Integrity Cruise

Day 36: Norfolk to Hampton, VA

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Day 36: Friday, May 13th: We got underway from Waterside Marina late, about 12:30, because we had to make a run to the post office and grocery store. We decided to only go across Hampton Roads to Hampton, VA. The trip north began by our passing red buoy "36" which is ICW Mile Marker "Zero." We took several pictures, but this one with a tour boat, Nauticus (Norfolk's Maritime Center) and the battleship Wisconsin in the background seemed worthy of posting here. This marker is 584 miles from our starting point last April 8th:

As we moved northward, the loading piers for the huge container ships came into view:

Next came the military transport ships. These belong to the US Navy, but are not warships - they transport support material to bases around the world:

Then we came into view of the Navy warships. In port today were several carriers, frigates, nuclear submarines and miscellaneous tenders. There were also a couple of Canadian frigates. Since 9-11-01, no one is allowed near these ships, so we left a wide berth:

The Atlantic Ocean made itself felt as we crossed over Hampton Roads, paralleling the bridge-tunnel into Hampton. Big rolling seas felt like 4-6 feet, but they were probably only 3-4 feet.

We anchored in the Hampton river right near downtown Hampton. When we untied the dinghy, we discovered some damage last week's storm had caused (see logs for May 6 and May 7):

By the time we went ashore, all the shops and attractions had closed except this carousel. It has been beautifully maintained by a local support group and is the oldest wooden carousel still in operation. Ruth and I bought tickets to ride. Great fun!

The carousel is housed inside its own building to help keep the elements from harming it:

The Jacques Cousteau Society Headquarters was already closed, so we agreed to come back tomorrow and visit. The impressive building is almost all windows and opens out over the harbor. Sadly the picture doesn't do it justice:

We headed back to the boat for an early bedtime. Unfortunately, Bill stayed up late transmitting logs to Webmaster Chaz. We have been out of Verizon's digital network for about a week.

Position tonight: N37 01.584 W076 20.308

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