26 Apr 14

Charlie and Anita had a party to get to in Portsmouth in the afternoon, so we all got up early to catch the 08:30 lock opening at Deep Creek. The lock operator informed us that the South Mills Lock operator, who lives in Elizabeth City, had called to say his subdivision was damaged by a tornado during the storm the previous night; we were just there two nights ago. Terri and I stopped at the Chesapeake Yachts free dock for a late breakfast and to wait for the wind to die down a bit before crossing Hampton Roads. We had a very pleasant cruise through Portsmouth and Norfolk, enjoying the sights and the huge assortment of naval vessels of all types, and arrived in Hampton at 14:00. We will stay here for a few days, rent a car and do a little sight-seeing in SE Virginia. After happy hour, we went for a stroll around downtown Hampton and selected a likely looking restaurant - Conch and Bucket - on East Queen Street, and had a lovely meal of salmon and penne pasta.

27 Apr 14

After morning chores and laundry, since the weather was again nice, we walked over to the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton. This was a bit like NASA, although totally uncrowded, so we got first run (and multiple runs) at all the flight and moon landing simulators. How cool is that? Really neat displays on the past, present and future of flight and a whole range of space endeavors and plans. Worth a visit.

28 Apr 14

Weather forecast is again depressing, so we rented a car to run a few errands (i.e., visit West Marine and Lowes) and then drove over to see the Yorktown national monument. Well done park, museum and exhibits explaining the details of the final stages of the Revolutionary War, including the extensive (some would say essential) contributions by the French navy and army.

29 Apr 14

Rainy and gloomy again, but we drove over to Jamestown to see the site of the earliest, continuously inhabited English settlement in North America. Recent (i.e., within the last 5 years) archeological findings have modified a lot of the thinking about the early years of the settlement history. Fascinating. We had dinner in Phoebus (town immediately to the SE of Hampton) at a tapas bar: 6 Little Bar Bistro - very nice food, and nice manageable portion sizes and price.

30 Apr 14

Weather sucked again, so we decided against Williamsburg and instead went to the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News. This is one of the best museums I have had the pleasure to spend a day in; they literally had to chuck us out at the end and I believe we will go back tomorrow to see the half to which we did not get around. And, whatta ya know, that’s it for May.

1 May 14

Even though the weather was fairly nice, we decided to go on back to the Mariner’s Museum and see the rest of the stuff. We were there from about 11:00 until 15:30, when we left to meet my old tennis buddy, formerly from Houston - now living in Gloucester, VA and working just a couple of miles from the museum in Newport News. We had a few beers and talked about the old days. Ash invited us to spend a couple of nights at his place off the Ware River after we finish with the AGLCA rendezvous. Terri and I ate dinner at a Mexican food place in Newport News; it was not bad, but not up to Texas standards by a long shot.

2 May 14

This morning, we finally broke down and decided to visit historic Williamsburg. We did not buy tickets for the place, but just walked around town for most of the day enjoying the sights and sounds. We had lunch at Shields Tavern.  Our legs finally gave out about 17:00, so we left and stopped at Harris Teeter to grocery shop on the way back to the boat. We had a light dinner on the boat.

3 May 14

Nice day today. We took the rental car across Hampton Roads via the HRBT and drove to Norfolk to collect a spare serpentine belt for the main engine/alternator (I finally found someone who had one in stock). Afterward, we drove to Cape Henry to check out the Cape Henry Lighthouse, the first federal public works undertaken by the new government of the USA; President George Washington signed the $17,000 appropriations bill. Then we drove on to the Admiral Comte deGrasse memorial, which celebrates the contribution of the French fleet in the victory over the British fleet sailing down from New York to relieve Cornwallis. This defeat ensured Cornwallis’s surrender and thus the US victory in the revolutionary war. After reviewing the battle plan, it is easy to believe that a bolder (British) commander could have won this battle and the outcome of the war could have been very different. If Nelson had been a few years older and in command, I believe we would all be speaking with British accents. Afterward, we drove back to Hampton, went to dinner again at the Conch & Bucket and then danced the night away in the street party to the funk and reggae sounds of some band from Jersey (not Springsteen). We retired at 23:00, tired and sore, but happy.