CURRENT LOCATION: Docked at Little Creek Marina, Norfolk, VA, USA
36 55.373' N, 076 11.155' W

We have spent the holiday weekend getting re-adjusted to life in the United States and, more importantly, getting used to being tied to land-based support.

For a month before our arrival I had been dreaming of a hose distributing an unlimited supply of high pressure fresh water. For the last 18 months, we have had to purchase most every gallon of water and transport it to the boat by dinghy. On the first day after our arrival I spent nearly the entire day hosing off the boat. Winds were light, so we raised the sails and sprayed off all of the accumulated salt. After they were dried, we flaked them carefully and noted how much better they felt. Amazing what a little fresh water can do.

Neighboring boaters were beginning to call me "Water Boy" by day's end, but my enthusiasm for spraying remained untarnished. I was cleaning out nooks and crannies that had accumulated gunk for months and months. Most importantly, though, the salt coating which had permeated everywhere during our offshore passages was blasted clean away. And, to top it all off, I ended my workday with a long, hot shower.

In addition to water, the internet service is flowing like we have not seen since leaving the United States. We are connected at reasonable speeds ALL the time. This is a true novelty, and one which we very much appreciate. We plugged in the boat's power cord (first time Prudence has seen shorepower since October 2007) and can even run both of the computers anytime we want without concerns of running the batteries low.

We went for a long walk over the weekend and are very impressed with our current surroundings. Sidewalks carry us to a well-stocked grocery store and there is a shipping place nearby if we decide to start e-Bay auctions for some of our spare cruising equipment. Although we had only planned to stay here in Norfolk for a few days or a week, we may linger for more like a month.

Today we took two major steps toward assimilating a more land-based lifestyle. We cleaned out the refrigerator on the boat (which had been used as dry storage) and turned it on. With the availability of shore power we can begin, once again, to enjoy cold beverages anytime we wish.

Then in an even more dramatic a step toward normalcy, we got a cell phone. We had been occasionally using Skype to make phone calls, but even with a good internet connection, this service does not always result in clear communication. With cheap pre-paid phones now available, we figured it would be best to have a modern and reliable means of contacting and being contacted by others.

Little Creek Marina is nice, with clean showers, decent laundry facilities and friendly dockmates. So, for now we'll continue on here with our acclimation to Americanisms and keep you posted on our status.