Boating with Sunset Delight: Chesapeake to Norfolk, VA

4/9/2017

We scheduled our departure from Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake, Virginia to coincide with the 9:00 a.m. opening of the bridge next to the marina. As we pulled away from the marina and approached the bridge, we noticed a hiking trail with a park bench as well as an area for free overnight docking which we could have used if we did not need to walk to the supermarket.

Waiting for 9:00 a.m. opening of bridge in Chesapeake, VA

Trail and Bench across from marina

Immediately after passing through the bridge opening, we came to a lock. Clark stayed at the helm while Jeff and I manned the lines as we transited the lock. With a two-foot lift locking through turned into a mostly boring, non-event.

Continuing on our way, we passed another place, Top Rack Marina, we had considered and rejected for an overnight stay on our way to Norfolk. The marina offers free docking with dinner purchased at the on-site restaurant.

Top Rack Marina

Top Rack Restaurant

Across-the-river View from Top Rack Marina
(Boat docked at this work site is named the Susquehanna)

As we approached Norfolk, Virginia, Clark took note of the place where the Dismal Swamp passage we took last year joined with our route this year.

View of intersection of waterway with Dismal Swamp route

Typical of more industrial areas on the waterways, we saw another tow at work.

Barge and Tow in front of railroad bridge

Tug / Tow Sea Crescent seen on route to Norfolk, VA

Clark continues to take railroad bridge pictures when possible and he remembers. He missed an opportunity today but found another bridge later to try again for that perfect track picture.

Railroad bridge picture - looking down the tracks

Open railroad bridge - little building high in the air
Question of the day: Does the bridge tender have to climb up there every day?

Even if the charts did not tell us we had reached Norfolk, we could tell we were in a naval town by the scenes that met our eyes after passing under the railroad bridge.

Naval Ship with Military Guard

Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Battleship

Cranes at Shipyards

Heavy-duty Crane

View of area near Norfolk, VA

BAE Systems

Naval Ship under repair - General Dynamics

Because we only had fifteen nautical miles to travel today, we reached Waterside marina at 11:00 a.m. We decided that the best plan would be to eat an early lunch, so we could explore without having to stop for lunch later. Neither Devon nor Jeff had ever been to Norfolk, so we were anxious to get going. Violet, however, decided that the best plan of action was to take a nap, so we had a bit of a delay starting out.

Baby Violet awake, dressed, and ready to see Norfolk, VA

We decided to visit Nauticus and the battleship USS Wisconsin. The entertainment value was well worth the admission fee. Sierra truly enjoyed the museum as did the rest of us.

Sierra at instrument controls

Sierra playing on interactive floor display - sharks!

Sierra working the ship speed controls

Besides lots of displays related to the inner workings of ships, the museum also had several tanks with aquatic displays of sea life.

Sea Horse on display at Nauticus Museum

Sierra in jail? No, a diver's shark cage.

Sierra in a non-working hurricane simulator

Clark, Devon and Sierra working crane
at Nauticus Museum

After an hour and a half of exploring the museum, we moved on to view the USS Wisconsin battleship.

Union Jack

On board USS Wisconsin

US Navy Blue Angels airplane on display

We hiked the decks of the ship for an hour and a half until we heard the announcement that the museum was closing. We saw the control rooms, the mess hall, the crews' quarters, the mail room, and much more.

Ev and Clark on the decks of the USS Wisconsin

Taking a baby break on the decks of the ship

Clark made a reservation at a local restaurant where the two of us had eaten on our last visit here. On our way to the restaurant we got to see more of the Norfolk area.

Norfolk - City of Mermaid Statues

Family photo taken by Clark as we leave the Nauticus Museum

"Lone Soldier" memorial in Norfolk, VA

"Friendship Pagoda" in Norfolk, VA

Garden scene at the Friendship Pagoda Park

We arrived at the restaurant ahead of the 6:00 reservation mostly due to the fact that Sierra wanted to be carried in a backpack after all her exercise walking the museum and ship. Without her taking time to explore, we arrived about 25 minutes early. Nevertheless, the restaurant was ready for us and we were seated immediately. The restaurant is a converted Presbyterian Church that offers diverse and tasty menu selections.

Converter Presbyterian Church - now Restaurant

Although the restaurant offered all types of food, we all gravitated to the seafood choices and were not disappointed by our selections.

We left the restaurant around 7:00 so we still had some daylight for our walk back.