A
TIME OF REFLECTION
One of the many wonderful
things about this little business is that every year at this time,
we sit down to write our news letter and reflect on the last 12
months of our family and of our “ customer” family.
How fortunate we are to be surrounded by such wonderful people.
Thank you all for helping to make our world so happy and gratifying.
We look forward to spending another summer season sharing and
making good memories with you. |
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ROAD
CLOSED
That
beautiful winding road along the river leading to our cabin will
be closed from 3 March thru 30 April for the purpose of replacing
the Golden Run Bridge. This will mean that our April customers
will be asked to take a different route to get to us which will
add about 15 minutes to your travel time.
This road closure had the potential of being closed well into
our season (May/ June). With the help of local citizens and the
County Board of Supervisors and considerable negotiations with
the Virginia Dept of Transportation, VDOT was kind enough to reconsider
the project and it’s negative impact on our business. They
agreed to have the road reopen as of 1 May and would do whatever
it takes to fulfill that promise. We owe a great deal of thanks
to all of these understanding and considerate people.
Alternate directions
during that time will be: From I95 take exit 130B and continue
West on route 3 for
3.5 miles to a right on route 620. Then go 2.6 miles to a right
on River Road (Rt. 618). Then go
4 miles to Clore Bros. Outfitters on left. |
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CAMPING
AT THE CABIN
Due to the number
of special events (weddings, company parties, etc) scheduled for
the summer, camping on our property this year will be very limited.
There is a KOA Campground only 20 minutes from our property. You
may visit the Fredericksburg KOA campground web site at fredericksburgkoa.com
and make your reservations early. Last minute camping privileges
here could be cancelled in the event our facilities are rented
on short notice.
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GO
FOR THE GUSTO
Remember those “Go
for the Gusto” water levels of a few years ago. Well, it
looks like those days could be back for this canoeing season.
The river is a really at a healthy level now. In fact on February
22 the river rose to within 4 inches of being under the cabin.
The ground is wet and the entire watershed is benefiting form
the nice slow melting of the snow. Let’s all hope for a
continuation of the current weather patterns and we can then count
on a great season for canoeing. |
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CANOES
FOR SALE
Come and test paddle
one of our used Old Town 169 Discovery, while they last. They
are truly the best, toughest, & most versatile canoes available
on the market today. Our prices range from $350.00 to $495.00.
Retail on this same boat NEW is $800.00
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PARTY
TIME
Whether you want
to have a company picnic or retreat, a retirement party, or a
formal or casual wedding, our 1200-sq. ft. air conditioned log
home/conference building, as well as the shaded patio overlooking
the Rappahannock, will be the perfect setting for your event.
Pricing depends on the number of people and length of time that
you will be using the facility. Please visit our web site at clorebros.com
for photos and details.
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THE BIG
ONE THAT DIDN’T GET AWAY
Using night crawlers,
Kevin Turner, of Delaware, a 15-year repeat customer, caught this
6 + lb catfish at 2:00 AM right off the end of our boat ramp.
It is definitely the biggest catfish I’ve ever seen caught
in this upper section of the Rappahannock. Since catfish are my
favorite fish, Kevin gave it to me rather than return it to the
river. Upon returning from shuttle I discovered that someone had
STOLEN my catfish dinner. Not wanting to admit to Kevin that I
had been careless with such a prize, I never mentioned it upon
their return. Today, a whole year later Kevin tells me that he
just found out that Kurt Healy (trip leader) got off the bus at
the last minute under the pretense of going to the bathroom and
released “Big Bubba” back to the river (he’s
a “catch and release” man). |
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TEN
GUYS AND A GAL
“James Kelly
Party” before running Kelly’s Ford Rapids at Remington.
The only female on the trip (center front)took a lot of teasing
before getting under way. She took it well and finished the two-day
trip safely. |
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FIRST
TIMER HITS IT BIG”
One
of our loyal customers, Dave Ankeney, wanted to impress one of
his friends, R. J. Stewart, with the fishing on the Rappahannock.
Guess what….his guest caught a bigger fish than Dave! Oh,
well, Dave wouldn’t have had it any other way. The only
information that we know about this is that it was on the Blankenbaker
trip…lure and location were not revealed! Since Dave is
a “catch and release” man, that fish is waiting to
be landed again. |
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This
whopper of a German Carp actually took a hook, on the Blankenbakers
to Clore Bros. section of the Rappahannock. All of us have seen
these huge non-biting fish many times, but did you ever see one
landed? |
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I hope
that all of you will enjoy having the opportunity to download
our newsletter from the Internet. Year after year, we have spent
so much time and money on printing and mailing the newsletter,
only to hear from a lot of our customers that they did not receive
it. This is so frustrating, so I look forward to being able to
tell everyone to go to our web site where they will find not only
this newsletter, but also a wealth of other information.
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This
has been another wonderful year for Gene and me, especially since
we now have another grandchild. A little girl, weighing in at 6-lbs.
9 oz., and 19 inches long, was born on November 5, 2002. Her name
is Morgan Embrey Pugh. We had a very emotional moment when our daughter,
Courtney, announced her name, since Embrey was my mother’s
maiden name. She passed away 10 years ago and it was so special
to us to have her remembered in this way. Tyler is now 3 ½
and just our pride and joy! He has adjusted beautifully to his new
sister and takes a lot of pride in calling her his “little
miss”. |
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picture on right is of Courtney, Morgan and me on the day of Morgan’s
christening. She was christened in the same gown as her father,
Robert, as well as all of his siblings. Courtney invited everyone
back to their home for a party following the christening and Morgan
was just perfect while being passed back and forth among all of
the guests. |
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Courtney
and Robert treated Tyler to a trip to Disney World this past year
and I can’t help but include this photo of Tyler and Snow
White (which I think is prize winning). He said that Snow White
had called him her “little Prince”. I know that he sure
is mine! |
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We
took our annual ski trip a few weeks ago and the highlight of the
trip was watching Tyler take his ski lessons and then proceed to
take the lift up with Gene and Courtney. He just absorbed all of
the instruction so well and was so proud to be able to ski like
a “big boy”, because as he reminded us, he is three
now, not two! |
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Gene
surprised me this summer with a trip to Europe! Our daughter, Melanie,
was in the south of France for six weeks studying
French at a language school in Aix en Provence. Since this is the
busiest time of our season, it never occurred to me that it would
be possible for me to join her. The two of them, however, got their
heads together and made it all work out. I joined her for the last
week of her stay and had the most wonderful whirlwind trip. I met
her in Rome and we spent two days there, took the night train to
Paris and stayed on the left bank for 2 nights and then took another
train down to Aix en Provence for two more nights. We rented a car
and she showed me all of the wonderful places that she had enjoyed
while she was there, and the two of us visited a few places that
she had not seen before. The last day of the trip, we got up at
6A. M. and took the train back to Paris for a day of touring. That
night, we took a dinner cruise on a bateau floating down the Seine
under their beautiful bridges with wonderful French food and a beautiful
view of the lights of Paris. The highlight of the trip was visiting
Vatican City where we toured the Sistine Chapel, but of course,
the Louvre was unforgettable and then there was the trip to Versailles…oh
well, I can’t choose the “highlight” of the trip
because it was all so wonderful! Our flight back was interrupted
by a cancellation on the second leg from Amsterdam to Dulles. The
airline gave us free accommodations for the night in a hotel, plus
a wonderful dinner and breakfast the next morning. It was a wonderful
opportunity to rest up and we were then able to enjoy the rest of
the long flight the next day. I really did not think that the trip
across the country and back with Melanie could be topped, but believe
me this trip was every bit as wonderful. |
| Melanie
will be getting her masters degree in English Literature from
the University of Richmond in May. She hopes to land a teaching
job in Richmond in the fall. Until then, she is going to be working
with us for a little while and then going to Fishing Bay Yacht
Club in Deltaville to be the director of their sailing program
for two months.
Our “adopted
son”, Patrick Cushing, is returning again this summer. He
will be finished his first year of law school this spring and
has excelled in his studies. We can hardly believe the luck of
having him to help us another year! Gene is excited about the
projects that he will be able to accomplish with his help, along
with the fun that the two of them have together (you may have
noticed the snakeskin headbands that they both enjoy wearing).
I don’t want to get into how this process occurs!
The last Clore niece
(Brittany) graduated from high school this past June and started
college at Virginia Wesleyann. It seems so hard to believe that
the little baby that took naps in the top of our dry boxes when
she got tired is now in college. Time is flying!
I am very excited
about seeing everyone again and catching up on your news, Linda
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Me and my Mom at the beach |
Jake's Corner
A Few Words From Our Yellow Labrador
I'm so excited about
another year at the cabin. My good friend Patrick is returning
one more time. Oh! What fun. We grew up together at the cabin.
The first order of
business is to once again thank you for sorting your trash.
All recyclable items are donated to a local organization for
homeless animals and this means a lot to me since everyone is
not as fortunate as I am! My dad tries to make this easier for
you by designating the barrels for the various items and believe
me, it certainly makes it easier for him when the weekend is
over.
As the official greeter,
I would also like to thank you for all of your attention. My
favorite things include when you pet me, throw Frisbee for me,
throw sticks in the river and admire my leap into the water,
and last, but not least, the tidbits of your breakfast that
you secretly share with me (that's a "NO NO" according
to my parents, you know). Oh, I just can't wait.
Love, Jake
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