Sometimes it’s nice just to get away. No cell phones, no office calls, no household chores – just get away. It’s even better if your get-away spot is not too far. That makes travel to and from a snap, with no long distance driving. And I suppose the ideal get-away place would have some decent fishing as well. If all this sounds good, boy do I have a place for you. It’s Rose River Farm on the … [Read more...]

Perhaps lots of people didn’t take a vacation this summer for the obvious reason that money is tight within family budgets. People are working longer hours these days just to stay even and are sometimes working two and three jobs. But with all the pressure and long hours, a little down time is needed more than ever. I have found that it is possible to take a fall vacation to the Outer Banks … [Read more...]

Years ago, I went to St. Simons Island off the coast of Georgia to spend a week with good friends, including my joined-at-the hip fishing buddy, Ray Pruitt. One afternoon, Ray and I took his 14-foot skiff out into the dead calm waters off the island. We were bottom fishing for whatever would bite, ideally a grouper. The water was gin clear and I recall a hammerhead shark about the size of our boat … [Read more...]

For most American families, vacations – those once-a-year, major road trips – take place in late June through the middle of August. Other than being able to bake to a red crisp on a sandy beach along the coast, I can’t think of a worse time to take a road trip. Traffic is awful, gas prices mysteriously go up, the rates for cottages and motels are at their peak, the lines to restaurants are … [Read more...]

I was tourist fishing. Tourist fishing means you pay no attention to the wind, tides or time of day. You just go fishing when it’s convenient, because you’re a tourist on vacation. As a rule, tourist fishing usually translates into empty stringers. You don’t catch much. But on a morning at Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore, it was pretty much a fish on every cast. I was tossing out bottom … [Read more...]

Generally, the Road Trips column serves as a source of for interesting destinations. But sometimes, how you prepare for a road trip is as important as where you go. For the past two years, my wife Nancy and I have been fortunate enough to be allowed to take our Atlanta grandchildren on road trips to Cherrystone Campground on the Eastern Shore. It’s a place that we took our own kids as far back … [Read more...]

The Chickahominy Lake is among Virginia’s most scenic bodies of water. Home to a multitude of fish and a variety of wildlife, cypress trees line the shore of the Chick and extend out into the water. Boats and kayaks can explore the inlets and lagoons and never be disappointed. The lake is a 1230-acre water supply reservoir located along the New Kent-Charles City county line. This impoundment of … [Read more...]

  My wife, Nancy, and I took a little road trip last weekend. A 500-mile road trip – each way. We went to Atlanta for our grandson’s confirmation. We stayed at a nice hotel in downtown Atlanta – the Crown Plaza. From our 4th floor balcony we happened to overlook one of my favorite restaurants in the whole, wide world – The Varsity. The Varsity is an Atlanta institution. Located across … [Read more...]