Hampton, VA

4/10/2017

While Clark and I focused some energy on trip planning over the next few days, Devon and Jeff took the children back to the nautical museum we visited yesterday. Sierra had so much fun there, they decided to return to let Sierra play with the money well and see the gift shop. Not surprisingly, when they returned to the boat, Sierra had a new puzzle to put together - a favorite activity of hers.

We finally left Norfolk around 11:30 for our, thankfully, short trip to Hampton, Virginia. We arrived at Hampton Public Piers around 2:00 or so and tied up the boat. Fighting the wind while tying the boat to a short finger pier presented a challenge, but eventually with my son Jeff's help along with the dock attendant, we managed to get our boat secured.

Hampton, Virginia Public Pier

After getting ourselves checked in and settled, we went for a walk to check out the area. A stone's throw from the marina, we found the Air and Space Museum. Since the museum closed at 5:00, and it was already after 3:00, we did not purchase tickets to tour the museum. We did, however, visit their gift shop to see what they had to offer. I checked the prices on several items I found interesting and thought them all overpriced. We did not buy anything.

Virginia Air and Space Museum

On the same property, we found a Carousel. Unfortunately, since today was Monday, the carousel was closed to visitors.

Checking out the carousel building - closed on Monday

Reading the historical markers on the property, we learned some history about Langley.

From there we decided to stroll into Olde Hampton to see the historic section of town.

Olde Hampton, VA

Here, we found everything closed except for a nail salon and a deli, so we continued on through town to the Mill Point Park to see what the park had to offer.

Bench Swing

Baby Violet with Jeff at park

Sierra found a dog larger than she is to pet 

 Even though the park did not have children's playground equipment, Sierra found plenty of things to do to entertain herself at this park. Besides finding an almost-Saint-Bernard-sized dog to pet, she loved the seating area of the amphitheater at the park. She could climb up and down the tiers and walk along the seating treating it like a wide balance beam.

Shady Amphitheater that Sierra enjoyed exploring and climbing 

After burning up some of Sierra's excess energy at the park, we headed back to the marina where we found an on-site brewery. My son and his wife like to sample beers and ales, so we stopped there to buy a selection for them to taste. Since she is not normally allowed soda, Sierra guzzled down her Coke like a thirsty person in the desert. Meanwhile, Clark stayed on the boat since he had no interest in beer sampling.

Bull Island Brewing Co. at Hampton Public Pier

At sunset, Clark took numerous pictures trying to capture the mood.

Sunset in Hampton, Virginia

Sunset with Air and Space Museum in background

4/11/2017

Clark and I had another car-move day. We pre-positioned our car to Oxon Hill, Maryland in anticipation of our planned visit to Washington, D.C. in a few days' time.

While we were on the road, Jeff, Devon, and the girls went to the Air and Space Museum. Although Sierra did not mind, Devon said it was unfortunate that a number of the interactive displays no longer worked. Jeff complained that the iMax movie was far too loud. Violet had to be removed because of the volume, and surprisingly, Sierra fell asleep halfway through the movie. After the museum, they visited Mill Point Park to let Sierra run around some more. A pathway under the highway allows easy and safe access to the park from the marina.

Due to road construction and somewhat heavy traffic, Clark and I returned to the marina at 5:30. A Enterprise Car Rental office is onsite at Hampton Public Pier, so renting and returning the car could not be more convenient.

Knowing we had a long travel day ahead of us tomorrow, we relaxed after dinner and retired to bed earlier than usual.