Tue 22 May 2012
Tied to Free Dock at North Landing, Portsmouth, VA

[photo: battleship Wisconsin]

I don't think Diane heard the ferry after she closed her eyes. I adjusted the stern line to allow for the tidal change and went to bed a bit later. We slept well, and awoke to a fair amount of fog. What woke us up was not the fog itself, but the massive whistle blasts from a huge freighter as she was guided by tugs up the Elizabeth River.

We spent a bit of time researching distances between points of interest in the Chesapeake and mapped out a rough plan for our stops over the next week. We will definitely be stopping in Annapolis, as our friend, Bill, has arranged a repair yard for us to get some important things done.

After the fog lifted, it started feeling quite warm to Duane and comfortable to Diane. We got out the bicycles and backpack and headed out to explore the Olde Towne. While we did not stop at every location listed to read the brief history of the building (mostly homes), we did admire how many nicely maintained historic homes there were packed in one location. There were very few (if any) homes that looked to be in sad repair and many blocks seemed to be entirely historic homes with very interesting architecture.

Most of the Olde Towne is bicycle friendly, but once you get outside that on the main roads (such as London St and the Food Lion grocery store), then you have difficulties with traffic. The store was pretty good, according to Diane, and we packed home the booty on our bikes. We rode about 4 miles in total, and it was a pleasant way to spend the morning.

After a brief lunch, we got the 1230 ferry (right from our landing, but still a few minute walk) across the Elizabeth River to the landing at Norfolk. It was a 15 minute walk to the Nauticus Museum, co-located with the battleship Wisconsin. We found the museum to be large, very clean, and full of varied exhibits. Maybe we have just seen a lot of maritime museums in our day, but we breezed through this one in a little over 2 hours, including touring the open part of the battleship Wisconsin, which was solely the main deck. Overall, we are not sorry we went (maybe Diane is a little), but it wasn't a thrilling event for us.

As we walked back to the ferry dock, it started raining, and then we realized we could not make the ferry that was just departing. I suggested we have a beer on the outside deck of an eatery there, and then it started really pouring, with lightning, too. Diane was not a happy camper because she had deliberately left one small hatch open on the boat and was fretting about all the water that might be getting in. She made the dash for the our boat when the ferry reached the dock and after Duane finally got there, she reported that very little water had come in.

After a much-needed nap, we got dressed for dinner (including rain jackets and umbrella) and then walked the half mile to the Lobscouser Restaurant. We met our new friends, Ed and Jane, there and had a simply wonderful meal for very reasonable prices. Many cruisers have recommended this place and it is a real gem!

Strolling home after the rain stopped was quite pleasant. We have two larger sailboats tied up to our stern, but no one is visible. Our plan is to leave tomorrow at whatever time we feel like it and head to an anchorage in the Chesapeake. It may be on the eastern shore or not; we don't know at this point.

We will post our intended schedule in a day or so.