Portsmouth, Virginia
Scott-Free’s blog
Steve & Chris
Wed 8 Jun 2011 01:47
36:50.3N
76:17.8W
Wednesday 8th June
2011
Distance run: 10
nmiles
A very short run, so
a late departure meant that we could walk into town again and stock up with some
provisions at the Farm Fresh supermarket. We slipped the lines just before
midday and motored into the lock which joins the non-tidal ICW waters to the
tidal waters. As the water only rose by about a foot, this didn't take
long and we were soon on our way towards Portsmouth,which is just across the
water from Norfolk. Again we benefitted from Sarah's local knowledge and
were able to tie up in the centre of Portsmouth on a free
dock.
Like its namesake in
the UK, Portsmouth Virginia is a naval base, and we were surprised by the sheer
number of naval vessels we passed. We took a ferry over to Norfolk and
visited the Nauticus museum, where we were able to go aboard USS
Wisconsin which was the ship, now retired, that launched the first missiles
in operation Desert Storm in the Gulf war.
US naval vessels
in Portsmouth,
Virginia On
the deck of USS Wisconsin
Sarah very kindly
invited us all to her condo at Virginia Beach and of course we jumped at the
chance! We hired a car, threw overnight bags in the boot (sorry - trunk)
and Kenny drove us to the condo. In less than an hour we had arrived, and
had been given a tour around the complex,which includes tennis courts, swimming
pool, library, gym and of course access directly onto Virginia beach via a
bridge over the road. We were spoilt for choice of things to do, but
mainly just spent the day chilling out in the air conditioned comfort of the
apartment.
Relaxing in the
condo...
...which looks out over the Atlantic ocean.
Supper cooked by
Kenny & Sarah was
delicious.
The view from the apartment (through a rather dirty
window!)
It was an extremely
enjoyable break from the boats, and we all returned to them the next day much
refreshed (and much cleaner having made good use of the bathroom facilities and
washing machine!) Cheers Sarah!