Friday, 9/18/15 - Smithfield Station
 |
| We were tied up right next to this little lighthouse in Smithfield |
We really didn't know what to expect at Smithfield. We had heard it was a nice place to visit so we thought we would check it out. The marina was located at a bend in the Pagan River, right across from a beautiful marsh. We rode our bikes in to town to see the sights. As it turns out, Smithfield is the home of the world famous Smithfield hams. Their packing plant and executive offices are here along with some beautiful old homes.
In order to make it through the shoaling area and out of the river on a rising tide, we needed to leave Smithfield by 1:00 so that meant seeing as much as we could in the morning. It was a good thing we had our bikes with us.
 |
| The lovely marsh across the river from us |
 |
| Sunrise at the Smithfield Landing Marina |
 |
| Looking down the river at sunrise |
 |
| Heading to town with our bikes |
 |
| The marina office was at the hotel |
 |
| Smithfield, VA has lots of spectacular homes |
 |
| It was a nice town to ride bikes in |
 |
The visitor center attendant had a wealth of information for
us about Smithfield and its history. |
 |
| This garden commemorated the founding of the Smithfield Packing Company |
 |
| Smithfield's executive offices |
 |
Smithfield is the county seat for Isle of
Wight County. Ralph's ancestors came
from the Isle of Wight in England! |
 |
| They had a great general store that specialized in hams and peanuts |
 |
Everything in Smithfield is about pigs & ham. Their name is
synonymous with quality ham in the US & Europe.
This massive mural was in one of the alleys. |
 |
| Ralph giving Ben Franklin some pointers |
 |
They have decorated pigs all over town. This one is the
"Sweet Swine of Avon". The attire comes from a variety of Shakespeare's works.
BTW, Shakespeare was known as the "Sweet Swan of Avon" - LOL |
 |
| Downtown Smithfield |
 |
"Magnolia"
Dressed as a porcine scrapbook, this Magnolia shows her beauty through
pictures & maps of Isle of Wight County |
 |
| Though the town isn't very large, it has a nice museum |
 |
| Checking out the general store in the museum |
We left the dock at 1:00 in order to be mid way to high tide as we encountered the shallow, shoaled entrance of a small creek that joined the Pagan River.
 |
| Notice the mud slick behind us! |
Well, guess what.
Yup.
0.00 again on the depth gauge as we passed. Again, we slowed to a crawl and pushed through the mud. Scary ride, to say the least! If we got stuck, there would not be anyone around with enough horses to pull us off the bar. Argghhh!
Fortunately, we made it.
 |
| Marshland on the Pagan River |
 |
Ahhhh. Some deeper water is in sight.
The James River is up ahead & to the left. |
 |
This AWACS plan passed right over us.
You don't see many of them in Indiana! |
 |
Enjoying the nice 50 mile ride back to the York River Yacht
Haven marina where Ralph & Leigh had left their car. |
 |
| We had some large dolphins playing under our bow for a while |
 |
Since it would be after 6:00 before we pulled in, Jim grilled some
chicken while underway |
We had a pleasant trip back to our starting point marina. After a relaxing dinner on Samba and a final opportunity for the guys to beat the girls at euchre, we called it a day.
Saturday, Ralph & Leigh packed up and headed back to Indiana mid morning and Jim & Carol moved Samba over to Norfolk where we plan to visit with Carol's nephew, Jacob Proctor & his wife, Shye. He is currently stationed in the Navy in Norfolk. We can't wait to see them!
