Excitedly I jumped at the chance to drive out to Belmont Bay Marina, because it’s located across from George Mason’s Gunston Hall, where the Occoquan empties into Belmont Bay…and that empties into the Potomac River around the bend.
What would the view be like?
Since I’m a Texas gal from the land of drought, deep water is an amazing sight for me, here on the East Coast.
It’s a whole other world!
Curious as to the Occoquan’s origins, I learned that Broad Run, which runs near our house, helps to form the Occoquan River, along with other creeks.
As the boundary between the counties of Prince William and Fairfax, no drive from one side of the Occoquan to the other is fast, quick, or easy.
The few river crossings of the Occoquan reflect the old names of the 19th century river crossings of fords and simple bridges, like Old Bridge Road and Davis Ford Road.
For example, a ford is a low enough crossing to wade through.
In fact, the town of Woodbridge attained it’s name from George Mason’s son who had a bridge to cross the Occoquan on his property, that he named Woodbridge.
FALL LINE CAUSES OCCOQUAN TO IMPEDE BOATS
Geographically, Virginia is divided into three main regions: mountains, piedmont, and tidewater.
Whereas the Tidewater is the flatter coastal area of the state in the east, the mountains obviously comprise the highest altitudes in the western part of the state.
In between is the Piedmont, a gently sloping region of rolling hills.
The Occoquan begins in Brentsville, which is a few miles from my house, at elevation 149 feet, in the Piedmont.
Amazingly, the Occoquan flows east for nearly 27 miles until it reaches Belmont Bay, which soon empties into the Potomac River at sea level, 0 feet elevation.
As part of the Fall Line, the river quickly drops at three different points, which have blocked sailors as far back as John Smith in 1608.
At those three points are now dams.
This might not seem much on paper, but it made this Texas gal wonder how there can be so many hills, dips, and valleys in Northern Virginia the further she drives east, when she thought she left the moutains an hour behind her.
Driving through the Fall Line is amazing with stunning views, but there’s no where to pull over to take pictures, so one day I’m going to mount my cell phone on the dashboard to shoot video as I drive.
So, no pictures this time on the Fall Line, but many pictures on the Eastern end which impeded explorers of yore from navigating up river, which is a problem also on the Potomac River, Rappahanock River, and James River…all major rivers that have too many waterfalls to allow navigation, causing George Washington to argue for canals to be built.
BELMONT BAY MARINA
My son came with me, since he was meeting up with other managers from work to join their boss on his boat for a boat ride in a few days.
Wow! What fun for him, and he said he knew which boat belonged to the boss so he could point it out to me as we “scoped out the joint” ahead of his adventure in a few days.
I found Belmont Bay Marina to be a lovely area with cute shops and even townhomes.
At the cute shop across from this pavillion, my son and I grabbed sandwiches and chips to enjoy lunch with the gorgeous views.
HISTORIC OCCOQUAN
After church on Sunday, my son drove off to meet his friends at Belmont Bay for a cruise with their boss on the Potomac.
Since Sunday afternoons are usually the only time we can fit in sightseeing, I asked my daughter if she’d like to explore the town of Occoquan, which is near Belmont Bay, so she could enjoy some of the same water views.
WATERSIDE DINING
Exciting her a lot, she was equally thrilled when we chose a waterside seafood fare at Madigan’s Waterfront Restaurant.
I loved the architecture!
It’s a bit of a different flair from what I am used to in San Antonio, but this is good, since I like seeing uniqueness representative of different regions!
QUAINT SHOPPING
I loved how clean the town was with all the fresh paint…which just breathes life into the atmosphere.
After eating we walked around the Victorian building, full of shops, next door, which also had terrific architecture.
Falling in love with the shops, I found them as charming with glam and French Country pieces like I enjoyed while shopping in Texas.
In fact, I bought some gorgeous French Country wall art from Van Ech Studio, whose shop is swoon-worthy gorgeousness!
Climbing up those quaint beachside Victorian stairs led to this view from our lunch.
Then we walked further into town where the shops are in older buildings, which I think date back to the 19th century, at least.
MILL HOUSE MUSEUM OF 18TH CENTURY HISTORY
This 18th century mill is now a museum of the area’s 18th century and 19th century history.
Finding a gorgeous bridge behind the mill to cross the river, we stopped in amazement halfway across the bridge.
DAM SIGHTING
The view east was of one of the dams on the Occoquan.
Crossing the bridge, we arrived at the artificial waterfall.
ROCKLEDGE MANSION
Walking back across the bridge and onto the street, we saw a large building upon the hill, Rockledge Mansion, a private residence which dates back to 1760.
Although there are many houses, townhouses, and apartments in town, from 19th century Victorian to contemporary, none are as large as this.
It must have a massive history, like the size of the house.
MORE QUAINT SHOPPING
Below this house and down the street a bit was Hawthorne House Fine Paper with a gorgeous array of stationary, cards, gift wrap and 19th century stamping and writing supplies.
Guess what I purchased? Some of the 19th century writing supplies, including a fancy ink blotter!
And next to that was Personally Yours, a stunningly gorgeous two-story shop in a 19th century house that sold a variety of lovelies from food to jewelry to clothing to decor items, in such a way that I thought I was transported to Gruene, Texas as I walked through the door.
The shop even had comfortable seating on the extensive porch, again like Gruene.
Walking up the hill was Mom’s Apple Pie Company that sells fresh pies, and next to them is a wine shop.
Historic Occoquan wins first prize in quaint shopping!
Despite visiting one other time, during their busy spring market where vendors take over the streets, it was so crowded I didn’t explore any of the town itself, only the artisan vendors, which are featured for a weekend every May and September.
Although that is fun, I’m glad to have finally experienced the town, itself.
