Good Ol' Virginia!

Virginia...it pleasantly surprised me. It's consistent, modest, and idyllic. It reminds me of Wisconsin, in that there are a lot little cities with charm. The people are really nice like Wisconsinites too! We explored Norfolk and Chesapeake for a week or so before traveling back to Mpls., Halifax and Vancouver over a four week period. Upon our arrival back to Norfolk, we did some anchoring along the ICW and headed to Colonial Beach for a few nights. Here are the highlights! 

Norfolk - Norfolk is part of a conglomeration of small cities...Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton and Newport News. We made it to Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. There is an abundance of American history here...many museums, statues and landmarks. We stayed at Atlantic Yacht Basin, situated directly on the ICW which has been around since 1936. It is not only a marina, but a storage and maintenance facility as well.  It is rough around the corners, but it had a personality and we liked it! We met some great boaters here as well. Atlantic Yacht Basin is a typical stop for boaters on their way up the ICW to get north for hurricane season. We were there during the "rush". For the first few days we were there in late May, we had boats of all sizes passing us on the trek north but it seemed that most of them were big yachts and sailboats. It was fun to watch them go by as they were very close to us (we where tied up alongside the shore and the river is only about 150 feet wide). Because we were next to the historic Great Bridge,  most of the yachts had to wait for the bridge to open on the top of the hour, right next to us. Interesting trivia...back in 1775 there was a battle at Great Bridge during the Revolutionary War which was a pivotal American victory over the British. :)

The yachts going by on the "rush" up north to avoid the hurricane season. This one is a true beauty!

 We rented a car and spent time exploring Downtown Norfolk with the highlight   being our tour of the USS Wisconsin. This battleship is one of the largest and last battleships ever built by the U.S. Navy. It earned five battle stars during  WWII. It was so cool to tour this huge ship and imagine the sailors sleeping, working and fighting wars on this ship!

The downtown waterfront was beautiful, with a walkway and an old restored brick building off the water with restaurants and other businesses. We went to Chrysler Museum of Art, across town, which is fully funded by Walter Chrysler, which has over 10,000 pieces and has an amazing blown glass display. We drove into Virginia Beach and walked the long stretch of beach which was lined with hotels and tourists. It was a bit touristy for our tastes but it was enjoyable nevertheless. Who doesn't love a beach? 

Downtown Norfolk

We parked in a covered boat "garage" while we traveled back home. Lots of spiders though!

Big shrooms on my daily walk in the forest near the marina

Waterfront in Downtown Norfolk

USS Wisconsin - Downtown Norfolk

The Neptune Statue on Virginia Beach is 34 feet tall! 

We left Atlantic Yacht Basin on July 8th, when we got back from our whirlwind travels back home. We headed out towards the Potomac River to bring us up to DC!  We anchored a few nights, one near Yorktown, VA and another night in Maryland (a small marina and town, can't remember the name). The Potomac has Virginia on the south side and Maryland to the north, and DC at the end.  We have enjoyed the small marinas and towns along the way but are excited for the big city of DC! Our last stop before heading to there was Colonial Beach, VA. What a great little delightfully tacky beach town! Full of cute little houses with lots of lawn ornaments and white picket fences. Everyone gets around primarily on golf carts. The marina wasn't busy so we had their loaner golf cart at our disposal for two days! Upon our arrival we headed to Icehouse Brewery where there was a local karaoke contest. It was quite entertaining!  We "carted" around a lot, just taking everything in. Since it was 95 degrees out it felt good to feel a breeze as we cruised around! 

One of the many beaches in Colonial Beach

After a long, hot day of cruising we deserve a beer! (and local karaoke)

A typical idyllic house in Colonial Beach, VA

What kind of duck is this? I researched and came up with nothing! (Colonial Beach)

Colonial Beach is a quirky place! This was in someone's yard! 

Next stop is Washington DC! My parents and kids are flying in for a fun filled DC vacation! Stay tuned....