New Year's Resolutions 2017

I just looked back at my 2016 New Year's Resolutions and 2015, and 2014, and 2013. They're all suspiciously similar which means I rarely keep my resolutions. So … why make them? Well, for one thing it forces me to decide what self-improving aspects of my life are important and even if I don't actually accomplish them, I'm at least cognizant of them.

I'm pleased to report that I did manage one important resolution this year. I ate healthier and lost weight and now weigh much closer to my “ideal” body weight (whatever that really is), have lost two full sizes in jeans (very important) and I do not qualify as obese using the AHA website scale (what a relief!).

No secret diet … I've been eating less carbs which means I've pretty much eliminated junk food and sweets (but not wine!). I also bought a Fitbit last June and have used it fairly religiously (until this holiday season). I've found it to be an excellent incentive for walking and exercise.

On the other hand … I did NOT finish writing a book. I've made absolutely NO progress on the new website. We've actually reduced the daily blog to 3x per week instead of daily, mostly because we didn't do as much sailing/traveling this past year. And as for being kinder, gentler and better-natured … man, this is the hardest one of all. David is the patient, kind, gentle one and I need to counter-balance him, I think.

Nevertheless, looking ahead at 2017, I resolve to ...

1. Finish writing a freakin' book, for heaven sakes!
2. Maintain a healthy diet and exercise
3. Spend less and enjoy more
4. Stay in better touch with friends
5. Be kinder, more patient, less judgmental (maybe impossible, but worth another try)
6. Learn something new … perhaps #5 above??

I encouraged David to make his resolutions and share them, but no dice. The Captain doesn't resolve!

So … did you make any New Year's Resolutions? Will you keep them?

Remember, January 17th is Ditch Your New Year's Resolutions Day, so there's still plenty of time.

Hunting for Herons - Chesapeake, VA

We originally saw the decorated, much celebrated Chicago cows in … well, Chicago, of course. That was eons ago and I never snapped a photo. In fact, there weren't digital cameras available then now that I think about it, nor phones that took photos. We thought the painted cows were cool, but hey, it was Chicago, what would you expect? Then we found painted lobster statues in Rockland, Maine. Well over a decade ago, we found a school of mermaids in Norfolk, Virginia. There were much adorned giant-sized boots in Wyoming, colorful buffalos in South Dakota and classy catamounts in Vermont. The list went on and in each place, we appreciated the local color.

Well, now we're in Chesapeake, VA and it's blue herons that have stolen the show and are popping up all over town. The work of local artists makes each blue heron sculpture unique. Each proud-looking, cold-cast bronze sculpture stands 6' tall. The Blue Heron Project is a Chesapeake City community initiative that adorns the city with public art in the form of its icon, the blue heron. It not only beautifies the city, but its ambitious goal is to raise $1 million for education.

We're limited by where our feet will take us, but we've found at least a half dozen within a few miles of the marina and it's been well worth the walk.

The blue heron seems to be an appropriate icon choice for Chesapeake City. We've seen blue herons a-plenty on our morning walks along the Elizabeth River.

Even the local weather vanes tout this celebrated avian fellow.

Evidently there are many more locally decorated icons in the Chesapeake Bay area … the mermaids we spoke of in Norfolk, but also pigs in Smithfield, horses in the Outer Banks and dolphins in Virginia Beach, to name a few. We'll be on the look-out for more celebrated icons in our travels.

History Lessons While We Walk

I mentioned in a previous blog that the Great Bridge area of Chesapeake, Virginia is rich in history, especially relating to Revolutionary and Civil War battles. There are informational signs and markers everywhere and we've found it interesting to roam around on foot and soak up a little history. Walking through the Great Bridge Battlefields and Waterways Park is like stepping back in history.

According to Wiki, “its name is derived from the American Revolutionary War of Great Bridge, which took place on December 9, 1775 and resulted in the final removal of the Brits from the Virginia Colony.

Though the battles of Lexington and Concord took place months earlier, and are historically more memorable, the Battle of Great Bridge can be seen as the first strategically important colonial victory over the British, forcing Lord Dunmore's 200 redcoats to evacuate Fort Murray and withdraw to Norfolk.” A huge mural on the side of a local building commemorates the victory.

The “bridge” was originally just a narrow 10' wide causeway and remnants of it still remain under and around the modern Great Bridge bascule bridge, now situated about 50 yards to the south of the original bridge. The modern Great Bridge spans the ICW/ Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal. A replica of the original causeway is just one of the illustrative displays at the park.

Just across Battlefield Boulevard (yup, that's the name of the main street, aka VA-168) is the Great Bridge Locks Park. This waterway was critical for getting supplies to the Confederates during the Civil War and the Union worked hard to blockade it. The famous Battle of the Merrimack and the Monitor took places just a few miles up the Chesapeake River at Hampton Roads. There's a huge, 7,900 pound ship's anchor sitting on the lawn reputedly from the USS Hartford. The USS Hartford was most noted for its victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864 when its captain, Admiral Farragut, shouted “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” The ship was dismantled at the Norfolk Navy Yard not far away from here and her parts were buried on vacant land along the Elizabeth River. In 2001, the anchor was discovered during excavation and moved here.

Beyond the history of wars and battles there are several informational placards describing the building of the nearby Great Dismal Swamp Canal and the Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal. The Great Dismal Swamp Canal was hand dug and opened in 1805. In the 1820s, Marshall Parks, Sr. was commissioned to deepen and widen the canal to accommodate larger, deeper draft steam vessels. His son, Marshall Parks, Jr. took over when his dad died in 1840, and completed the Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal in 1859. He was one of the first to envision and encourage the connecting of inland waterways along the east coast of the USA … today's Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).

The actual Great Bridge Lock is “located approximately 750 yards west of the Great Bridge Bridge, and is the western terminus of the Virginia Cut of the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal. This tidal guard lock is a reversible-head, double-gated structure 600 feet long and 72 feet wide, with a depth of 16 feet. Its primary function is to prevent saltwater intrusion from the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River into the freshwater North Landing River and to control tidal currents from these two rivers. [...]The first Great Bridge Lock was built by the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal Company in 1859. The original Great Bridge Lock survived until 1917, when the Canal was widened. For fifteen years thereafter there was no lock, causing bitter complaints from shippers and local residents. [...]Under the management of the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Great Bridge Lock was completed on June 16, 1932.” From a strategic vantage point just west of the bridge, we can easily see boats and barges entering and leaving the locks as the locks open and close, usually in scheduled sync with the opening of the Great Bridge. We'll be heading through these locks in a few days as we make out way west to the Chesapeake Bay.

All in all, our morning walks have been quite educational and entertaining, while still fulfilling some of our daily exercise requirements. Multi-tasking at its best.