The Great Dismal Swamp Adventure

Written by Mary-Jac O'Daniel

We went to the Dismal Swamp on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year. My husband asked me that morning, “Are you sure you want to go?” I was determined, “Yes,” came the quick reply. We had an arsenal of water bottles, some snacks and bug spray, and we felt prepared as we headed out the door. 

When we arrived we doused ourselves with bug spray and then began the four mile hike, one way, in the swamp. What’s near swamps—bugs. Lots of them. We constantly swatted our faces and laughed about having the trail to ourselves. *no one else was that dumb* 

We resolutely continued, and kept our good humor. We saw two buzzards on the path, presumably waiting for our demise. We hoped we would disappoint them as the temperature continued to increase. 

When we got to the lake at the end of the four miles, we briefly considered jumping in the water. I’m not sure what stopped us. The problem with going four miles out, is that one has to turn around and go four miles back. We finally ended our eight mile journey, right as we were running out of water and then promptly went and got the largest slurpies we could find at the nearest 7-11. 

I would love to go back—in the fall or spring. 

About the author: Mary Jac O'Daniel is the author of "Zinneas Always Bloom" in By the Bay: East Beach Stories. Her story "Forays into Sailing" will be in Volume II, to be published in 2017.

Wishing You A Very....

Happy Holidays

Over the years everyone creates traditions and memories and I'm no exception.  They may vary from year to year, but they always involve the people I love.

One thing that we try to do every year is see the Garden of Lights at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens.  If you haven't gone, I highly recommend it!  I love that they do all the seasons.   The past few times we've gone in our convertible and done it with the top down.  My favorite part is the starry skies.  You drive over a small bridge and for a moment it feels like you are among the stars.  Breath taking!

Holiday Traditions: Christmas

Written by Jamie McAllister

Christmas at the McAllister house is a laid-back affair. Still reeling from the rigors of preparing a gourmet Thanksgiving meal the month before, my husband James and I like to take it easy on Christmas. All of my family is in Michigan, and my husband's family is out West, so it's just the two of us for the holiday. We wake up in the morning and unwrap presents under the curious and watchful eyes of our two cats, Scooter and Darcie. We spend the day relaxing, and at dinnertime we grab Chinese take-out. We end the day by curling up on the couch and looking at the pretty lights on the tree and listening to Christmas carols.

About the author: Jamie McAllister is the author of “The Mermaid” in the upcoming anthology By the Bay 2: More East Beach Stories, to be published in 2017. She is a freelance writer in Virginia Beach. For more information about Jamie and her work, please visit her website. 

A Day In The Life: Hampton Roads Naval Museum

Chief Tomich & Rosie

Writtten by Michelle Davenport

As many people may know, I volunteer at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, VA.  Normally I do administrative work, some scheduling and keeping my 'boss' entertained, but that's not what this article is about.  I've chosen to share an event versus the day to day of what I do.  Because let's face it, data entry is boring.

Every year in August the museum spends time with the Chief Selectees and gives them a bit of naval history on chiefs. It's called CPO Heritage.  I've been fortunate enough to help in four of these.

For three years I helped sell raffle tickets to win a cutlass.  The cutlass is normally donated by Vanguard, so all proceeds go to the museum to pay for coffee and such for the volunteers.  A big shout out to Vanguard for doing this!  My first year, on the first day, I even went through all the presentations with a group of selectees.  This year, the chief's mess took care of the raffle and I was not needed.  I turned to my 'boss' and asked what I could do.

This was my last year for this event and I did NOT want to miss out on it!

We can do it!

So it was decided that I would help with a presentation.  Tom would be portraying Chief Peter Tomich during his presentation of what happened on the USS UTAH on December 7, 1941.

Yes, Chief Tomich was a real person and actually on board the ship during the attack on Pearl Harbor.  

But how were we going to work in why I was there?  I wanted to blend in with the presentation.  At first I had thought to dress like a woman from the 1940s, that could be fun, but why would she be on the ship.  Then my husband came up with the idea of Rosie The Riveter.  Tom loved it!  I loved it!  It was an easy costume and Tom could quickly explain why I was there.