Posts Tagged ‘Victorian homes for sale in Virginia’

Little City By The Sea- Lunch In Wachapreague, VA

Thursday, June 14th, 2012

Wachapreague, Virginia, AKA  “Flounder Capitol of the World”,  AKA  “Little City By The Sea”, is also the home to  the  Island House Restaurant,  one of  Virginia Eastern Shore’s most picturesque waterfront dining spots.  Located on our seaside, along  the salty banks of  a deep inlet from the Atlantic Ocean,  not far from some colorfully named towns like Horsey, Painter and Modest Town, Wachapreague is a tiny Victorian-era  town.  Tiny as in population 232 per  the last census.  Although it’s  known East Coast-wide  for superb  fishing and its super-popular annual “Marlin Catch and Release”  tournament,  for my husband,  its main claims  to fame  are  the fabulous crabcakes and elegantly presented , fresher than fresh, soft shell crabs served at the Island House.

Which brings us to last Sunday, a  sunny and warm but not too warm day, perfect for a little drive and a late lunch.  And  hubby had a hankering,  a hankering that he felt could only be satisfied by a  sauteed lightly in butter,  aromatic with “Old Bay” spice,  flecked with tiny pieces of chopped parsley,  served only when golden brown,  delicious to the very last morsel, big fat crabcake from the Island House.  Served with  the crunchiest coleslaw ever, fresh green and purple cabbage sliced paper-thin,  their creamy house slaw dressing drizzled on top, self-toss at the table,  making their coleslaw the best  around these parts.  And who was I to deny such a hankering,  I who could so easily envision some of their  sweet potato wedges,  deeply orange, sprinkled lightly with sugar, an appetizing  aroma  wafting up from a  smidgen of cinnamon  ?    Yep, let’s do it.

The sea and seafood and the visitors who come for  same are  the lifeblood of Wachapreague, thus the little marine-oriented businesses you pass driving in on Main Street– the  bait and tackle shops, a detached garage converted to a colorful ocean-going kayak  shop,  a couple of  bed and breakfasts,  a quaint little general store, decorative decoys painstakingly handcarved. Down the little side streets,  a mixture of Victorian homes and traditional style cottages,  some for sale.  And along the shoreline facing Atlantic Avenue,  a busy marine railway, a large public boat ramp, a big private marina,  the smaller Town marina,  the weathered cedar-sided Coast Guard station and VIMS, the renown Virginia Institute of Marine Science,  which has pioneered so many of the state-of- the- art  clam and oyster aquaculture practices used not just in Virginia but nationwide.

And of course, smack-dab on  the inlet’s shores stands the  Island House Restaurant, tall and proud, sporting weathered cedar shingle siding, ready to delight the senses.  And not just taste but sight, smell and feel.  An al fresco lunch on one of  its multi-level waterfront decks yields not just a delicious meal but a chance to bask in the sun, soft and tangy sea breezes tickling across the skin,  fish jumping and  geese honking as they head down the inlet, boats passing to and fro as they return to or launch from the boat ramp,  shorebirds soaring and calling nearby, the  faint glitter of sand on Cedar Island far away.   We especially love the sight of  boats in the distance as they travel the narrow channel which winds through the great swaths of deep green marshland,  creating the optical illusion that  they are not really floating in water but  instead actually glide  along on the  grass itself.  This is  because, as you gaze towards the horizon, you can no longer see the blue inlet waters, only the great salt meadows of  fertile  green marsh grasses stretching on and on and on,  a truly beautiful sight, and as   boats  head back in from the Ocean they seem to be just sliding across the grass, white on green,  towards  port.  But enough about fish and geese,  boats and marshgrass,  lunch was served,  time to savor those crabcakes and sweet potato wedges.

(Posted by Marlene Cree, licensed Virginia agent with Blue Heron Realty Co., 7134  Wilsonia Neck Dr., Machipongo, VA)

Candles And Carols, Lights And Smiles Highlighted The 1st Annual Grand Illumination In Cape Charles, Virginia

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

Follow The Luminaries To Find The Gazebo

Newly dedicated this past September,   the Cape Charles, Virginia  Central Park was the site of  the  1st Annual Grand Illumination scheduled for  6:30 Saturday evening,  December 4th.  My granddaughter and I arrived  early after having had a nice afternoon on the Victorian Stroll,  touring three lovely Cape Charles Victorian B&B  historic homes.  ( If you are thinking about buying a Victorian home on the Eastern Shore of Virginia,  check out our website,  www.blueheronva.com . )  Volunteers,  like busy elves, were lighting the hundreds of  luminaries that had been placed on each side of the  Park’s long curved walkways and around the perimeters of the fountain, welcome  points of light gleaming in the falling darkness.   About 6:15  people started to arrive,  eager to participate in this very first Illumination event for the Park, young,  old,  teenagers,  toddlers,  everybody wearing  a smile,  ready with cheery  holiday hello,  heading over to the Gazebo,   following the curving path outlined by glowing  luminaries.

Chris Bannon, Master of Ceremonies, With The Choir

Chris Bannon  ( of  Seagate B&B,  part of the earlier Victorian Stroll ),  dressed in a bright red Santa jacket and hat,  acted as Master of Ceremonies.  Once everybody had gathered round the huge Park gazebo,  organizers passed out candles and a  choir sang a selection of carols,  audience joining in.  It was a pretty chilly night by  Eastern Shore Virginia standards and I hadn’t brought a coat,  just a blazer and scarf,  having not properly accounted for the strong breeze factor.  So  by the time everyone was singing  Jingle Bells,  I was stomping my feet to the beat of the music to keep warm.  Jingle bells,  stomp, stomp, stomp,  Jingle Bells,  stomp, stomp, stomp…  You get the picture.  Fortunately,  my granddaughter had come prepared —  jacket,  beanie,  mittens,  so at least she was toasty warm even as I was doing  jazzercise steps.   The candles were then lit,  in honor of  and in memory of loved ones,  by the  Town Manager, the Chief of Police and a representative of the Cape Charles Coast Guard Station who all came down into the audience to do the honors after being introduced by Chris.

Candles and Carols

Candles burned brightly,  another round of carols was sung,  more jazzercise for me.   Then the big moment was almost there,  time for the Countdown to Illumination,  time to turn on the thousands of lights that had been strung to decorate  Central Park by the Cape Charles Public Works Department.  Mayor Dora Sullivan did the honors ….  5, 4 ,3, 2, 1.  Simultaneously, as instructed,  the audience blew out their candles and as they did so,  Mayor Sullivan threw the light switch.  Voila,  lights shone brightly throughout the Park,  beautiful to behold,  a reward in sparkling  colors,  a gift to everyone there from  “Citizens for Central Park”,  a  group  which worked tirelessly over the years to help make the Park and moments like this possible  for the Town and its residents ! 

Straight From The North Pole, Santa And Mrs. Claus

 With  the dazzling blue lights  decorating the roof  of the  gazebo shining brilliantly above them,  Santa and Mrs. Claus made a  “surprise”  appearance,  even did a little  North Pole style do-se-do for the delighted crowd,  then settled down to visit  with some very excited kids.   Santa dispensed smiles and hugs,  kids shyly whispered their gift requests,  then said goodbye,  smiles on their faces,  candy canes in their hands,  no doubt visions of sugar plums dancing  in their heads.   Candles, carols and candy canes,  lights,  smiles and friendship —  highlights of  the very first of what we hope are many more Grand Illuminations to come at  the Cape Charles Central Park.