We rented a car for another couple of days. We visited the main gate of the naval station to see the monument aircraft. This is a retired "Helicopter One". John and Benj saw "Helicopter 1"when they were in DC back in 97-98 and lived in Carlisle, PA. As John was taking pictures, MP's pulled up and asked if he'd read the sign. As Benj crawled under the dash, the film was confiscated, as the sign read "No Photography Allowed".
We forgot to mention a monumental milestone as we cruised into Norfolk. We passed the buoy that marks mile zero of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. 1250 miles since Key West, 3000+ since leaving Mackinaw City. Wow.
Why we stayed in Norfolk so long. The flags did not rest gently along the flagpoles or gently flutter in the breeze for days. The problem was evidently not the early tropical storm Alberto, but rather a stalled low pressure system, combined with water and air temperatures.
We drove to Portsmouth to see the museum and lightship that were closed Monday. This is the galley on the lightship. Can you imagine the temperature the cook endured as the coal stove ran all day every day?!
We went to Doumar's, still family owned, creator of the ice cream cone for the 1904 St. Louis World Fair and featured on Drive-Ins, Diners, and Dives. Since it was a weekend, they were VERY busy.
We went to the MacArthur Memorial and were reminded that his mother stayed in a hotel at West Point while he was a student there, to keep an eye on him (and you thought your mom was overprotective, Tiger and Patch?!) His career was historical and he was one of the last 5 star generals. What an American history lesson this museum is, as his impact was felt through so many important events that shaped our current nation.
We visited the amphibious base by Virginia Beach:
Pendleton National Guard Base,VA, still has a lot of WWII vintage buildings and reminded John of Camp Grayling and Fort Knox.
The Red Horse Monument, dedicated to the Red Horse Detachment, a National Guard Force that suffered the highest number of casualties ever during a peacetime mission. They were traveling home from Hurlburt Field, FL, in 2001, when the Sherpa they were on crashed, killing all of them plus the plane's crew.
Back in Norfolk, the Eisenhower heads out to sea:
Boat travel is predicted to be good Tuesday, May 22, so we return the car Monday and hope for the best. Waters are calm, but visibility not so good. This is Fort Wool, directly across from Fort Monroe and part of the colonial coastal defense system.
Fort Monroe and the Old Point Comfort light from the water:
No more pictures for today, as visibility did not improve. We stopped in Deltaville, as we've heard that the Chesapeake is among our nation's finest cruising grounds and we want to be able to see it. It's very pretty here, and the Rappahannock River is calm.
John saw a baby duck swimming all alone
so when we saw these 2 on the dock next to our boat we thought they were looking for it. Turns out they were just looking for a handout.
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