Doug Nabham’s Coming Here
The Summer of 2010 Roundup
Looking back on this summer brings one word to mind—HOT! Things started heating up in April with the warmest spring in a hundred years. And then summer came and the real heat arrived with high winds that sucked every drop of moisture out of plants. It was the opposite of a blizzard—it was so hot you could not go outside at times. And I do not recall seeing a cloud for about a month. Not known for listening to my skin guy, Dr. Larry, I looked like the Marlboro Man by the first of June.
My summer resolutions were kind of accomplished—spend more time on the boat and actually try to catch fish. One weekend, I put over 100 miles on my boat without catching a fish, but it was not for a lack of trying. The other resolution was to better chronicle the summer with pictures as the summers do start to run together. I captured the joy on my best friend’s face when he pulled up a 6-inch croaker, mainly because he knows that is a “big fishing day” for me.
It made me smile this summer when I heard a festival advertise it was going to sell “excellent corn dogs.”
I was happy to see the opening of Charlie’s Tiki Bar at Windmill Point, where we finally had a sense of a restaurant that was on the water. The place continues the local tradition of not having “fast food” in the Northern Neck—patience is a virtue.
As is customary, the Fourth of July crept up before we knew it, with hoards of cars full of guests all hoping to share the joy of just one weekend at the river. If you get up early and drive, there are some homes with so many cars that you cannot imagine how they pack ’em in like that—they must sleep in shifts.
Mini-festivals, such as Heritage Day in Deltaville, bring out the sweetness of River Country as people gather for an afternoon of food and parade.
The big sailboat race was held in Deltaville bringing in hundreds of families for nine days in July for the OPTI Nationals. Deltaville swelled to almost the breaking point as the little sailboats cruised into town. Hats off to the logistics people who pulled that one off. Speaking of sailing, this is the first year that someone on a sailboat did not yell at me for some reason.
Guests, ahh . . . guests. Another new rule for guests. When you get here, you will notice that things are “in place.” If you choose to take them “out of place,” then you are responsible for putting them back “in place.” For example, we have four Adirondack chairs facing the Chesapeake Bay. Everyone feels the need to rearrange those chairs in some fashion, and that is fine as long as they get put back in the original set-up by someone other than me, “the resort manager.” I would not think of going in someone’s home and rearranging their furniture. “I think your grandmother’s picture would look better on that wall.”
The other thing I really like about guests is when their cars are leaving. I feel guilty when they send us pictures from their weekend where they so obviously are having the time of their life. I love sharing the Bay, but I like hoarding it also.
Labor Day weekend showed up and it felt like a door slamming in my face. Suddenly I feel odd in a bathing suit. It is still warm, but cool nights portend that the party is kind of over. There are other things now to look forward to such as the Urbanna Oyster Festival, fall rockfish season and a few occasional fall days that let us know why this place is pure heaven for 20 weekends a year . . . and my private heaven the rest of the time.
Douglas M. Nabhan is a lawyer with the firm of Williams Mullen in Richmond and has had a weekend home in Deltaville for 18 years.
