Touring the Rappohannock by river boat

Saturday of this last weekend the family loaded up in the bus (pre-accident) and headed east on route 360 to Tappohannock.  Just before we crossed over the Rappohannock Bridge we pulled off to the side into a parking lot for the Captain Thomas River Boat.  Back in February I made plans for this cruise and today was the day we finally got to go!



This cruise is a river cruise that takes you 18 miles up the river to Ingleside Winery and then after a tour and lunch at the winery you come back down the river.  The ride is about an hour and four minutes to and then the same back.  Along the way the captain slowed it down so that we could catch some shots of bald eagles along the shore.  



Top Deck





The front from the top deck





Inside on the first deck



  

The cruise is nice and relaxing!  The top deck filled up on the way to the winery (I think everyone was going up there for the view) but I'm not sure everyone remembered sunblock and thought about how hot it would get.  The cruise back had everyone sitting on the bottom deck but there was plenty of room.  You can sit outside along the sides of the boat or inside where there is air conditioning.  There are bathrooms on board but they are tiny!!! 

Once the first leg of the cruise is done to get off the boat and board two former school buses.  You ride just a couple miles through the country to Ingleside Winery.  Once there you take a brief tour of the winery and then do a tasting.  There are a lot of wines at this winery but the tasting you are given is not as long as their wine list.  They did tell us that we could go out into the tasting room to try the rest but since we had been here before we skipped them.  When you buy tickets you can also buy a lunch buffet.  We also opted out of that in lieu of our own picnic lunch. 

 



The courtyard


After lunch everyone gets back onto the two buses and heads back to the boat.  Once there you can relax on the cruise back to the docks.  The captain did tell us he had a corkscrew for anyone wanting to open up a bottle on the way back.  Lots of people took him up on that offer but it was just a little too warm for us. 

Emma falling asleep :)



Pulling back up to the dock



Squeeze me, Stomp me, make me wine....haha.  LOVE it!

It was really a very enjoyable trip.  I had Tommy and Christy as a semi captive audience.  Emma and Christy had each other to keep company and I also had time with Mark to just sit on deck and hold hands.  The cruise line also does trips to Tangier Island and to Fredricksburg....wonder if I should go ahead and book those now :)

Weekend rewind

So much fun in so little time.  Where oh where did our weekend go?!?!

Friday night fun at the pool

Exploring the Rappahannock River on
a river boat

My boy growing so fast and looking
so handsome

Emma has Daddy in the palm of her hands

This long weekend provided us enough time to work on a few projects we've been trying to get too as well as enough time to sneak in an adventure.  I'll be posting more on that in the next couple days.  We also had a little mishap on our way home from the adventure :(

We are happy and beyond thankful to report that no one was hurt.  Emma and I were asleep when it happened and she managed to stay that way until all the commotion afterwards.  The fact that no one was hurt had to do with the fact we had seat belts on (at least in my opinion)....So people buckle up!!!

How did everyone else spend their time off?  This week is shaping up to be a busy one.  Hope it's off to a great start.

Memorial Day

I hope everyone is happy a great Memorial Day.  Be safe and don't forget to thank those that made today so special. 

What to do if it thunders

Lately I have been dragging my sleepy self out of bed at the crack of dawn to go to the gym.  Because of this Emma hasn't been going with me and getting in her play time with the other "gym kids".  But yesterday I just could NOT get up....so I pushed myself to go after work.  And Emma was able to see her buddies in the playroom.  Before we got to the gym and while in there our area had some thunderstorms pass through.  It dropped buckets of water on the streets and left my parking lot at work flooded.  But the funniest thing to see was Emma reacting to thunder....

Duck and cover!

Haha....that is a girl after my mom's heart!  This weekend we have a few fun things planned.  I'm hoping the weather holds out for Memorial Day so we can do some grilling.  Hope this week is treating you well :)

Dominion Riverrock

This last weekend Richmond's Browns Island became home to Dominion Riverrock....an outdoor sporting event that hosts a variety of outdoor competitions and exhibits.  There was mountain bike racing, kayak competitions, boulder climbing competitions, a 5K and a 10K and then there are the dogs.  The Ultimate Air Dogs to be exact.  And the races and exhibits aren't all that's offered...there is also music.  Great music by some great local bands.  And did I mention that you can just walk down to Brown's island and watch all this for free!  It's really is a pretty awesome event.  No wonder the crowds came out in such record numbers.  Go Richmond!





There are three footbridges to get you over to Brown's Island...they all
take you over the canal



Yes she really was holding her dog up so
he could see



This air dog didn't want to take off



I really liked these.  Stand up paddle boards




Just before the race




The Mighty James was really flowing!




This guy hit pavement about a minute after the
picture.  His body was ok but I think his pride was
a little sore.

If you live in Richmond or the surrounding area come check it out next year.  Bring the kids, bring the pooch and bring sunblock!  Great time to take in some of the beautiful Richmond scenery and check out some sporting action at the same time.