We headed out to Chesapeake Bay after our 10:00 a.m. departure from the Norfolk port because Dad said the winds were going to die down. Um, notice to Dad, the winds didn’t get the memo! That uncooperative wind whipped up on the open water. Up and down pitched the trawler. Side to side rocked the boat. Water splashed up over the bow and crashed onto the windows. Oh, look, the windshield wipers switched on! Good thing Mom persuaded me to stay inside…no one would’ve appreciated the soaking, dripping, wet dog look that I would’ve been sporting had I been at my usual front deck perch. Lucky for me all that pitching and rocking didn’t have me tossing my cookies…I bet Mom was thanking her lucky starts for my ironclad stomach!
As Dad steered the trawler down the river toward Yorktown, VA, everything sorta calmed down. When we arrived, Mom and I went into town. Delighted to be on land for a bit, I perused all the nearby flora and fauna, and left my mark to let everyone know that adorable Murphy had arrived. Worked like a charm too, because later, when Mom and I were back on the boat, the ladies stopped by. You know how it goes: “Oh, he is so CUTE!” Which means lots of sloppy kisses, tail wags, and butt wiggles. And then for the piéce de résistance, I break out my antler to show off my chewing prowess. Oh, yes, I had them exactly where I wanted them: giggles galore. I am the master of adorable!
Murphy knows how to control people in his environment. Pets have a way in doing that. Everyone is so excited to see a well behaved, honest to goodness lovable pet. Murphy is taking it all in and love the attention.
The rocking and rolling in the Chesapeake Bay wasn’t fun. I remember how cold it was about midnight on several occasions. We were doing maneuvers in the middle of the night launching boats out 25 yards and paddling in low profile for a well planned assault on the beach, we hid the inflatables snd our mission was to get from point a to point b without being discovered. We buried our boats in the sand, proceeded to point b and hearing the instructors yelling at us students that were caught. Push-ups galore. 1 2 3 50-51 are you ever going to get caught again Sailor. What An experience. There were 7 men per boat snd there were 8 boats. Now that’s a lot of people to come ashore expecting never to get caught. I remember how cold it was and our boat, like a couple others capsized making us wet from head to toe. This Was in October 1966. Burrrr
Enjoy your trip. I’m sure you saw Norfolk and Little Creek VA I was stationed at little creek.