Saturday, May 11, 2012
We left Atlantic Yacht Basin at 7;00 AM and immediately went through the Great Bridge drawbridge and into the Great Bridge Lock with about a 2' drop. This is the 6th lock and I believe the final lock in our Loop adventure -- total for the entire trip is now 157 locks.
Today was gray and overcast with 70 degree temperatures. We stopped at Top Rack Marina for fuel which was $3.38 per gallon -- the cheapest fuel we've found this year. They have an excellent restaurant which we hope to try on our return trip south. We traveled north through Norfolk with much commercial traffic and, of course, the Navy Base. We were able to be followed by AIS via www.marinetraffic.com which listed Say Good-Bye and the details and we were depicted by a pink arrow as you could follow our course. We had to laugh when our friend, Pete, emailed to say "Look out for Miss Gill coming up on your stern faster than you're going!" He was tracking us. Way cool! We traveled 29 miles today and it was really interesting going through Norfolk.
Striper seems a lot better today. She's eating and drinking a lot more and really working us over for treaties, baked ham and corned beef, but that's okay. We're glad she's starting to perk up again.
We arrived at the Hampton, VA Public Marina which is practically in the center of town and was $1.25 per foot plus $3 for electric/water. This is very reasonable for such a great location. I was tired and took a power nap this afternoon and left the captain to his own devices. He walked up the street and had a panini for lunch and took Striper out and about. Later he told me that there was manicurist just up the street, but he thought I really needed a nap and wouldn't feel up to a pedicure. IS HE KIDDING??? Had I known, I might have hobbled up the street for that!
Our friend, Pete McHugh came by to pick us up for dinner. He took us on a driving tour of historic Fort Monroe that still has an active moat -- meaning, the moat is intact and still has water in it. He regaled us with its interesting history and its uses today. I'd like to walk through it on our return trip. We have a lot of things to do on our "return trip" -- I need to start making a list. But I might add, there may not be a return trip if we sell Say Good-Bye. We have several interested parties so we'll see how things go. But if we bring her back to Florida in the fall, I can come up with a big, fat itinerary of places to go and people to see.
Pete only gave us 99 options for dinner, and we ended up dining at one of his and Dee's favorite spots, "Six" - a little tapas place in Phoebus on the outskirts of Hampton. The service was good and our dinner was excellent. We were sorry to miss Dee -- but she had Mother's Day plans to go to a play with her son and I'm sure she had a wonderful evening.
Thank you, Pete, for a fun visit, as usual, and for treating us to an excellent dinner. Dinner was delicious and the company, delightful.
Here are a few photos:
Today was gray and overcast with 70 degree temperatures. We stopped at Top Rack Marina for fuel which was $3.38 per gallon -- the cheapest fuel we've found this year. They have an excellent restaurant which we hope to try on our return trip south. We traveled north through Norfolk with much commercial traffic and, of course, the Navy Base. We were able to be followed by AIS via www.marinetraffic.com which listed Say Good-Bye and the details and we were depicted by a pink arrow as you could follow our course. We had to laugh when our friend, Pete, emailed to say "Look out for Miss Gill coming up on your stern faster than you're going!" He was tracking us. Way cool! We traveled 29 miles today and it was really interesting going through Norfolk.
Striper seems a lot better today. She's eating and drinking a lot more and really working us over for treaties, baked ham and corned beef, but that's okay. We're glad she's starting to perk up again.
We arrived at the Hampton, VA Public Marina which is practically in the center of town and was $1.25 per foot plus $3 for electric/water. This is very reasonable for such a great location. I was tired and took a power nap this afternoon and left the captain to his own devices. He walked up the street and had a panini for lunch and took Striper out and about. Later he told me that there was manicurist just up the street, but he thought I really needed a nap and wouldn't feel up to a pedicure. IS HE KIDDING??? Had I known, I might have hobbled up the street for that!
Our friend, Pete McHugh came by to pick us up for dinner. He took us on a driving tour of historic Fort Monroe that still has an active moat -- meaning, the moat is intact and still has water in it. He regaled us with its interesting history and its uses today. I'd like to walk through it on our return trip. We have a lot of things to do on our "return trip" -- I need to start making a list. But I might add, there may not be a return trip if we sell Say Good-Bye. We have several interested parties so we'll see how things go. But if we bring her back to Florida in the fall, I can come up with a big, fat itinerary of places to go and people to see.
Pete only gave us 99 options for dinner, and we ended up dining at one of his and Dee's favorite spots, "Six" - a little tapas place in Phoebus on the outskirts of Hampton. The service was good and our dinner was excellent. We were sorry to miss Dee -- but she had Mother's Day plans to go to a play with her son and I'm sure she had a wonderful evening.
Thank you, Pete, for a fun visit, as usual, and for treating us to an excellent dinner. Dinner was delicious and the company, delightful.
Here are a few photos:
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| Great Bridge Lock, Chesapeake, VA |
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| Commercial ships in Norfolk, VA |
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| Navy Ships, Norfolk, VA God bless our troops! |
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| Navy ships, Norfolk, VA |
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| Naval aircraft carrier, Norfolk, VA |
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| Our position today |
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| Security around the Naval ships |
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| Entering Hampton, VA |
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| Entering Hampton, VA |
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| Dinner with Pete at "Six" -- tonight's back yard |
Hah! The first photo you posted was you in the lock with Stiletto. An Isle of Hope friend recently posted a photo of Stiletto there. Small world.
ReplyDeleteWe met the owner at Atlantic Yacht Basin and had a nice chat with him on the dock the evening we stayed there. I believe he and some friends were headed to East Point near Annapolis. It's quite an interesting boat -- very fast. Small world indeed.
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