Norfolk & Vicinity

May 8 - 15, 2017

We have certainly enjoyed Norfolk!  Our downtown marina has an unbeatable view of the very busy Elizabeth River.  This tour boat docks next to our slip.

Tour boat

With the large US Navy presence in Norfolk, there are a lot of military-related tourist attractions here.  We are an easy walk to the Douglas MacArthur memorial and to the USS Wisconsin, a former Navy battleship docked at Nauticus, a maritime museum.

USS Wisconsin

Some excellent docents led tours throughout the museum and ship.  Robert especially enjoyed the engine room tour.

USS Wisconsin machine shop

Also nearby is a residential district with numerous brownstone-style condos, some restored older homes and some, new construction.  Downtown has a vibrant nightlife with numerous restaurants, hotels, a convention center and a real shopping mall anchored by Nordstrom and Dillards.  (I resisted the temptation!)  A neighborhood park includes an oriental garden.

Norfolk Oriental Garden

 Boka was fascinated by the koi pond.

Norfolk Oriental Garden

While New Bern has it's bears, Norfolk has mermaids.  Lots of them.  Everywhere ...

Norfolk Oriental Garden

We are docked in front of a new entertainment / restaurant venue opening this weekend with live music planned over a four day celebration.

Waterside District

 

Waterside District

A Saturday boat parade was part of the grand opening festivities.  It featured a group of local law enforcement boats plus some large commercial tows.

Elizabeth River Boat Parade

Despite gray, dreary skies, these guys were strutting their stuff - spraying water and tooting horns.

Elizabeth River Boat Parade

At the end, these boats lined up for a photo op!  Boaters at the marina were cheering them on.

Elizabeth River Boat Parade

During our week's stay, numerous cruisers came and went.  We met several more looper couples and other cruisers returning north after spending the winter in the Bahamas.  We expect to see several of these couples off and on this summer as we are all heading to Cape Cod and the Maine coast.  We enjoyed docktails and exchanging boat tours several evenings and had dinner with a couple we met in New Bern.  This is a very social lifestyle.

We hopped on this ferry next to our marina for the short ride across the Elizabeth River to Portsmouth.  Boka came along and a passenger asked if this was her first boat ride.  Hah!

Ferry to Portsmouth

Portsmouth has a small "Old Towne" of mostly restored homes and shops.  It does appear to be struggling but we had a nice walk through the historic district.

"Old Towne" Portsmouth VA

Unfortunately we missed the hours to tour this lightship.  Built in 1915, she spent 48 years anchored offshore in various locations to serve as a lighthouse.  The related Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum was closed for remodeling.

Lightship Portsmouth

So here we are within an hour's drive of colonial Virginia.  We decided we should tour the historic towns of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown.  Williamsburg has preserved many period buildings along a main street and volunteers dress in period costume to describe how people lived when these towns were first settled by Europeans.

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg

At Jamestown we were able to walk a wooded trail to the James River.  The historic settlement is an active archeological dig and we were not able to take Boka into the area.

Jamestown Settlement

Yorktown is a charming village with a few shops and restaurants and numerous historic homes.  Fronting on the York River, it has a small city marina.  We had planned to bring Sauvy B here to stay a few days and came to look at the slips before moving the boat.  The Yorktown battlefield, dating to the Revolutionary War, is nearby and is quite large.  We soon realized we would not be able to see it without a car, so we toured it while here and will skip this stop in the boat.

Yorktown

A museum docent at the battlefield is dressed in period costume and presents his story in character.  (We're beginning to detect a pattern at these historical sites.  Not sure if we like it or not; sometimes it would be better to read placards at our own pace.  But this is a novel way to personalize history.)

The battle of Yorktown, fought in 1781, was the decisive victory of the Americans over the British in the Revolutionary War.  The entire battlefield area, including staging areas for troops on both sides, is now a national park.  Narrow scenic roads lead between major lines of defense and encampment areas for the British, Americans and their French allies.

Trails lead to key locations with descriptive signage.

Many areas that were open fields when the battle raged have been reclaimed by the forest.  It is hard to imaging the bloody battle in these beautiful woods.

We decide to tour one last military site, Fort Monroe, across Hampton Roads from Norfolk. Built in 1834, the fort has massive stone walls in a roughly hexagonal shape.  Traffic lights control access through several gates barely wide enough for one car.

Fort Monroe entrance

  The fort is surrounded by a moat.

Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe was in active use until decommissioned recently in one of the BRAC rounds.  Homes on the lovely grounds are now owned by the city and are leased to anyone who wants to live here.

Fort Monroe

This lighthouse and the bay beyond can be seen from the top of the fort's wall.

Old Point Comfort Lighthouse from Fort Monroe

We've enjoyed our stay but are ready to start cruising again.  We will soon leave Norfolk and begin our journey up the Chesapeake Bay.

Sunset on the Elizabeth River