarks about the product attributes.  Even the type of wood used in the construction of the homes was referenced because of the interest created by the then recent discovery of  well-preserved cypress found in King Tut’s tomb. The  Sears Modern Home catalog descriptions addressed every concern imaginable,  from the basic reasons for buying a home to touting the then unusual and innovative step of  the company’s  placement of a woman on the Sears Architect’s Council because she “would understand the needs of the modern housewife.” Nobody imagined that this incredible line of prefabricated housing would last only eight more years. The 1930′s brought the first losses after nineteen consecutive years of profitability. No matter what great ideas Sears employed in supporting its line, the effects of the Great Depression could not be overcome. The first division to fail was the home mortgage industry where, as the “farmer’s friend”, Sears had loaned generous amounts of up to 100% of the cost of a  home’s construction.  But by 1934, Sears had proudly delivered more  than 100,000 housing units throughout the United States, very high quality homes, professionally designed and planned for a lifetime of use by their owners.
The Town of Cape Charles on Virginia’s Eastern Shore has a number of  authentic Sears homes, most restored and well-preserved.  For sale by Blue Heron Realty Co. is a reverse plan of the Somers Model ordered from the 1926 catalog and  found at 3 Randolph Ave.,  just a hop, skip and a jump from the Chesapeake Bay and the beautiful Cape Charles town beach.  Professionally restored and renovated for modern living,  this home is a terrific example of the very popular Sears bungalow style.  Elevated well above eight feet from grade level, this  front porch enjoys a wonderful view out towards the western horizon of the Bay.  The ground floor of the home consists of a solid masonry, red-brick foundation for the actual kit home which makes up the second level. The kit home has beautiful cedar wood shingle siding protected with a weather-proof stain that retains the wood grain and color. Also, energy efficient, double pane insulated windows have been installed. Built on two town residential lots, there is a paved driveway, spacious yard with mature plantings, and an access alley behind the home that serves for utility and service access.
Inside,  one is suitably impressed by the beautifully refinished original red oak and pine hardwood floors, a bay window in the dining room, a modern kitchen and two bedrooms served by one bath. A heat pump supplies central forced air heat and A/C for the upstairs portion of the house, while beautiful ceiling fans provide the comfort of moving air. The entire home has been updated and renovated for modern living yet retains its historic appeal. A stairwell leads down from the second floor to a first floor apartment with its own kitchen, great room, two bedrooms, a bath and storage area. One may retain the official duplex status of the home or restore it back to a single family house. At present, the upper level which comprises the kit home is offered for weekly summer vacation rental while the lower floor is rented from month to month.
Life in the Town of Cape Charles is truly the “sweet beach life ” !  One of the few places on the East Coast of the United States where one can observe a beautiful sunset to the west over a saltwater Bay. Easily accessible from this bungalow is the boardwalk and “fun pier” from which observations of boats, kite board surfers and the local bird life are frequently found. Nearby are the public boat ramps and municipal and private marinas, world-class, intersecting Palmer and Nicholas designed golf courses, eclectic shopping and restaurants, and our very special historic Palace Theater, one of the best performing arts venues in Virginia. Only a few miles east of Town is the village of Oyster which is perched on the seaside of our penninsula and offers access to an entirely different marine ecosystem. Interests in colonial history, the performing and visual arts, nature exploration and photography, boating and fishing, architecture, gardening, bicycling, hiking, swimming, and especially birdwatching are eagerly pursued here. Come and try on this incredible lifestyle offered from such a wonderful residence as this historic Sears and Roebuck Catalog home. For further information on this listing and other properties for sale in Cape Charles and on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, contact David Kabler via e-mail ( david_kabler@hotmail.com) or via mobile (757) 647-1755.

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Unwind In This Romantic Lindal Style Cedar Beach Home For Sale On The Eastern Shore of Virginia

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

What could be more relaxing than unwinding at sunset on the deck of your Chesapeake Bay beachfront home,  surrounded by rolling dunes and serenaded by the soothing sounds of waves lapping against the shoreline  and seabirds calling overhead ?   On Virginia’s Eastern Shore, a beach home is all about a sense of fun, of embracing a new way of life,  of  kicking back, breathing in the tangy salt air, listening to the seabirds call,   focusing on the spectacular views donated by Mother Nature !    Especially so in this Lindal  style cedar beachfront home offering the casual elegance and  real livability that  turns a mere house  into a  longed for retreat, one’s very own sand castle.   Nestled on about four acres of  sparkling sand dunes  dotted with sea oats waving in the breezes,  gnarled maritime pines and  striking  yucca plants,  this custom 5 bedroom, 4 1/2 bath  beachfront beauty is all about immersing in a nature-inspired lifestyle.  With over 2200 sq.ft. of balcony and multi-level open decking dedicated to outdoor living,  perfect for fresh air entertaining or just basking in the sun,  and a huge hot tub beckoning  star gazers or moon watchers at night,  folks  may never want to come inside !  

But when they do finally decide come inside,  what dramatic beauty awaits.   Soaring cathedral ceilings, walls of windows,  an open and flowing floorplan.  With  the home’s  east-west orientation,  it’s easy to follow the sun all day.  From the soft light in the  breakfast room  at sunrise to mint juleps in the great room at sunset glow, this home is  light filled and airy.  The large great room focal point is a  towering two story floor- to- ceiling  fireplace and massive  hearth constructed of custom selected stone in  eye-pleasing  rose and grey hues.  The architectural design on the waterside consists of three “prows” , each of which creates a feel of a particular living space yet essentially  it is one large light-filled open living space,  a  “great room”  in every sense of the word, with a sitting- conversation area at one end and a dining area at the other.   An abundance of windows on each wall of  the prows and sliding glass doors leading to the decks bring the outdoors inside, the golden sunshine,  the dazzling views of  blue Chesapeake Bay waters,  the sparkling sand beach and the glorious skies at sunset,  sun slipping below the horizon,  painting the water in vibrant hues of reds and golds.   

A  large master suite carries on the theme of high ceilings and  beautiful windows and also includes doors to the deck . Guest bedrooms are upstairs, with a central guest sitting area, individual balconies and great waterviews as well.  Beautiful library/music room/den off the great room, a  cozy space  for curling up with a good book, soft music in the background.   Downstairs,  a  full walk-out basement with it’s own patio and outdoor shower, a library area, media room &  pool room,  extra storage for bikes, kayaks, fishing gear and other essential toys, etc., etc.    Truly, this  is a beach home that doesn’t just look like a beachfront home,  it’s a beach home where you really feel the sense of  sand and  blue waters  everywhere,  an inspiration inside as well as outside !   Located in a tiny beach neighborhood offering private pool and tennis club for residents.    Only 10 minutes from the historic little waterfront town of Cape Charles, VA offering a wide variety of amenites including shops, restaurants, art galleries, theatre, cultural events,  Palmer and Nicklaus signature  golf courses  and two deep water marinas.   Atttractively priced at $1,595,000.  For more information and photos on this property, visit  www.blueheronva.com  and click on beachfront  under the “listings” menu on the top navigation bar.

                                      

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For Sale At Historic Arlington Plantation Overlooking The Shores Of The Chesapeake Bay On The Eastern Shore Of Virginia

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Along the south shore of  the Old Plantation Creek inlet where it converges with the Chesapeake Bay close to what is now the quaint little town of Cape Charles,  Arlington Plantation was founded on the Eastern Shore  Virginia.  This special site is one of the most historic properties in our nation yet its significance is  little known.   For many centuries this area was inhabited by native American Indians, until occupation by English settlers of this site  and the area up to the Kings Creek inlet three miles north, Sir Thomas Dale established the first permanent settlement of English colonists on the Eastern Shore in 1617 known as Dale’s Gift.  Here, half a century later, a plantation was founded by John Custis II whose prosperity was demonstrated by the construction of the most magnificent mansion on the whole of the Chesapeake Bay.  Apparently he named the plantation in honor of his family’s benefactor, Lord Arlington,  although the name was possibly derived from the English village Arlington-Bibury,  home to the first generation of the Custis family.   More than three hundred fifty years after Arlington mansion first rose high above the waters of Old Plantation Creek,  the name itself still lives on, engrained in the minds of all Americans as the land upon which  thousands of  American soldiers rest eternally,  Arlington National Cemetary.

National recognition of the Custis name began when, in 1759, the widow of John Custis IV’s son Daniel, Martha Dandridge Custis and the heir to Arlington Plantation,  married army Colonel George Washington when he was only twenty-six years old.  As was the custom of the times, on his way to becoming the father of our country,  Washington  managed the affairs of his wife’s property here on the Eastern Shore.  And in the  paradoxical  twists and turns of history,  Martha’s great-granddaughter, Mary A. R. Custis to whom both Arlington estates passed,  married another young Army officer, who would become, like George Washington, an icon of the American story.  It is indeed ironic that Robert E. Lee would take reluctant command of the Confederacy’s  Army of  Northern Virginia which strived to split the nation that was hardwon by his wife’s  legendary ancestor,  its first President.   And so the prestigeous Custis family,  which founded Arlington Plantation on the Eastern Shore and Arlington Plantation on the Potomac River, links  George Washington, the Revolutionary War and the founding of our nation with Robert E. Lee,  the Civil War and the near destruction of the nation.

The name of the Custis family ancestral plantation, Arlington,  lives on today in the American consciousness despite the destruction of its mansion more than two-hundred fifty years ago.  In the early part of the nineteenth century, Martha’s grandson George Washington Parke Custis, who was adopted by General Washington and his wife as their son, built a mansion near Mt. Vernon overlooking the Potomac River.  He called it   ”Arlington”  after the first Custis home on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and the vast lands surrounding  his mansion  became the National Cemetary after the Civil War.  The  Arlington mansion on the Eastern Shore was abandoned sometime during the early part of the 18th century.  Its ruins were pilaged and what was left eventually became buried in the farm fields surrounding its site,  the only evidence of its grandeur that remained were the prominent tombs of John Custis II and his grandson, John Custis IV.

During the spring of 1987,  an archeological survey of the Arlington plantation site near the Custis Tombs revealed sections of a brick foundation for a very large structure that was covered by a foot of soil plowed over a hundred years of farming activity. During 1994, an intensive archeological investigation of the cellars of the mansion was conducted. Eye witness accounts of the mansion dating from 1709  offer brief glimpses of its size,  elevations and orientation to the Chesapeake Bay.  As well, the beautifully  preserved historic records in Northampton County courthouse provide additional sources of information about Arlington.   A 1688 reference about a visit to the house in a lawsuit filed that year is one of the first mentions of a separate dining room in an early Colonial home in Virginia. This annecdote substantiates the archaeological findings at Arlington which determined the house to be the most architecturally sophisticated house of that period,  at least fifty years ahead of its time.*

Such a large home,  built of brick masonry,  required laborers and materials and facilities for making the bricks. It is believed that the kilns for firing the newly made bricks are located 3/8 mile south of the ruins on a 15 acre tract of land that contains a modern two bedroom home and barn with horse stable.  Behind the home,  hidden in the forest and covered with the detritus of fallen leaves,  vines and dirt are piles of old and crumbling bricks.  That site is at the head of a shallow tidal pond that probably provided the water necessary for mixing the brick clay.  This property is one of several  now offered for sale by Blue Heron Realty Co. located on what were the original Arlington Plantation lands.

This house on 15 acres was built in 1999  and offers ultimate  seclusion,  peace and quiet with a  location only 1/2 mile from the Chesapeake Bay and its sparkling sand beaches.  With its vaulted ceiling over the great room and kitchen, an easy living lifestyle goes perfectly along with its private rural setting. Originally planned as a complimentary guest cottage for a larger manor home on the property, this cute cottage has a very spacious master bedroom with ensuite bath and walk-in closet and a guest bedroom with full  bath. The enclosed porch overlooks the 2 acre fenced horse paddock and barn. The paddock is encircled with an underground electric dog fence and behind the barn is a four unti professional quality dog kennel. See redlined property in aerial photo at top of page.

Also available for purchase is a beautiful Bayfront lot with 100′ of frontage on the Chesapeake Bay with a sandy beach shoreline and spectacular  sunset views to the west. Purchase of this lot offers membership in the Arlington Homeowners Association with benefits to use the boat ramp on Plantation Creek and the beautiful common area beach at the point of the entrance of the creek into the Chesapeake Bay, one of the best swimming spots on the Shore. See aerial photo with red arrow. Contact David Kabler (david_kabler@hotmail.com 757-647-1755) at Blue Heron’s Cape Charles office, 757-331-4885, for further information and an appointment to see these two special property offerings.

(*”Archeology at Arlington:Excavations at the Ancestral Custis Plantation, Northampton County, Virginia”; by Nicholas M. Luccketti; published by the Virginia Company Foundation and The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.)

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Even More Delicious Regional Foods and Wine At The 2011 Harvest Festival On Virginia’s Eastern Shore

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

A week before the 19th Annual Harvest Festival, an Eastern Shore of Virginia annual festival celebrating our regional foods and wines,  held just south of Cape Charles, VA,  I decided it was time to start getting ready…. by that, I mean cutting down on a few calories all week  so as not to feel guilty about definitely tucking in on “the day.”   Tucking in at the Harvest Festival  is part of the fun,  sampling everything at least once and one’s favorites twice,  truth be told, maybe even thrice.   And there are so many favorites to choose from, where to even start ?

Eastern Shore Harvest Fest On The Sparkling Sand Shores Of The Chesapeake Bay

As you hand in your admission ticket  you’re handed back a broad yellow tray,  the better to stack and tote the little plates of  scrumptious goodies you are going to choose.  Sort of  like a tapas bar concept except that you stroll through several acres of  grounds which overlook the Chesapeake Bay and beach and  feature  dozens of  tents,  each preparing one particular and delicious food.   Sponsored by the Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce,  the original concept of the Harvest Fest at its debut 15 years ago was that it would be held at harvest time (duh) and would feature  traditional Southern and Eastern Shore  dishes.  Remaining  true to its mission,  held the first Wednesday of October each year from noon to 4pm,  showcasing   the delicious seafood and other regional foods popular on the Eastern Shore, Harvest Fest is always a sold-out event,  the  3000 tickets offered first to Chamber members and then to the general public.  The Chamber always has tons of  folks calling the week  before,  requesting tickets, which of course are already sold.  Their advice and mine– get your tickets early !  

Juicy And Crisp- Delicious Soft Shell Crab Sandwiches With Tarter Sauce

Yellow trays  in hand, we set off on a leisurely stroll to survey this year’s offerings, “we”  being moi, hubby, Eldest Daughter,  Middle Daughter and friend.  I always like to make a circuit,  peek at everything and then start making my choices.  Not everyone likes to do that– the sight of a couple of  plump soft shell crabs nestled on a bun, just waiting for a big dollop of tarter sauce,  slowed some of our group down to a halt,  the better to swoop up a plate of these crustacean delicacies.  (For those not familiar with eating  “soft shells”, when a crab molts,  for a few hours until its new shell hardens, it is a “soft shell”, plucked out of the water so that the shell hardening process is suspended and ready to be battered, friend and eaten whole , legs and all,  accompanied by a squeeze of  lemon or tarter sauce.  For the watermen who process “busters”,  those with cracks in their shell and about to molt,  it is a process of constant vigilance  because the newly molted crab has to be plucked out of the water virtually immediately or else the shell will get hard or  the other crabs will eat it themselves,  not being shy about cannibalism.  The intensive labor to produce them explains why soft shells are not commonly on menus and why they are expensive when they are.)

Standing In Line For The Ever Popular And Totally Scrumptious Shrimp

So we proceeded on, the day sunny and bright, soft  breezes wafting in from the Chesapeake Bay, temperatures in the mid-70′s, a perfect Indian Summer’s day.  After completing one full circuit,  pausing at the Holly Grove Winery station,( one of our three excellent local wineries ),  to pick up a refreshing  glass of  cold chardonnay,  I headed around to the shrimp station while my husband headed across the green for the crabcake tent.  I am pretty picky about fried shrimp-  they need to be dipped in a very light, silky tempura type batter which clings as a diaphanous coating to the shrimp so that when they are fried the result is a thin, crispy crust encasing a juicy, plump shrimp. (  Highly recommend the soft shell crab batter recipe in John Schield’s  excellent cookbook, “Chesapeake Bay Cooking“  as a great  batter for shrimp.)   I’m delighted to say that these were delicious–  sweet,  pink,  juicy mouthfuls of succulent  shrimp served with an excellent homemade tarter sauce.  And fortunately the french- fry and corn-on-the-cob tents were  almost adjacent !   With my trusty yellow tray loaded with a hefty  helping of shrimp  plus fries, corn plus a cup of Eastern Shore style clam chowder,  I headed back to our chairs.  ( Harvest Fest is a  “bring your own lawn chair”  event unless you want to stand for 3 or 4 hours. )   There I found the rest of the group enjoying crabcakes, softshells and flounder, piping  hot and savory. 

               

Johnny Mo, The Eastern Shore's Singing Chef, With His Luscious Spicy Pork BBQ

Nothing Says Autumn Like Sweet Potato Pie

After savoring my last shrimp,  I decided to sample something from the landlubber side, BBQ, the great Southern favorite.  This year there were two different  BBQ stations,  Mallard Restaurant’s and private caterer Bruce Richardson’s, each quite different, both very flavorful.  Mallard’s  (  in Onancock and home of Johnny Mo, known locally as the “Singing Chef” ) served their well-seasoned chopped pork BBQ  atop a sweet potato biscuit half, topped with a dollop of a delicious, spicy aoli– different and delicious.  I ate two on the theory that two halves equal a whole, right ?   But by then the important thing was to save room for a little slice of pie– sweet potato pie, that old Southern standby, like pumpkin but according to my husband,  much better.  So we did it,  thin slices  of  sweet potato pie, honeyed, toothsome, topped with a generous spoonful of fluffy whipped cream.  And then, like Bugs Bunny, my stomach said, That’s all folks !

Art Work By Well Known Painter, Thelma Peterson

Besides the food, the other fun aspect of Harvest Fest is running into people you know but haven’t seen for a while, maybe even since last Harvest Fest,  and it’s fun to catch up.  And the Artist’s  Tent is always great,  lots of talented  local artisans and artists, a number of mediums presented.  Among the many exhibitors this year was Thelma Peterson, ( www.thelmapeterson.com  ), a very well known local painter showing  mostly her watercolours,  and  Al “Buck” Doughty, ( www.hogislandcreations.com )  his exquisite bronze castings beautifully reflected on the display mirrors  as well as several destinctive decoy carvers. 

Dana Simpson, (www.chesapeakeeast.com ) , multi-talented, a writer and  illustrator was there with her children’s books, Eldest Daughter ended up with  her  charming  book entitled “Moon Goes Fishing“ , a birthday gift for her neice .  There is always a last minute rush at the Artist Tent about 3:30,  folks making selections or picking up packages on hold for them until closing. 

                                   

And then all too soon,  it’s 4pm,  time to go, food stations closing,  time having passed on winged feet.   Except for the band.   Yep, down at the beach there was  a band and a lot of folks sitting in lawn chairs amongst the shade trees,  settling in for a few more hours of fun.  Although my music tastes are broad, running  the  gamut  from Mosart  to  Tommy Dorsey, Dave Brubeck to  Sarah Brightman,  MoTown to Willie  Nelson,  Elvis to  Aaron Copeland,  Josh Groban  to Gilbert & Sullivan, etc., etc.,  nevertheless,  I usually can’t tolerate  the mostly overwhelming ear splitting noise that currently  passes for music with most of these bands.  So,  no musical interlude under the oaks for us,  just  a smile for an afternoon well-enjoyed and heading for home,  time to burn up a few calories walking our lively Newfie dogs,  Honey and Pumpkin

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Oyster “Buy-Boat” Reunion A Big Hit in Cape Charles, Virginia For The Town’s 125th Anniversary

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

A wonderful example of Chesapeake Bay maritime know-how!

The first weekend of August this eleventh year of the third millenium proved to be truly memorable for Cape Charles residents and visitors alike.  Jam-packed with activities that began the month-long celebration of our historic Town’s 125th anniversary,  there was something for everyone of all ages to enjoy, including open house tours of several of  Cape Charles’  beautiful historic homes for sale.
The Harbor of Refuge of Cape Charles is,  of course,  no stranger to working watercraft of the Chesapeake Bay. Its first 60 years of service as a transportation hub for the railroad and steamship industries attracted many hundreds of Chesapeake Bay workboats such as log canoes, skipjacks, bugeyes and deadrises that worked the plentiful and famous oyster reefs of the Bay.   Unfortunately,  since the late 1950′s,  the oyster populations in the Bay have declined substantially due to over-harvesting of the resource and decimation by an oyster virus.  Slowly but surely, these wooden workhorses of the Bay have fallen prey to abandonment and rot until there are very few examples of these splendid watercraft left afloat.

A tall bow helps these heavy boats plow through the steep swells of the Chesapeake Bay.

No one wants to glorify the overfishing that in large part caused the decline of this valuable fishery,  the oyster,  a “keystone” species of the Chesapeake Bay watershed but appreciation of the design and construction of these historic wooden watercraft is part of the preservation of the Eastern Shore’s  rich nautical heritage. ( In fact, the not-so-humble oyster was so important to the Shore that over on the Seaside, less than 10 minutes from Cape Charles,  sits the quaint little  town of  Oyster, Virginia. )   Traditionally,  these “buy- boats”  cruised the waters of the Bay, buying oysters and clams,  dredging for oysters and in general hauling lumber, farm produce and other products from the Eastern Shore to market.  Historians believe that there are maybe thirty of these  ”buy-boats”  left in the Chesapeake Bay.  Another that is still known to be afloat is in Honduras in Central America of all places.   A  fleet of twelve buy-boats from as far away as the Sassafras River arrived in the Cape Charles  harbor as a culmination of their weeklong annual cruise reunion.  This is the first time they have visited Cape Charles, as the Town has now completed the installation of  new floating docks which will  accomodate fleets such as this.

The ship's wheel where the captain steers these heavily laden craft safely into port.

The fleet of buy-boats arrived Thursday afternoon and Cape Charles’ Harbormaster Smitty Dize and his hardworking crew were prepared to tie them up on B dock where they could all be observed together by the hundreds of eager fans awaiting their arrival here.  As Blue Heron Realty Co. is an avid supporter of efforts to revitalize the Town of Cape Charles,  we had signed up to sponsor the first Cape Charles Harbor Boat Docking Competition scheduled to take place Sunday afternoon and one of the highlights of the buy-boat reunion here.  So we were invited to the VIP party Thursday evening at the harbor and allowed very easy access to all the buy-boats and their owners, captains and crew.

I was readily invited aboard the buy-boats for first-hand tours, their captains proudly displaying for us fans of Bay Chesapeake maritime heritage their beautifully restored and maintained boats. Pictures really cannot do justice to the beauty and magnitude of these incredible boats. It was more than obvious that owning and maintaining one of these craft is a real sacrifice of time, labor and finances, and the owners that I met expressed without reservation their generous attitude of stewardship in preserving an increasingly rare example of Chesapeake Bay maritime know-how.

The Smith Island Crab Skiff

Friday of that special celebratory weekend brought our first full day of public visitation on these historic watercraft.  Hundreds of new visitors to Town were attracted by this display and to tour some of the beautiful historic homes for sale in Cape Charles.  That night the local band “Quadpod” entertained the crowd and plenty of good, homegrown food was prepared and served.  The next day, Saturday, was anticipated by all as one of the highlights of our month long anniversary celebration with a parade through town by the Shriners and our county fire departments. Then that afternoon, we cruised down to the docks to watch the Smith Island Crab Skiffs Association race around a marked course in the outer harbor.  Now that was some excitement to see these wooden skiffs, hand-built by their owners, no more than 13′  long and powered by 20 hp lawn mower engines,  flying around the course and even capsizing in the water!  Saturday evening brought a beautiful sunset over the horizon of the Chesapeake Bay and we were again entertained late into the night with a live band with everyone looking  forward to the boat docking competition the  following day.

Coming 'round the bend!

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Eastern Shore’s Independence Day 2011, Cape Charles Style

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

In towns small and large all across this country, very, very early on the Fourth of July,  organizers are out and about, getting ready for the big parade and after dark, the fireworks.  And the same holds true for the little coastal town of Cape Charles, Virginia,  but with several special twists.   Great fireworks, of course, set off from the Cape Charles harbor, with an audience not only watching from the shore but lots of boats gathered out in the Chesapeake Bay to watch amazing colors bursting high in the night sky.  And there is a parade  but there also is a fishing tournament, beach volleyball tournaments,  an  artisan show  and a corn hole tournament all steeped in the tempting aromas of the food vendors lined up along Bay Avenue.   Squash , broccoli and salads are mysteriously absent but behold the delicious crab cakes, clam fritters,  grilled Italian sausages with onions and bell peppers, hamburgers,  hot dogs and French fries, of course.  Funnel cakes dusted lightly with powdered sugar, ice cream, brilliantly colored snow cones and Italian ices are there in great profusion,  ready to help Cape Charles  celebrate the 4th of July.

Reeling In-- Will It Be The Big One ?

Our first order of the day was the Fishing Tournament– not for adults but for kids, divided into  3 groups,  RED ( up to age  7),   WHITE  (  ages 8-12)  and, you guessed it,   BLUE   (ages 13 to 17).   The Kids 4th of July Fishing tourney is an annual 4th of July event sponsored by the  Northampton County Angler’s Club and its become a very popular event both with the kids and their parents but also with on-lookers, like my husband,  who love seeing kids having fun with something besides their video games and who also love fishing.  The event takes place on the impressive Cape Charles Chesapeake Bay fishing pier down by the beach and Charles Dumouchchelle, the 4 year past present of the Anglers,  was there overseeing all the action, registration,  rod and reel loaners, judges, the lot.   Awards are made by age group, three prizes for each group,  with a first prize of a rod, reel and tackle box.  While I was chatting with Charles, Jim Clark, who Charles describes as one of the best fishermen on the Eastern Shore,  came up to enthusiastically convey the news that his  young grand-nephew Zack had just caught an 18  inch flounder, the biggest catch so far by any age group– clearly  fishing talent runs in the family ! 

Uncle Sam, Cape Charles Golf Cart Style

By this time volleyball and horseshoes were  gearing up but I was a little hot.  After grabbing a couple of deliciously cold lemon Italian ices,  we  headed for Blue Heron Realty’s  Mason Avenue office for a little AC prior to taking a stroll down the street to see some of the art work on display along the sidewalk.  Just  about 2pm the parade kicked off with the Color Guard from the Cape Charles Coast Guard Station leading the way, marching in quick step down Mason Avenue and around and down Bay Avenue, throngs of on-lookers cheering them on, then the American Legion float,  followed by the Golf Cart Parade and the Bicycle Parade.  Cape Charles is one of the few towns in Virginia where golf carts are street legal and lots of residents enjoy ” going green”  and  zipping around town in their electric golf cart  rather than a gas powered car. Every year,  as part of the 4th of July celebration, the town sponsors a golf cart parade.  Owners can decorate their cart and enter it into the Parade contest and I’ve seen some very creative designs entered.  The golf cart contingent was followed by the Bicycle Parade– kids of all ages can gather down near the  Fire Station on Plum Street to participate in the parade, riding their bikes, some still with training wheels, all the way down Mason Avenue and  Bay Avenue, learning at an early age that in a democracy, participation is important.  So,  a long day but full of  fun, food, fireworks– an Eastern Shore Independence Day,  Cape Charles style.

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A Bird ? A Plane ? Superman ? No, It’s A Flying Boat !!

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Not A Bird Or A Plane Or Superman. It's An Incredible Flying Boat On The Beach In Cape Charles,VA!

Last Saturday I was cruising the beach for a  few pictures  to be used in  the new Blue Heron Realty Co.  catalogue of prime Eastern Shore Virginia waterfront properties when I saw what appeared to be a gargantuan yellow butterfly floating in the Chesapeake Bay out near the breakwater.   Definitely not a butterfly though,  it was a flying boat,  FIB for short,  a flying inflatable dingy to be exact,  bobbing in the shallow waters just off the Cape Charles, VA beach as its owners readied it for take-off.   Curious about the craft,  never having seen or even read about one before,  on the spur of the moment  I took off my shoes and waded out ,  fully dressed including  slacks,   to take a closer look,  introduce myself and ask a few questions.  Owners Erin and Sophie Harvey  were kind enough to tell me all about their astonishing  craft– in fact,  I learned that it was Sophie’s maiden voyage.   (Not sure–   in a FIB,  is it  a maiden voyage or a maiden flight ?  )  Anyway, it was her first time to travel aboard  their  FIB and she was busy screwing her courage to the sticking point because Sophie,  like me,  is not that crazy about heights.  But at least  she was game to try,  I fear you couldn’t get me into that little thing for love nor money. 

Getting Ready For Lift-off On Sophie's Maiden FIB Flight

One of the first things I wanted to know was how high Erin would be flying her.   ( Is a flying boat even properly referred to as a  “her” ?  )   Apparently its  wing span of 36 feet enables the pilot to achieve a maximum height of 10,000 feet and the 64 horsepower motor offers a maximum speed of 50 knots,  roughly 58 miles per hour.   Which to me  is a pretty scary thought- –  traveling 10,000 above ground,  at almost 60 mph,  in what more or less is a flying  11′ 6″  by 5′ 5″  bathtub with seats.  But for Sophie’s  maiden flight/voyage,  Erin was planning a staid 300-500  foot  max altitude which would have been a comfort to me,  I don’t even like to peek over 3rd story balconies.  Sophie’s take on the situation was that either everything would go pretty well and they’d follow a course south to land at the Sunset beachfront pub for dinner  or we’d all hear her let out a blood-curdling scream and see Erin make an immediate landing,  she wasn’t taking any bets either way.

Airbourne In A Flying Inflatable Boat-Scary, Thrilling, Astonishing !

By now a little crowd of curious people had gathered around to see what was happening.  Erin was ready to began his pre-flight checklist which was stored on his cellphone,  not the fat clipboard one sees in the cockpit of a  Boeing  747.   Donning her intercom radio- equiped helmet,  Sophie climbed aboard and got settled into her  seat, a seat  which resembles the booster seat of a two child stroller more than anything else.  Countdown to liftoff  began, checking battery connections,  checking propeller,  fuel lines, wing pulley lines, testing intercom connections, etc., etc.  Finally satisfied that everything was ready to go,  Erin grabbed the tow line to pull the craft out into the Bay beyond the area where beachgoers were enjoying the water, climbed aboard and  started the motor,  which sounds very much like a  lawnmower on steroids.  Apparently only about 200 feet is normally required for FIB  takeoff  but Erin had told me that he might have a little trouble with the liftoff because of  lack of wind and weight of a passenger aboard.  But the wind gods were with him because just as he started the motor,  a breeze came through and up  they went !   No bloodcurdling screams,  just 2 big, lazy circles around the beach and then a beeline south,  next planned stop  a landing in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay at Sunset Beach.  I watched until they were just a tiny speck in the sky,  Erin and Sophie flying into the wild blue yonder in their intrepid craft,  the  astonishing,  amazing,  postively incredible  flying boat.  

                                             

P.S. I want to give a shout-out to the LL Bean Company.  After wading out further and further,  trying to get a better view of the take-off,  my slacks were soaked up to the fanny but I had 2 other stops to make and there was no possibility of going home to change first. To my surprise and delight, by the time I walked back to the car, got my camera stowed away and drove 10 minutes to the first errand,  my LL Bean crease-resistant slacks were basically dry.  But best of all, they looked fresh as a daisy, nobody could ever have guessed that 15 minutes before I had unexpectedly decided to wade  into  three feet of  Chesapeake Bay saltwater.

PPS.  If you want to learn more about FIB’s,  click on the following link to  a US FIB distributor. http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/13377469/index.html

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The Kellogg House For Sale, My Children’s Home…Part 2

Monday, June 6th, 2011

The Kellogg House at 644 Monroe Ave., Cape Charles, VA

Arguably the finest house in the historic Chesapeake Bayfront town of  Cape Charles, Virginia , the Kellogg House at  644 Monroe Avenue, remains for my children their cherished residence,  full of childhood memories.  From elementary school-aged children to high schoolers,  this house was the center of their universe  for eleven years.  Having spent over 4,000 nights there,  I have a unique appreciation for its particular special history, qualities and features completely aside from the special amenities in Cape Charles such as the great town beach,  Palmer and Nicklaus world class golf courses and a new state-of-the-art marina.  And believe me, there hardly was a morning that I did not awaken with the feeling of how privileged I was to live in such a fine old home!

She never fails to impress a new visitor that crosses her threshold.  From the moment one stands

Grand Entrance Portico at the Kellogg House

 on the sidewalk out front gazing up at her parapets, this grand lady calls, welcoming one to climb the granite steps to the front portico supported by pairs of twin Doric columns.  A great big door with lionshead knocker guards the entrance that is lined with leaded glass-paned sidelights and fan light above.  Dropping the bar on the knocker sends a resounding clap echoing down the entrance hall and up the grand staircase.  My memory recalls the kids bounding down the stairs  to answer the door,  ready for friends and play.

Mr. Eucebius Milton Kellogg completed the construction of this magnificent house in 1928,  two years after sinking the massive foundation that supports the impressive  brick and steel structure of the home.  I understand that 6 months was spent on this foundation,  driving contiguous pilings deep into the footprint upon which the concrete footers were poured.  As the basement is at ground level,  mounds of earth were piled high up against the front walls,  giving the impression from the street the home is built on a  hill.  Mr. Kellogg was a railroad tycoon and wanted his final home to last for centuries! Walls three and four bricks thick stand upon the poured footers and threaded throughout each of the three floors of the home are 12″ steel I-beams. No big, bad wolf is going to blow this house away!

Massive masonry fireplace and French doors in living room

Great, big, formal spaces lend an air of elegance and are finished with architectural moldings, up to five pieces hand-fitted together.

In the center of the outer wall of the living room is a grand masonry fireplace with stone mantel and carved insert  in French script.  On either side of the massive fireplace,  a fireplace that warmed my cold feet on many winter nights, are big French doors offering easy access to the Spanish tiled Florida room.

This sun porch has these incredible horizontal stacking windows that open up great expanses of screened airflow. And on the other side of the great center hall is a wonderful dining room with a centerpiece

Dining room with mahogany china cupboard

 that is a beautiful, handcarved, solid mahogany china cupboard. For excellent service, right behind the dining room is the best butler pantry I have ever seen, with floor to ceiling wooden and glass cupboards and an original, five foot long  porcelain sink. The back hall has another fantastic gem that never fails to amaze,  a floor to ceiling Frigidaire ice cream cupboard,

Floor to ceiling ice cream cupboard in back hall

 magnificently refinished to attract the attention it deserves. Two sets of back stairs lead down to the basement and out into the back yard. The great kitchen also has the same type of stacking windows as the Florida room and allows for wonderful ventilation while preparing and cooking food. Between the kitchen and the dining room and just off the butler pantry is another little surprise, a charming, tiled breakfast room surrounded by six paned, double hung windows that bring the soft morning light and outdoors inside. And off the dining room is a cute, little tiled screened porch, one where I often slept on an army cot during hot summer nights.

Yes, the kids sounded like herds of elephants trampling up and down the grand, cantilevered staircase, a sound that took me years to get used to, but that I miss so much now that they are grown up and on their own. These wonderful stairs always amazed me by their seemingly weightless suspension, but how graceful they

Wonderfully engineered cantilevered grand staircase

are, appointed with a beautiful mahogany bannister with curled end at the bottom. At each of the three floors is an access door that opens to the laundry chute for conveniently making soiled, and in the case of lazy children, not so soiled clothes disappear down to the laundry room in the basement.

The suite of rooms on the second floor tell an interesting story about an elderly couple whose children had all left home before they designed and built this house. Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg had two daughters that they raised in the home at 653 Tazewell, just a hop, skip and a jump from the location of this, their new  Monroe Avenue mansion. There they lived for thirty-five years before moving into this home,  their final place of residence. Settled into their dream home in 1928, Mr. Kellogg occupied one half of the second floor in a large bedroom served by a built-in wardrobe with glass paned doors and a bathroom with shower finished with subway tile. This was heated by a radiator hidden behind a massive iron screen ornamented with two

Master bedroom with built-in wardrobe

 hundred flur-de-lis. The other half of this floor was occupied by Mrs. Kellogg, a suite of three rooms – one a corner bedroom with attached tiled bathroom with full sized tub and pedestal sink and same flur-de-lis radiator screen. The middle room was clearly her full sized dressing and sitting room and passing though that past a huge cedar closet is the sleeping porch for those hot summer nights before the age of air conditioning. And outside that is an outdoor patio as high

Sleeping porch at the Kellogg House

as the tops of the huge crepe myrtles in the back yard – a perfect place for sunbathing!

The third floor was clearly designated for two servants to live in, with two identical bedrooms and a full bath with huge tub between the two. All three of these rooms are served with identical dormers with curved-topped French windows that peak out over the street scene far below. The curved plaster-on-lathe ceilings are so gracefully formed, yet the floors here are only common heart-pine while the two more formal floors below have beautiful oak hardwood.  I could continue on and on with more details about this unique and beautiful home but  I shall save the rest for a future post.  However,  should you be interested in making an appointment to see this splendid and lovingly constructed historic Cape Charles home, please give Blue Heron a call at 757-331-4885  or email me at davidk@esva.net.

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204 Bay Ave, Cape Charles, VA: A Historic Home Renovation Journal, Part 2

Saturday, May 21st, 2011

Well, things have really come along on the renovation of 204 Bay Avenue since my last post.   For those who are new to our blog,  204 Bay Avenue is one of the “Grand Dames” of  Cape Charles, VA.   Built in 1912, she overlooks the  Cape Charles beach and the beautiful Chesapeake Bay.  Now she  is in the process of being restored by her proud new owners,  Paul and Kim Chandler, who were quite excited last year to find their dream Chesapeake Bay historic home for sale right on  Cape Charles’  beautiful  waterfront.

Last winter her grounds got a good facelift,  trees and shrubs were pruned and shaped,  flower beds, weeded, etc.  Now that spring has fully sprung,  the  Chandler’s  contractor has  begun to  tackle  the  exterior of the house– after standing proud for 99 years in all sorts of weather, she is ready for some serious TLC. 

With the nice weather,  a good deal of  noticable construction on the exterior has taken  place over the last few weeks.  The once elegant  portico is now well on its way to recovery and restoration to former glory.   It was an extensive process during which the entire top of the portico was removed, completely re-framed and then the the exterior dentil moldings were put back into  place.  Porch railings were removed in order to reinforce the floor joists and to rebuild parts of the floor of  the full house length porch.  Once that is completed and the railings are re-installed,  the porch will be  ready to re-assume its proper role as the gracious place from which to wave to neighbors, watch the walkers-joggers-bikers enjoy an evening’s outing along the waterfront and enjoy glorious Chesapeake Bay sunsets,  ice cold glass of  tea in hand.

                                                       

Inside, it’s getting busy as a beehive as well.  The rear bathroom, which was not original to the home,  has been completely gutted and is awaiting …..well, awaiting everything from tile to fixtures to painting !   On the second floor, the bathroom has also been gutted and trim is being primed. 

                                   

 The new HVAC has also been installed.   The kitchen has been prepared to receive its new makeover but the kitchen red0 will take place  towards  the end of the entire renovation.  The second floor bathroom has already been gutted and the trim has been primed.

                                         

So the 204 Bay Avenue renovation is going well,  this grand historic home  is getting her much needed face lift  inside and out,  getting ready for her new glory days, getting ready to live into the 22 century !

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