Posts Tagged ‘Blue Heron Realty Co. Machipongo and Cape Charles’
Sears and Roebuck Historic Mail Order Catalog Homes– Alive And Well In Cape Charles, VA
Thursday, April 5th, 2012Unwind In This Romantic Lindal Style Cedar Beach Home For Sale On The Eastern Shore of Virginia
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012What 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.
(Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134 Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)
Season’s Greetings From The Entire Blue Heron Realty Co. Crew
Saturday, December 24th, 2011It’s so hard to believe that another year is quickly drawing to a close, that in just a few days it will be 2012. And after I’ve finally gotten it down pat, correctly writing 2011 on my checks every single time, now I have to start all over again, trying to remember to write in the correct date ? ? Ah, the trials and tribulations of a numerically challenged person, twas ever thus ! On a more serious note, this is the time of year when most folks pause and try to put aside the trivial and concentrate on what’s really important– family, friends, country. And this year, like last, has been a very difficult one for so many throughout our great country. But hope springs eternal, things are improving and I for one believe that 2012 will be a better year. In the meantime, we would like to especially thank our clients and customers, all the many folks who listed or purchased property though Blue Heron Realty Co. , we truly appreciate your business and value your confidence in our firm. And to you, dear reader of this little blog on life and real estate on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, we hope you had some fun, learned a bit more about our little slice of the planet at the corner of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and plan to keep reading in the New Year. So, from Lemoin, Marlene, Montaigne, Mike, Gerry, Heather, Kay, Lisa and Nicole in our Machipongo, VA office and from Dave, Eva, Jennifer, Luisa, Bonnie and Sandy in our Cape Charles, VA office, thanks ever so much ! Have a wonderful holiday season and best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year from the entire Blue Heron Realty Co. crew !
(Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134 Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)
Our Annual Carter Mountain Trek- From Virginia’s Eastern Shore To The Blue Ridge Mountains In About 3 Hours
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Westward Ho ! , the theme of our annual trek some weeks ago from our beloved Eastern Shore’s sandy seashore to the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in Charlottesville, VA. It’s a trip that, depending on traffic, only takes 3-4 hours, but it’s a trip that shows off the real beauty and diversity of Virginia geography as we drive from our saltwater-dominated Atlantic coastal plain through the Virginia’s rolling plain Piedmont area, ( think Williamsburg, Richmond, etc. ), and then into the gorgeous Blue Ridge area of Charlottesville and Roanoke.
( Westward still would place you in the Appalachian Mountains and Virginia’s famous Shennandoah Valley, very beautiful yet somehow we seldom go that far. ) Virginia certainly isn’t an especially large state but it has a diversity which makes getting a change of pace and scenery easy and fun to do. For some reason, it never ceases to amaze me that I can be driving on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, watching rolling waves and seabirds just after breakfast and by lunchtime I can be sitting in a chair atop Carter Mountain, munching a juicy York apple.
This year, because of an especially busy schedule, for the first time, we made our Annual Apple Trek after Halloween rather than before, which like most things in life had its pros and cons. Pros were that it was quiet, no lines to pay for apples and Carter’s fabulous fresh-pressed apple cider, easy to find an attendant to get questions answered and a chair was immediately available to sit and admire the wide vistas. Cons– well, I really missed seeing all the kids running around trying to choose their Halloween pumpkins, the hayride wagons full of excited parents and kids, the bluegrass fiddles and banjos. In short, apparently it wasn’t just about the crunchy apples and the beautiful vistas from atop Carter’s Mountain, it was also very much about the infectious atmosphere of their month long October Apple Festival accompanied by the mouth-watering aromas of fresh apple pies and apple cider donuts wafting through it that we had been enjoying all these years. At any rate, before venturing up to the Orchard we enjoyed a late lunch at Michie Tavern, located right at the foot of the mountain and only a half mile from Jefferson’s Monticello. Built in 1784 as a country inn to accommodate travelers of the day, it is a beautiful structure, a National Historic Landmark, very well-preserved. Serving a menu of foods typical of the time and still popular today– fried or baked chicken and excellent southern style pulled pork BBQ, accompanied by black-eyed peas, stewed tomatoes, beets, cole slaw, mashers, cornbread, big, fluffy biscuits, etc. , Michie Tavern gives an authentic taste of what travelers of the time would have experienced. Lunch can be eaten inside or al fresco on their screened porch overlooking the propery’s magnificant woodlands or by the roaring fireplace in winter, it’s always a very pleasant experience. (www.michietavern.com)
Lunch over, up Carter Mountain we went. The apples were great, as usual. We normally buy a bushel each of four different varieties, typically Stayman Winesap, York, Fugi and Pink Lady, so that we can mix them together and give them as little “happy-apple-harvest” gifties to friends and family. A Pink Lady is an especially pretty apple, a very pale green with a large blush of deep pink on the side, quite crisp and slightly tart, one of my favorite apples, both a good eating and a good pie apple. But for applesauce, I think you just can’t beat the combination of the Stayman and York varieties with a few Fugi and Macintosh thrown in for good measure. At our house we love applesauce, unsweetened, chunky, flavorful, lightly laced with cinnamon, completely delicious with chicken or pork, and, I might add, so good for you. It’s hard to tolerate what passes for applesauce in the supermarket, thin, grainy, absolutely flavorless– must be made with mealy red delicious, the worst apple ever for flavor. But a big pot of three or four types of sweet-tart Carter Mountain apples, slowly simmered with a little apple cider, mashed carefully to retain some chunks (but not too many), gently flavored with cinnamon and perhaps a tiny dash of clove at the very end — now that’s an applesauce that we will drive 3 hours to get really fresh apples to make ! ( By the way, applesauce freezes very well, pull it out, defrost and it tastes almost as great as the day it was simmered off in the big apple kettle.) So we got some great apples, newly picked that morning, we got the fresh-pressed apple cider, delicious either hot and mulled or icy cold, as well as a dozen pre-packaged cider donuts. All in all, we had a great day. But ….. for Apple Trek 2012, I think we will make a point to go before Halloween so we can enjoy all the extras too — the yelling kids, the noisy hayrides, the bluegrass band twanging away and the aromas of apple pies newly baked, all the many features of the October Apple Festival atop Charlottesville’s Carter Mountain.
(Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134 Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)
Majestic Historic Home, Circa 1912, Located In Belle Haven, VA Just A Few Minutes From The Chesapeake Bay
Monday, October 3rd, 2011Auspiciously, this magnificent historic home listed for sale by Blue Heron Realty Co. is located in Belle Haven, VA, a little Eastern Shore of Virginia town which straddles the county line between Northampton and Accomack County, a beautiful retreat, which indeed this home is. Of dramatic neoclassical design, its most striking architectural characteristic is the line of tall Doric order style Greek columns which dramatically define the entry portico. ( Interesting bit of trivia, in ancient Greece, the height of a column was described as “diameters” of height, a ratio between the width and height. So what we would describe as an 10″ column 10′ tall would have been said by the Greeks to be 10 diameters high although apparently Doric order columns were often not much more than 8 diameters high whereas the more elaborate Ionic order columns were generally 9 diameters and the ornate Corinthian order columns 10 diameters high. All that being said, in this post I’ll just detail the height in feet, 20 feet tall to be exact, and not diameters.) I mention this detail about the imposing columns because only a very few historic homes on the Eastern Shore were built in this really grand style, making this particular home even more special. Custom built in 1912 for a very prominent local doctor whose offices were in the basement, according to local lore, this was the very first house on the Eastern Shore to have both telephone and electricity– it even had a built-in tube intercom system throughout, one of the newest gadgets of that era. Complimenting the elaborate inside features is its magnificent facade, three course thick brick embellished with large modillions and intricate dentil moldings.
Walking up the marble steps and into the house, one is struck by the spacious size of the foyer and its light and airy feel. This is because not only does the solid mahogney front door have double set of elaborately etched leaded glass sidelights and transom lights, but the current owner has installed seven skylights including a large skylight centered over the elegant cantilevered staircase so natural light streams gently down, bathing each floor with uplifting golden sunlight. Together with the many windows throughout, this home is much enlivened with the warmth and brightness of natural daylight, giving each room a relaxed, very pleasant feel.
Interior details include all original woodwork and original hardwood floors, elaborate crown moldings throughout, wainscoating in many rooms, four sets of massive pocket doors, hinged doors throughout constructed of top quality mahogany and still retain their original crystal doorknobs, seven elaborate fireplaces with hand carved mantels plus a simply gorgeous antique crystal chandelier which highlights the spacious dining room. Close to the back stairs accessing the 2nd and 3rd stories is a large Butler’s Pantry which features the original sink and cupboards. Hoping for a cozy spot to curl up with your favorite author’s newest book ? Try the large library with floor-to-ceiling bookcases and a great fireplace ! It’s a very comfortable feeling room, the kind of room that is heavenly even on a cool, grey, rainy day, a crackling fire burning, a steaming mug of java at the elbow, stretched out on the sofa, toes encased in toasty fleece sox, soft music in the background, yep, heavenly is the word for it …..
Love open air lunches ? Two large porches, one screened, one open, stand for scads of comfy wicker outdoor furniture with colorful, thick Sunbrella cushions, the better to enjoy our balmy summer breezes. Love horses ? The property includes a horse stable and the house is available with 5 acres up to 24 acres, so lots of room possible for pasture. Close to shopping, boat ramps, restaurants and marinas. Two public beaches are located less than 20 minutes away . This is a wonderful, versatile home, lovingly built, featuring fine craftsmanship and only the very best materials. Call Blue Heron Realty Co. at 757-678-5200 for pricing details and more information on available adjacent parcels.
(Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134 Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)
Oyster “Buy-Boat” Reunion A Big Hit in Cape Charles, Virginia For The Town’s 125th Anniversary
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011The 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.
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 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.
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. (Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134 Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)