Hampton Roads, VA

Woke up and checked the clock...it said 6:30am. So we got dressed and had coffee and checked the weather. That is when we noticed it was really 4:30am!! Well, we were up so now what?

Got underway in the dark at 5:45am and headed back out into a rainy morning. The Severn River may be a beautiful place but we never saw it in the daylight.

Another rocky trip down the Bay to Norfolk. Not as bad as the last two days but still rainy and windy. The Thimble Shoals Lighthouse at the entrance to the Hampton Roads area was a welcome sight. With a population of 1.7 million, the Hampton Roads area is the 33rd largest metropolitan area in the country.










On the way in we were overtaken by the American President Line "Virginia". We had a nice conversation with the pilot onboard. Two tug boats rotated the ship and back it into the container dock in Norfolk. Quite a sight to see.

















The harbor at Norfolk/Newport News/Portsmouth is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. The shear number of ships, both commercial and Navy, is staggering. Add to that the drydocks and shipyards and it is one imposing place. We stopped in Portsmouth for the night at a free town dock at the foot of High St. It was also Trick or Treat night downtown sponsored by the local merchants.





Photo: USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77)