After several more days of doing chores or changing something around again, we left Sailcraft for a big cruise of two miles to the Oriental Inn & Marina where we met Larry and Sue on SueSeaQ4. The temperatures were high 90s with heat index in the 100s so all four of us spent most of the time in the swimming pool cooling off.

Monday, June 9 we left Oriental for four months of cruising north. Our tentative itinerary, or as Jim says, "our plans are written in pencil in the sand near the shore's edge", included old and new territory. We planned to stay at places long enough to do some sightseeing. After cruising through the heavy smoke from the forest fires, we were happy to stop at Alligator River Marina. The four of us enjoyed dinner (softshell crabs) at the convenience store/restaurant/gas station/marina office. The next day we cruised to Coinjock where we stopped for the 32 oz. prime rib that provides at least two meals for two of us!

Thursday, June 12 we arrived at Waterside Marina in Norfolk. As they say, location, location, location. The city is at one's feet, Portsmouth across the river, and the almost constant passing of some type of vessel from commercial, military, recreational, and law enforcement. Jim dearly loves tugboats and was truly in awe of all the different types that went by.

Speaking of all kinds of vessels, Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas docks near Waterside; however, it must come down the river to right behind us to turn around. It was truly amazing to see this -- the captain was on the wing station and a mate was stationed at the bow. It is hard to imagine doing this without bow and stern thrusters!

On Saturday, June 14, Larry and Sue and Jim and I took the Naval Base Cruise aboard the Victory Rover. Needless to say, I don't remember all the info the captain gave us about all the ships we saw: some cost $1 billion and the aircraft carriers cost $5 billion. I enhanced these pictures as the the wind was from the southwest that day which created a heavy smog from the smoke from the fires in North Carolina.

This aircraft carrier was brought into the river as the Victory Rover turned to head south. The Norfolk Naval Base is the home of NATO's Atlantic operations and the US's Atlantic fleet making in the largest in the world -- 100,000 workers and 150 ships. Our tour lasted about two hours; however, we learned what was on both sides of the river and Jim was able to enjoy the sights without trying to navigate and watch for traffic. We all went to Mo & O'Malleys Irish Pub for dinner. While dining, the evening entertainment started which was Mercy Creek described as earthy, edgy, music combined with aggressive folk rock. Yes, we will return here for more corned beef and cabbage and hope the same group is performing.

Jim and I toured the Hermitage Foundation Museum, an early 20th century Arts-and-Crafts estate on the Lafayetter River, which was the summer retreat of William and Florence Sloan. It houses a very large collection of Asian art, contains hidden doors and stairways, and has incredible woodcarvings both inside and outside. The 12 acres surrounding the home were filled with gardens as well as the woodshed which housed the three craftsmen. We took a cab out there and then bummed a ride back to the city from a former employee who joined our tour.

On Tuesday, June 17, Jim and I toured the Hampton Roads Naval Museum that exhibits 200 years of regional maritime history and then the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) one of the Iowa-class ships. The ship's statistics are very impressive: 887' in length, beam is 108', draft is 37', and 4 acres of teak decking. The warship was launched on December 7, 1943 and reported for duty in the Pacific, later served in the Korean War followed by service as a training ship until 1958. In 1990, she was reactivated and outfitted with Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles in addition to her 16-inch guns and sent to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm. In 1991, she was decommissioned for the third time; however, she remains in the Inactive Fleet, reserved for national emergencies.

There is a walking tour that one follows around the ship with officers stationed periodically in case people have questions or need assistance. As we approached the rear deck, a retirement ceremony for two Chief Petty Officers, I believe, was taking place. What an incredible location.

Needless to say, I wondered how the windlass works! Ours are about 5" in diameter with up arrow and a down arrow indicating which direction the anchor is going. I can't imagine operating these.

On Wednesday, June 18, we took the free bus up to the Chrysler Museum of Art with 30,000 original works from pre-Columbian to modern. Its Tiffany Glass collection is world-renowned and extensive. Obviously, we could not see everything; however, we did view a visiting exhibit from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston of 130 of Rembrandt's Etchings. On our bus ride back, we stopped at the new supermarket, The Market at Harbor Heights, picked up some things and walked back to the marina.

On Thursday, June 19, we visited the Douglas MacArthur Memorial honoring the World War II Five-Star Army General who was born in Norfolk. We followed the self-guided tour through the Rontunda housing the tombs of the General and Mrs. MacArthur and then the nine galleries highlighting his career with murals, interative exhibits, awards, objets d'art, maps, photographs, models, and other personal curios including his corncob pipe. We also visited the gift shop which displays his 1950 Chrysler Imperial limousine which he used from 1950 until his death in 1964. For lunch, we walked across the street to the MacArthur Center, a huge mall with about 150 shops including Dillards and Nordstrom's and then walked the three blocks back to the marina.

On Friday, June 20, our friends Tick and Andree of s/v Antic came by to visit since we missed each other at Sailcraft in Oriental. We all walked to Town Point for lunch at the 19th Annual Bayou Boogaloo & Canjun Food Festival. Since Jim and I had tickets for the weekend, we knew we would have plenty of opportunities to try all our New Orleans favorite treats.

Jim is standing by one of the 130 mermaids that decorate Norfolk; it is in front of the marina entrance. They are designed and decorated by local artists and some represent a theme related to their location; she is called Ocean Patina.

Our plans to head north changed as heavy smoke rolled in from the forest fires in North Carolina, so we stayed a few more days and did boat chores.

On Wednesday, June 25, we arrived at Riverwalk Landing Marina in Yorktown, VA. We discovered that the village has a beach that goes on for several miles; this was the view from our slip. The population is only 200 with boutiques for shops everything else is located out on Highway 17 miles from the marina. Jim and I investigated the shops in the village, and fortunately, I didn't find anything I needed. On Thursday, June 26 our friends Bob and Lynn and their son Bryant cruised in on Legrace. The five of us had drinks and dinner on their boat and discussed our plans for sightseeing while figuring out the scheduled stops on the free tolley.

On the morning of Friday, June 27, all five of us toured the Yorktown Battlefield; we thought that we would escape the high heat by doing this early but it didn't matter as the temps were in the high 90s. Yorktown is the site where Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington, bringing an end to the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War. Yorktown also witnessed major Civil War activity; it held off a Union army attack in 1862. Yorktown is the seat of the County's government, a position it has maintained since 1634.

In the afternoon, the three men set off to tour the Watermen's Museum several blocks from the marina. The exhibits provided an overview of the men and their boats, fin fishing and shell fishing, photographs and models of the life and times on the river. Lynn and I took the trolley to the Yorktown Victory Center, a living-history musem where the American Revolution comes to life. We walked the Revolution Timeline, an open-air walkway tracing the events leading to the Revolution, galleries that witness the birth of a nation, a film set in an encampment at night during the Siege of Yorktown, Continental Army encampment (as shown here with the York River in the background), and a 1780s farm after the British surrender. We rode the trolley to our next stop, the Nelson House. Thomas Nelson, Jr. (1738-1789) was Yorktown's most famous son and a signer to the Declaration of Independence.

Lynn and I walked down the street to the 84-foot Victory Monument, topped by a winged statue of Liberty, read the signs. It appears the statute was struck by lightening and replaced sometime in the 1980s. If the temps had not been in the high 90s, we would have walked down the hill and back to the marina; however, it was hot and the trolley came by at the right time. All of us went to the Yorktown Pub for dinner -- delicious softshell crabs.

On Saturday, June 28, we cruised about 43 miles up the Bay to Deltaville on the Rappahanuck River to Dozier's Regatta Point Marina. We used the courtesy car to do some errands on Sunday and Monday.