The drive along Rt 5 is a must-do, especially in the fall when the leaves have turned. This is a road mostly untouched by the highway dept. Narrow, winding, and unintended for heavy traffic. When the trees on either side meet overhead and put you in a tunnel of color in Fall, or coolness in the summer, the ghosts of our ancestors can be felt alongside. Don't take it if you're in a hurry to get somewhere though. About the Chickahominey, etc. -- I have to agree that the James River is a wonderful sight, even tho I've never seen the Chatahoochee. I used to cross it twice a day, North of Richmond, in my commute to/frin work, and it was the best part of drive time. I work a stone's throw from the swampy edges of the Chickahominey, and now my drive time intersects the flight paths of Great Blue Herons on *their* commute from swamp to river and back. My boss actually cuts through the swamp and comes in every day with stories of his wildife sightings. It's definitely a living body of water. On Wed, 31 Jul 2002 16:27:19 -0400 "COUNTRY.GARDENS" <[email protected]> wrote: > I totally agree with Rebecca about the > swampiness of the Chickahominy, > however, along Rt. 5, leaving Williamsburg, > heading toward Richmond, the > Chickahominy actually begins to resemble a real > river and even warrants its > own bridge that is part of Rt. 5. > For those of us who grew up in the "real" tide > water area, along the lower > James and the Hampton Roads and the Bay, it > takes quite a bit of "real" > water to qualify for a "river". > My friends & relatives from Georgia who are > accustomed to the Chattahoochee > "River" look at the lower James and gasp. The > Mighty James is, indeed, an > awesome sight. > And it is so stirring to gaze upon it and > imagine the sturdy little 17th > century ships that scooted up and down its > shores, bringing our brave and > worthy ancestors from England to Jamestown. > Deane Mills > York County Virginia > P.S. Neither is the York exactly a stream bed! > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: " Rebecca Emmett" > To: > Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 3:33 PM > Subject: Re: [VAHENRIC] Fw: Bottoms' Bridge > > > > On a personal level, I've always thought > "Chickahominy River" was an > > exceptionally optimistic euphemism. It's more > accurately the Chickahominy > > Swamp, and covers a very large area. The > bridge in question was once > entirely > > under water for a brief time thanks to the > industriousness of a family of > > beavers. Bottoms Bridge became an extremely > quiet wide spot in the road > when > > I-64 was extended East from Richmond. Prior > to that route 60 was full of > > summer traffic to the NC beaches. > > > > > > n Wed, 31 Jul 2002 12:26:04 -0400 > "COUNTRY.GARDENS" > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > Bottoms Bridge > > > Bottoms Bridge was named after the Bottoms > > > family who built the first bridge > > > there in the early 1700s. Lafayette camped > near > > > there on May 4, 1781, and > > > Cornwallis camped there in pursuit of > Lafayette > > > on May 28. Later, in 1862, > > > Bottoms Bridge was used by General > McClellan's > > > army to cross the > > > Chickahominy in their advance on Richmond. > It > > > is in New Kent County. > > > > > > > > > ==== VAHENRIC Mailing List ==== > > Please do not send attachments to the > list.Some people have problems > > opening attachments. If you want to send an > attachment to someone on the > list email it privately to them. > > > > > > ============================== > > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 > billion online genealogy records, > go to: > > > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > > > ==== VAHENRIC Mailing List ==== > Please do not send attachments to the list.Some > people have problems > opening attachments. If you want to send an > attachment to someone on the list email it > privately to them. > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion > online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

Please clarify for me--- Is Bottoms Bridge over the Chickahominey River on route 60 or route 5? I agree about the "mighty James" River. Here in Lynchburg it is no slouch, even in a record-breaking drought. But at Newport News, it is truly AWESOME! Joan Logan Brooks