We are tied up at the free dock at Great Bridge and for the first time since we started this trip Barb and I are both changing out of long undies and into shorts and T-shirts.

Hurrah!

We managed to grab about three hours sleep at old Point Comfort and then we set off for Great Bridge. Or original intent was for us to rent a space at the marina to spoil ourselves but discovered that they we totally booked up. To room at the inn so to speak. Probably just as well as we can now save the money. The park on the south side of the bridge which was always in a state of non completion - it'll be done next year, maybe - is now done and is really very nice. A fixed dock with pilings, well kept adjacent to a park and very close walking distance to all kinds of shops. No facilities in the dock but hey. It's free! I think that if I was a local kid I would get whatever permission that I would need to come down to the dock and catch and cast off lines, welcome boaters, and give out information etc., all in the hopes of tips. I think they would do very well and the town would have someone on site that they don't have to pay who has a vested interest in getting folks off the dock after 24 hours.

As we came through the Norfolk Naval Station and the Norfolk Naval Refit Yards I was struck by the incredible ability the US has for projection of force throughout the world and this was only one navy base on one coast! I counted three aircraft carriers so that would mean the basis of three naval task forces, as well as several marine amphibious carriers each of which could be the core of a Marine Expeditionary Force one of the most lethal military groupings in the world!

By noon we were at the free dock and by one I had scampered across the bridge to the marina where I learned that they didn't actually have the RAM mike I needed but rather one from a different manufacturer. Sigh! They did have the right oil filters and a propane regulator so we will be able to use our BBQ again so all was not lost. I am going to make one more last ditch effort to repair the existing mic and then give up. Electronics are great for boats but they are just one more thing to go wrong.