We Sightsee Norfolk and Virginia's Eastern Shore

Ferry to Norfolk

With the Moores on Seamoore

It was the weekend and we were supposed to turn in our rental car. We love the marina that we are staying at, but it is right in the middle of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, and there is not very much to see and do that is within biking distance, let alone walking distance. We decided to extend the rental for another two days over the weekend. On Saturday we drove into downtown Portsmouth and got on a ferry that would take us over to Norfolk.

Should we really go to that museum?

The ferry terminal on the Norfolk side was right next to the marina and meeting place for the AGLCA rendezvous. We spotted Confetti on the way in and decided to look them up. We found several looper boats that we had seen or heard on the radio over the past several weeks. The Laceys were off their boat but right across from them were Carlton & Becky Moore aboard Seamoore, who we had spent several days with in Ft. Pierce. We visited with them and got caught up until the Laceys returned.

At the naval museum

Model of CSS Virginia

Part of the Wisconsin's silver service

Ship's clock from USS Ironsides

Portsmouth lightship museum

We headed off to the Nauticus marine exhibit which also housed the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and the decommissioned battleship the USS Wisconsin.  We felt the marine exhibit would be aimed more towards educating a younger crowd about oceanography and marine biology, so we opted to spend our time in the naval museum. This is likely to be the best naval museum we will encounter on the trip and we really spent a lot of time going through it. The Wisconsin is awesome with her 16 inch guns and proud history. She was the navy's last battleship and saw operations as recently as the Gulf War in the early 1990's. We watched a movie which recreated the sensation of firing the big guns, and it just shook everything in the room. If we were marines landing on a beachhead we would definitely want these babies working for us. We left the museum and ferried back to Portsmouth and returned to the boat. When we got back, Peg & Pete aboard the sailboat Nautilady in the slip next to ours, invited us to a Greek festival that was sponsored by a Greek orthodox church in Norfolk. We often went to a similar festival in Ft. Walton Beach and always had great food and entertainment, so we agreed to go. This festival was much larger than any we had experienced with four food lines that extend for 50-60 yards. Additionally, there was a drive-through line where the cars were lined two abreast for about 40 yards. We had some great Greek food, watched the dancers and musicians in costume, and browsed through the craft and merchandise booths before heading out for ice cream on the way back to the marina. It was a really fun day.

One of two tunnels

Eastern shore view from bridge

Cape Charles lighthouse

The next day we wanted to take a Sunday drive, but were unsure of where to head to. After some discussion with the marina staff, we chose to drive over to Virgina's eastern shore. We wound our way over to Virginia Beach without getting too lost then got on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. What an experience! The Atlantic Ocean is on one side of the bridge and the bay on the other. There are two tunnels that takes you below the shipping channels. What surprised us most, however, was the $12.00 cost to ride this 20-odd mile causeway one way. After we got off the bridge, we stopped at the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge so Capt. Larry could get some more stamps for his passport book. We viewed the exhibits and drove around the refuge then headed north. Virginia's eastern shore is peppered with small towns, the largest one we encountered being Cape Charles. We toured the town by car and found the beach, lighthouse and business district, but being Sunday, the sidewalks were rolled up pretty tightly. We headed on up the eastern shore and Capt. Larry spotted a billboard advertising a local seafood restaurant just outside of the town of Birdsnest. We figured that we would have a good meal, but when we arrived in Nassawadox further north, we realized that we had missed it. We turned around and headed back, turning off several side roads looking for the restaurant, but we never found the restaurant or saw the billboard again. Must have been an eastern shore mirage. We drove back across the bridge tunnel after paying another $12.00 (the cashier on way over didn't give us a receipt that would have allowed us to return for $5.00) and headed back to the marina.

Ready to entertain

Finishing up dessert

We returned the car, got the throttle cable fixed, and did a bunch of boat chores. We were ready to move on whenever the weather would permit. The Laceys returned after the rendezvous was over and we invited them and Peg & Pete to dinner on Bavarian Cream.

A rainbow over Norfolk