New Years at Cheatham Annex

My friend Angela had the idea to get a group of friends together to rent a house at Cheatham Annex to ring in 2015, which was probably the greatest idea of 2014. A group of us drove up from the HRVA area, a group drove down from DC, and some locals drove on over from Gloucester and there we met to watch the sun set on our year.

Cheatham Annex is part of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station, close enough so that you don't have to go far to get there but remote enough that you feel like you are away from it all. (Interestingly, the annex has been part of every American conflict since the revolutionary war. History!) The hundred-or-so-year-old farmhouse we rented used to be the commanding officer's headquarters and so was full of little interesting details like a wood-paneled library with secret compartments in the walls, a solarium, and beautiful views overlooking the York River. There was lots of room outside to run and play and the place was big enough to house FOUR families (six adults, two teens, four kids) with room to spare.











^ James whipping up a batch of George Washington's eggnog recipe, delicious & highly flammable ^


We said goodbye to the old year with chicken tacos, s'mores in the firepit, epic rounds of Cards Against Humanity, and as much champagne as we could hold. We said hello to the new year with more of the same, substituting black-eyed-peas for the tacos and LCR for the cards (have you played? It's awesome, not just because we were playing for cash and I won every time).

Active duty military, retirees, and Department of Defense employees and their civilian guests can rent cabins and houses at Cheatham Annex year-round (in the summer there's a pool, golf, kayaking and canoeing). Since it is an operating military base, there's a background check and a lot of paperwork for civilian guests to set it up. But it's worth it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! As Anouk says, "We're starting the year all over again. That's so crazy!"