Day 6 (Morning): Ground beneath us
26 October 2011 | Norfolk, VA
Warm, finally! 68 degrees, sunny with a light breeze

So after spending two days and two nights on board, we decided it was a good idea to feel the ground beneath our feet. We slept in 'till 10 AM after landing in Norfolk at 3 AM - we needed the sleep... So after waking up we jumped onto the dock and headed to see the Marina office, a little hut at the end of the pier. We were directed to a local book store so we could buy an ICW specific guide, but unfortunately they only had the guide we already had aboard...guess that will have to do. So we meandered around the streets of the city and found a Starbucks for breakfast. The coolest part about Norfolk is that it is right on the water. There is a navy stronghold in Norfolk and barges, dredgers and shipping carriers all around. We strolled past the Navy Museam and parked ourselves on a bench in the park overlooking the waterway. It is a dramatically different site to see the huges industrial cranes, naval ships and barges moving about like 20' motor boats do at home in our harbors.
We knew we had to keep moving, so we made it back to the marina for a 2 PM departure into the ICW. Norfolk is the location of Mile Marker Zero of the ICW; our brief stroll on land was a nice change of pace, but it was time to traverse through the big robotic city and change scenery to the swampy river/canal of the ICW.