Gwynn's Island

Gywnn's Island is a part of Mathews County and is located at the mouth of the Piankatank River where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

Gwynn's Island is a popular weekend destination for many in Virginia's inland areas, relatively well accessible to most of I95 corridor and almost immediate access to the Bay.

Gwynn's Island offers some sandy beaches along its eastern border with the Bay.  Southern and western sides border the more protected Milford Haven and Hills Bay and are natural.

Water Depth around Gwynn's Island is shallow near shore (less than 3'), dropping to no more than 20' in most nearby areas including bordering sections of the Chesapeake Bay.

Tin Can Alley dispute 14A in Gloucester-Mathews newspaper

Tin Can Alley is still in dispute. The Gloucester-Mathews newspaper has a front-page article.
There is 45-foot wide public access. As far as "private property" on Gwynn's Island, I believe
any beach front deed specifies "mean high tide" and therefore when the tide is "out"
where the water was is also public, thus the long tradition of
walking to either "end of the Island" either hole in the wall or Cherry Point.
I have done that many times beginning in 1960's and continue to do so.
Spouse is age 71 and has been doing this since about age 5
when the family (Pirkle) lived in Petersburg (close to Fort Lee).

by any other name

My parents had three boys in rapid succession: 1944 Bobby, 1945 Buddy, 1947 Buster. I was the Bobby - through graduation from high school in 1962. That August / September I arrived at Wake Forest University and a senior opined: you should be called "Bob." I graduated from college in 1966, attended graduate school, worked 1974-1985 at a large insurance company in New Jersey. The next job was as computer consultant for a contractor supporting Pentagon (U.S. Navy) and because of my good work, the manager who worked for the government called me "Dr. Bob" (I have a desk name plate to that effect). After the birth of our first grandchild in 2007, when the grandson learned to speak the language, he named my spouse "Grandma Bee" so I became "Grandpa 'B'" and carry that name still and into our future.