Great Loop: Fort Monroe & the famed Oozlefinch (Hampton)

Day 109: May 6, 2023

Fort Monroe

After a few days of relaxing, we decided it was time to get moving. We didn’t want to go far though figured we should head north. We found an anchorage just north of the Norfolk area in Hampton, Virginia. We arrived there by noon and decided to check out what was around.

We were pleasantly surprised to find Fort Monroe. On the way, we saw a boat regatta and little bit of beach. There’s tons of history with this fort as it played a huge role in the Civil War and President Lincoln even stopped there. It was a pretty neat place as it’s not only the largest stone fort ever built in the U.S. but also the only moat-encircled fort remaining in active duty. We were quite surprised by the moat still filled with water as we walked around the fort. We saw the WWII batteries and talked to some volunteers that had just wrapped up a reenactment before heading to the local ice cream shop that is located in the ‘oldest fire department in the US Army’ building. Afterwards we took a quick tour of the museum. The fort also has a bunch of housing that they now lease out. You could live in a fort! Cool!

Our boats all nice and snug and happy at anchor.

Oozlefinch Beers & Blending

After a bit of rest on the boats we decided to dinghy over and check out the Oozlefinch Brewery. For those that don’t know, the Oozlefinch is a featherless bird that flies backwards and is the unofficial mascot of the Air Defense Artillery. What we learned is the brewery makes some very tasty beverages. Tonia and Mayli wish they would have purchased many cases of the grape and orange boozy sodas!