Spotted this beautiful heron
on the lock at Great Bridge
Loon & Scott Free in
Great Bridge lock
Steel Bridge - Last opening
bridge on our journey up the ICW
Barge working under 65ft fixed bridge
and it was too close for
comfort as we passed just off centre beneath it!
Passing US Naval Boatyard in
Norfolk
Steel and industry all
around!
Anyway we managed to pass with no incident and a few miles
further up we headed into a small ferry landing basin off the Elizabeth River,
where we we all managed to tie alongside the visitors (or ‘transient’)
dock.
Ferry from Portsmouth to
Norfolk across Elizabeth River
Lightship at
Portsmouth
We wondered into Portsmouth town for a beer and Kenny
suggested a nice little place about 20 minutes walk away. As we were
chatting to the barman, it only turned that he was brought up in Leicester, not
far from where Michael lived with his parents. He even went to the same
schools! It just shows what a small world we live in!
The weather was beginning to ‘hot up’, so we took the short
ferry ride across the river to Norfolk and took advantage to cool down by
exploring the ‘power of the sea’ in the air conditioned Nauticus museum. Although we did end up having to brave the nearly
100 F to short excursion around the US Naval Battleship Wisconsin, which served
in 3 wars and is one of the largest and last battleships built by the US Navy
and stretches nearly 3 football fields long!
Kenny and Steve in comfort
waiting for the ferry
Yours truly on the ferry,
with Nimue moored in the background
All aboard the Battleship
Wisconsin
I had been longing for a bath and happen to mention this to
Sarah, who later suggested that we all go to her condo in nearby Virginia Beach
where I could enjoy a bath! We ALL thought this was a great idea, so Kenny
hired a car and the next day we drove the 20 or so miles to Virginia
Beach. Sarah’s condo was fantastic, which overlooked the Atlantic Ocean
and had every amenity you could wish for. However, we were all quite
content just relaxing in the air conditioned condo in comfy chairs and I
especially enjoyed having a long soak in the bath. An excellent meal at
night put on by Sarah and Kenny and we all drifted off to bed. A real
treat and thank you once again Sarah.
Sarah & Kenny in kitchen
at the Condo (+ Chris)
Relaxing in the
lounge
Enjoying
dinner!
It was then back to reality and the heat! Nonetheless we
left the hustle and bustle of Norfolk and commenced our trip up the Chesapeake
Bay to Deltaville.
