Sipping Sweetshine and Walking Waterford

On Saturday Emily and Richard joined me on a visit to Bloomery Plantation Distillery in Charles Town, WV. I'd been wanting to come here for a while but it took some time before we were all free on the same day. I've only been aware of Bloomery since March when they popped up on Facebook wanting folks to sign a petition for taxes to be reduced. Being misclassified as a retail liquor store had resulted in them being forced to close their doors until they could actually make a profit instead of paying ridiculous fees to the state. Happily, the public outcry worked and Bloomery opened their doors again, resulting in many joyful customers flocking once again to group before the bar, expectant faces turned towards their server like baby birds waiting for food.

We got there before the rush, timing it perfectly for the next tasting. We sat on our bar stools and stared at the bottles before us, decorated with medals and awards. Let the tasting commence! I shan't describe each flavor, but I ended up struggling to decide what to purchase at the end, knowing I'd have to return for more, or buy from a nearby ABC store. The Limoncello and the Ginger were outstanding. Every lemon is zested by hand, no mean feat. The Black Walnut, knocking out 1500 other nut liquors to be voted best in the world, with an alcoholic content of 50-70%, was also up there for me. Particularly so because it wasn't too sweet. The Chocolate Raspberry was pretty damn good too, made with Ghirardelli chocolate. Actually they were all totally awesome, I simply couldn't afford to buy them all!

After our tasting we sat outside to enjoy our picnic and sip on a couple of their drinks made with these wonderful creations. There are also plenty of recipes freely given to make mouthwatering concoctions with your purchases. There was a lazy and wonderfully welcoming aura about the place. Plenty of sitting spots had been created and it was apparent that this place is enjoyed year round when I spotted a fire pit area too.

After we'd finished lunch and bought our bottles, we walked around to explore the greenhouse where the lemons and chiles were growing.  Pristine bee hives were out the back and we spotted their regular watering spot in a trough. There was also a large area with staff tending raspberry groves. A pumpkin patch was proudly pushing out orange globes as though eager to take part in the next alcoholic concoction, which as described on their website, will be "the delight of pumpkin and spice in a delectable, chop-licking liqueur". I'm drooling with anticipation!
We reluctantly left Bloomery and its delightful hospitality, and headed to Waterford to walk off our lunch. The whole village is a National Historic Landmark, and was happily devoid of visitors when we arrived, likely because most of the stores were closed. We parked up and wandered the streets, taking photos of the immaculate house fronts. and gardens busting with summer flowers.
Established around 1733 by Quakers around a grist mill and a saw mill, the village was named after an Irish town, from where some of the residents had emmigrated from. It stagnated after the Civil War and was falling into disrepair by the 1930's, but was saved in the 40's when the Waterford Foundation started restorations. The village started an annual house tour and craft fair in the 40's during the first week of October which still runs today.

The Post office and a snap of inside from my iPhone pressed up against the glass. I loved the old PO boxes.

This is Rumbles, one of the village's newest residents. We were a little concerned about him roaming the sidewalk but his owner was nearby, so after a chat we left him to enjoy the shade.

We found one store open where we could buy a drink. The owner was sitting, surrounded by sacks of wool, next to an old wood stove, and spinning on her wheel. As she chatted with us, the wheel never stopped. We saw yet more wool draped over a gate by the side of the store; she was going to be busy for some time yet.
More about the village can be found here, and The Waterford Fair details for this year can be found here.

Revisiting Mallows Bay

I leaped out of bed early on Sunday morning, anxious to load up Big Red on to Stuart before the heat got too overbearing. I'd organized a day to explore the Ghost ships of Mallows Bay, which I hadn't seen for a few years, and it was going to take me nearly 2.5 hours to get there from Marshall.

I interrupted this young buck's breakfast grazing with my dashing around, but he kindly posed for a quick snap.
I was meeting Bill and Nick, a friend's dad, Nils, and Emily, who had borrowed Margie's boat. Today would be the best for tides, with the low tide being at 1:48pm. We were also lucky to have cloud cover which was keeping the sun at bay for a few hours. This link shows my 2 previous trips here, the last was 3 years ago. How time flies...

We put in and circled the old car ferry, S.S. Accomac, a couple of times and then headed to a beach for lunch, combing the ground for sea glass and sharks' teeth. I had brought the Sony today so was a little anxious, taking care to keep it wrapped from the salt water.
I kept an eye on the time and let folks know it was time to paddle towards the hulks, where they'd be the most visible at low tide. Nils had been here many times previously so he continued on down the coastline to search for more sharks' teeth.

A photo from 1925 of the fleet, having been burned, with plumes of smoke still rising from their skeletal remains.

Today, there's about 100 wooden hulls rotting in the bay, ships never sailed on due to unseasoned wood and poor construction. Most of the usable materials had been lifted from them, and a final scrap project by Bethlehem Steel in the 1940's resulted in today's scene, just nails jutting from the wooden hulls.
There's little visible at high tide, and during the low tide, as we slowly paddled around, I was amazed at how much further the hulks had deteriorated.

Showing Emily how to hold her paddle.

Bill and Nick striking a photographer pose.

Taken with a wet iPhone, I liked the hazy image.

We sat for a while in the middle of the ship graveyard, enjoying the solitude and watching the wildlife.
Because of the many abandoned ships here, the limited water movement has helped to create a mini-ecosystem in the bay. So much wood has enriched the sediment, encouraging wildlife to flourish. Thick weed has grown, making paddling difficult and using rudders or engines impossible. We liked that, the bigger boats had to keep their noise out on the waves while we enjoyed the quiet. Even the gulls made few squawks and the only discordant outcries were from a large blue heron that we disturbed.

Eroded wood covered in a film of weed.

I thought this looked like a guy wearing a hat and standing to attention.

A couple of shots of the hulks underwater using my iPhone.

 The afternoon flew by too fast. I wasn't sure if it was because we spent so much time struggling with the weed or simply that we were enjoying ourselves, but I just didn't feel like I'd taken enough photos, and the water was rising fast. As we left the ships to sleep once more under their briny blanket, we struck out for the bank, the outlines of the ships disappearing behind us.
Hopefully this link will work, sharing a PDF written by Donald G. Shomette with photos by Dennis Brack.