Starship Arrowstar Captain's Log: First Officer’s Log: 20-15-07-29. Starday: 62

We are in Ashland, Virginia, just a few miles north of Richmond, VA, at an RV “Resort”. I put quotes around “Resort” because it is a descriptive term that is being used, overused, and abused in the RV Park industry.

Anyway, let’s talk about our Sunday on the water. The plan was that Brother Scott and Linda would bring their little boat (they have two, the big ‘un, and the little ‘un) down to Kim’s Hobo Palace on the Potomac River. BTW: The little ‘un is bigger than any boat I would ever have. At the same time Brother Guy would bring his boat (another twin engine big ‘un) down river to Gilligan’s Restaurant. We were to ride to Gilligan’s with Scott and Linda and Kim was to follow in his boat. His boat is a little ‘un with a great big motor. Along with all of that our friend Wayne (known as the seventh Del Monte brother because the bunch of us all ran around together) would also meet us at Gilligan’s. And, if that’s not enough Guy’s daughter Terri and her boyfriend Todd were to also make the Gilligan’s rendezvous. Todd has a GREAT BIG ‘UN. (Boat that is.)

So, eventually we all had a great time meeting, eating, talking and drinking. Yes, even me. I drank a drink.

After Gilligan’s we boated up and went downriver to Rick’s Restaurant for deserts. This time Cheryl and I rode in Todd’s boat. Todd’s boat is a huge, beautiful twin engine racing boat. All the other boats had left by the time we pulled away from the pier at Gilligan’s, and he passed every one of them before we got to Rick’s. At one point we were doing 75mph. At about three-quarters throttle. In a boat. On the water. It was neat.

The other neat thing was that I sat in the boat while he drove it into a congested parking area, spun it around in its own length and parked that 42’ boat in a 43’ spot between two other big boats without touching either of the boats or the side of the dock. Incredible!

When we left Rick’s each of us went our separate ways to our respective homes or RV parks. We rode with brother Kim in his little boat back to the Hobo Palace. This is where it got interesting. We ran into rough water.

It was about 6 PM when we left Rick’s and although there was no bad weather to speak of, the water in the river was chopping up waves nearly two feet tall. It practically beat us to death. Kim was powering up, and powering down, and cutting in towards the shore, and then seeking softer water farther out in order to keep the wet side of the boat down and the dry side of the boat up. He was fantastic. I know nothing about seamanship and driving boats, but I can tell you that he did a really good job and got us to the Hobo Palace just fine. The trip took twice as long as it should have, and he said the water was the roughest he had seen in his twenty years of living down there.

So, all’s well that ends well. We are fine, and we have a scary story to tell someday.

Kim Del Monte's Boat at the Hobo Palace Dock

Frank and Scott Del Monte on the water Taxi at Gilligan's

Frank after Unloading his Triumph from the Newmar Garage

Guy Del Monte with Frank on the Water Taxi at Gilligan's

Kim, Guy, Guy Jr, and Frank on the Bike Ride to Colonial Beach

Frank, Linda, and Scott Hamming it Up at Gilligan's on the River

Kim's Dock at the Hobo Palace

Teri, Todd, Guy, and Wayne at Gilligan's

We left the Hobo Palace Monday after calling the RV repair shop and being assured that the new air conditioner we need had shipped properly and the ETA was still Tuesday. Then about an hour into our trip to Richmond the shop called and said that the AC had NOT in fact shipped on time as they had to upgrade the unit’s swizzleized ramifractioator up to a Revision C before it could go out and the new ETA was now Thursday rather than the next day.

You know, I didn’t even get upset. Why? Because I KNEW all along they couldn’t get the unit to the shop on Tuesday. I KNEW it wouldn’t get there to at least Wednesday or Thursday. And I also know two other things.

It won’t really arrive until Friday, and they won’t be able to install it until Monday.
When they go to install it they will find that it is the wrong model, and it won’t fit our rig.

Other than those two things, everything is going well.

End First Officer’s Log

Captain’s Log

Today (Tuesday 7-29-15) left me with a totally different picture of Richmond, Virginia. I learned Richmond became the Capitol of the Confederate States of America because Virginia had delayed seceding from the union, but when they voted to secede, the capitol was moved there because it had the heavy industry to support the war effort.

On an air-conditioned trolley tour around the heart of the city of Richmond I also learned that large portions of the historic neighborhoods are missing due to modern development. The state capitol, medical complex and university buildings have intruded on what used to be full city blocks with one antebellum home per block. Now the congestion in Richmond is such that sometimes it’s difficult to pick out the impressive memorials of George Washington and Jefferson Davis. Our trolley driver did an excellent job navigating us around the city in such tight quarters.

Another interesting story tells of the Union Army’s march on Richmond when 1,000 of the city’s buildings accidently burned. Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee already had a plan in place to burn the four supply and arsenal buildings should the enemy take the city. Unfortunately, when the arsenals were fired, the exploding ordinance and flying shrapnel set the surrounding area ablaze and many historic buildings were lost.

During our visit to the White House of the Confederacy following the trolley tour, our tour guide told us about Jefferson Davis’s wife, Varina Howell Davis. I had not read about her, and I now have a huge amount of respect for this president’s wife. Naturally, she served as hostess to the men invited to the White House of the Confederacy by her husband. During that era men and women usually held after-dinner discussions in separate rooms, but Varina insisted everyone sit together as she was a highly educated woman who could hold her side of any conversation on any subject with any man. This woman was way ahead of her time!