Day 6 - by Tyler

This glorious, CLOUDLESS SKY, morning began at 7:30 with simple breakfast of bagels and fruit and the breaking of camp.  After everyone had gotten their gear situated, we commenced in the tactical planning of how to get the vans and trailers out of the mud pit that we have helped to create.  We decided the best plan of action was to drive the vans up separate from the trailers and push them up after the vans were on solid surface.  We still ended up having to push the first van up the hill and down the road a ways.  John gunned it up the second time without the need of our assistance.  The movement of the trailers was conducted through a team effort of everyone pushing (or slipping) up the embankment and other soggy areas.  After hooking the trailers back together, we ended up riding with Austen and Emily to the front of the farm property just in case any other mishaps occurred.  It was extremely pleasant walking back to the vans in the hot sun and getting some of that  Vitamin D for a change.  We all got back to the boats and hit the river at about 11:00.  The water was still high and muddy due to the rain from the past few days.  About 5 miles or so down the river group decided to take an alternate route to Port Royal through Cleve Marsh.  It reminded me of the marshes down near Capers Island in South Carolina with all the meandering tight channels that ran through the tall grass growing out of the water.  We also saw a vast amount of wildlife also such as Bald Eagles and Osprey.  We finally arrived in Port Royal at about 1:30 and walked the town.  There wasn’t really a whole lot there, but the history that occurred in a single block of the town was astounding.  All within two hundred yards were homes where George Washington stayed for numerous occasions, the only female Confederate officer lived, where the Union had set up a port on the river, and where John Wilkes Booth was shot after his assassination of President Lincoln.  After walking the town, we loaded up and headed to Fredericksburg.  We are currently staying at the Virginia Outdoor Center on the Rapp.  Again, we had an awesome dinner of BBQ sandwiches and other leftovers.  Tonight has been pretty relaxed.  About 20 minutes ago, we just got back from getting ice cream at Carl’s downtown.  O, and the ladies also wanted me to mention that Austen has been pulling a number of ticks off of himself the past few minutes.  Getting ready to crash soon and super pumped to go see the reenactment tomorrow at Spotsylvania tomorrow.