Gloucester Point and Other Places

Yesterday we had lunch at the Yorktown Pub, which is a fairly decent biker bar. The food was better in 2010 and the atmosphere this year didn't match 2010...there were more bikers then. 

Across the river is Gloucester Point. We heard there was a Civil War marker there. Here's a view from the Yorktown beach across from the Point. 

Our GPS actually took us directly to the marker, which said, "The Confederate army recognized that Gloucester Point was critical to Virginia’s river defense. The Point had been continuously fortified since 1667. In an opening action of the Civil War, the first shots in Virginia were fired on May 3, 1861 when the USS Yankee sailed upriver and fired on Confederates here at Gloucester Point. Above is a photo of the beach at Gloucester Point.

The Richmond Howitzers stationed on the Point returned fire and the Yankee withdrew to the river’s mouth. Within a year, Union forces took control of the Point and maintained control of the county for the rest of the war. 

Of course, what would our trip be without finding a winery? We visited the Williamsburg Winery, which had good wine but pricey. The entrance was beautiful, but it still can't compare to the Finger Lakes and Childress Vineyard in Advance, NC. 

They say the mold on the walls is from angels escaping from the wine kegs...hmmm




Tomorrow we are visiting Ft. Harrison in Henrico, VA. Thursday we plan to visit Pamplin Historical Park in Petersburg. Unfortunately, the campground where we are staying is over an hour drive to these places so we won't get to see everything we had hoped to explore. We are too far south of Fredericksburg so we definitely will do Civil War Trip Part II next year!

Saturday we leave for Advance again. Childress has captured our taste buds!