Hampton to Centerville, VA Oct 24

Sunday we left the mess in the Salon

 Left patient Mazu to guard

And visited the VA Air and Space Museum which was totally redone from the last time we were there -- lots of new exhibits.

 rocket history

 planets

 The museum all lit up:

 Then we went out to dinner to our favorite restaurant, Venture, and had lettuce pork and shrimp wraps, and on Drew's plate of black coconut and pineapple rice. Share plate in the middle.

Monday we returned the key to the marina office, and  I picked some fresh lettuce and basil from the marina garden:

Fun tic tac toe display:

The US Navy had a busy day with lots of War Ships and submarines coming in and out of slips with announcements on the VHF to stay clear 500 yards and asking, "Why are you coming close?", conversations with boats that weren't listening and saying, "Yes, you must move immediately!" close...clueless.

 Navy War ship 6

Way in the background is a huge plume of spray

We Passed all of Norfolk and Portsmouth's cute docking places and went to the locks with a huge barge.  Since our little group of boats now included a barge with a As I came into the lock Drew had put down boards with fenders to keep us away from the wall, however the board caught in the side and ripped off, breaking the rope and cutting through the white plastic of the life line down to the braided metal underneath. Oh well...
The barge is about 30 feet wide and needs to be avoided.  You can just see the lock doors way down at the end.  They close them and the water came up 3' to become even with the other side.

 After the lock we immediately have a draw bridge - here's the barge going through the Great Bridge Bridge - yes, that's its name.

Here's the mileage to places as we head south from Great Bridge, VA.   We are going to Fort Pierce, FL, south of Jacksonville, 734 more miles and a couple of weeks.

We continued the rest of the day to Centerville Marina just before the Centerville Swing Bridge.  The noise from the cars on the grates of the bridge was very loud.  We were able to walk a half mile to a sushi placed and found it closed and a Fresh Market to restock a little - salad, salmon.  Drew added an African Violet to the mint and basil plants on board.

The bridge at night.  See the reflected upside down bridge in the glassy water.

TUESDAY: Up at 7:30 to walk Mazu, got wonderful text from AJ and pix of Violet and CC for school picture day.  

The bridge opened at 8:30 for its first swing of the day opening for 10 waiting boats  to go through.  The barge went through last night.  Two huge power boats got through first since they go at about 15 to 20 k.  Drew is driving today since I did yesterday.  Our little flotilla is following us that soon changed as they all passed us.  Everyone continues to jockey for position throughout the day.  We all travel together but stop at different places for the night.  Tonight's popular spot is Coinjock, NC famously known for its 32 oz. prime rib.  We are staying across the canal at Midway.

Now crossing into North Carolina, mile marker 34 on the ICW - no welcome sign - but then we all know NC has a bit of a problem lately welcoming all types.

Until next time.  

Reading The Year of Voting Dangerously by Maureen Dowd, funny witty quips and insight to some of the legislation passed in the administration before its impact, like H.W. Bush's (Bush Senior 41) tax increase that helped erase a huge deficit and create a surplus during Clinton's presidency.  Yet Bush 43 didn't pay for the Iraq or Afghanistan wars and reduced taxes to create the largest deficit ever.  All in all the book is a bust.