Learning about Menhaden

Current Position: 37° 51' 45" N  76° 17' 30" W

Another catch up blogpost from a few weeks ago.

Have you figured out where we were yet?  Still waiting for OUR boat so we decided to take a short trip down the Virginia coast.  We were on what is called the "Northern Neck" of Virginia in a tiny town called Reedville.  We spent the day exploring some civil war battlefields in and around Fredericksburg, and then wine tasting (note the LARGE corkscrew. there were two of these at the entrance to the winery because the city wouldn't let them have a sign larger than small - LOL!) with Mike and Shannon Finnegan - friends we hadn't seen for twenty + years!  They graciously hosted us in their marvelous home that night, took us to church with them in the morning and fed us again before sending us on our way.  We visited the Reedville Fishermen's museum (www.rfmuseum.org) and learned so much about the area and a type of fishing we had never heard of before.  Reedville was and still is home to the fishing industry for Atlantic menhaden, a very small oily fish found in the coastal waters here. They have no teeth! They travel in HUGE schools making it very easy to catch as long as you work fast before the schools break apart. They process it for the fish oil and the remainder of the fish becomes additives for many animal foods due to it's high protein content.  Reedville is a tiny town with beautiful old homes along Cockrell Creek on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

We also learned how Soy Beans grow!  We kept seeing huge fields of some plant that had never been harvested.  Shannon told us it was soy beans.  I learned that they use the beans to feed the livestock so they are harvested dry like the corn that is used for feed.  Never too old to learn.  Love it!!

It was a lovely get away weekend.  

Meanwhile - our future boat (where-ever you are) will be named "The Good Life".  Dana Blanchard is the winner.  For those who don't know the show - check out "Good Neighbors" with Felicity Kendall.  A favorite show from the BBC AND a great name for our boat :)  Thanks Dana for wonderful memories.