After our big day yesterday, we lazed around on Friday morning, 06/12/21, and didn’t leave the boat until lunch time. We had more cloudy, dreary-looking weather in Norfolk, which sure does drain the color out of the surrounding scenery. 🙁 We walked into downtown Norfolk, to lunch at Hell’s Kitchen, upon the McKinleys’ recommendation. It was an interesting place with good food. (One of the best flatbread pizzas I’d eaten in awhile!)
Threatening skies loomed above downtown on our first full day in Norfolk, VA.Views from historic downtown Norfolk.Where we enjoyed lunch on Saturday, 06/11/21.Pearls of wisdom from the walls inside Hell’s Kitchen restaurant.
After lunch, we walked over to the Nauticus Museum, which is also the home of the massive USS Wisconsin Battleship. The clouds parted, the sun came out, and promptly turned downtown Norfolk into a sauna! We had a super hot and humid tour of the battleship, and took cover from the heat inside the Nauticus Museum.
The sun just began to peek out as we walked around downtown Norfolk on 06/11/21.Nauticus is a maritime science museum in Norfolk, celebrating the economic, naval, and natural power of the sea. It features hands-on exhibits, wide-screen high-definition films, theaters with live actors, shark touch, and national-caliber traveling exhibits.Nauticus is also home to the USS Battleship Wisconsin, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Sail Nauticus community sailing center, the harbor tour boat Victory Rover, and Virginia’s only passenger ship port, the Half Moon Cruise and Celebration Center.My panoramic picture of the mighty USS Wisconsin.View just inside the entrance to Nauticus. This place really caters to kids!Obligatory picture taken on the deck of the USS Wisconsin. (This time we found a kind stranger to take our picture for us.)The war guns on this ship are gargantuan.The officers onboard the Wisconsin had luxury berthing accommodations, compared to lower-ranking sailors.I laughed when I saw this osprey nest up in the crow’s nest of the USS Wisconsin!More war guns.The anchor chain on the Wisconsin, is a bit larger than that on Legacy. (For scale purposes, that’s Steve’s hand holding an umbrella on the far left of this picture.)How the Wisconsin’s massive chains hold it in its resting place, in the harbor at Norfolk.And I complain about the amount of teak-decking on Legacy… D’OH!Communications center aboard ship. (Something tells me they didn’t have that wide-screen monitor back in the day…)Onboard mess hall for many!Another swanky officer’s berth.THIS is where the enlisted sailors “got” to sleep. No thank you!An officer’s lounge space. (Love the fake coffee and donut!)Sailors aboard the Wisconsin enjoyed a ship’s library, complete with (old-schoolers will know what this is) a CARD CATALOG. (It’s pretty obvious the crew did not have cell phones to sit and stare at during their leisure time…)At certain times, a crew of Marines was housed and worked aboard the Wisconsin. This is one of the places on the ship they left the mark of their presence. Semper Fi!The USS Wisconsin was affectionately known by its crew as “The Big Wisky”. 🙂
After our tour, we stopped in at the bar in the Norfolk Waterside District for some afternoon libations, and then headed back to Legacy. That evening, we walked up to the Blue Moon TapHouse, directly adjacent to our boat, for dinner. On our way, we ran into Pam and Mike Sammons, aboard Sea C Rider, who we’d met down on Marathon Key at Marlin Bay Resort and Marina. We invited them to join us for dinner, but they had already eaten and were out exploring on their bicycles. I hoped we might all get together for dinner that Saturday night, but they weren’t planning to stay in Norfolk as long as we were.
Where we stopped for afternoon refreshments after our very warm and lengthy tour of the battleship.Dinner on Saturday evening, 06/11/21. This restaurant was just a stone’s throw from where Legacy was slipped.
Despite the continuing rain on Saturday, 06/12/21, Cathy and Scott McKinley graciously drove me to the grocery store and back, which was extremely helpful of them. When we returned, Steve met us out on the street with our little blue cart so we could carry all my groceries back to the boat in one trip. Later that evening, my hopes were realized when Pam and Mike Sammons decided to stay another day in Norfolk, so the four of us walked to the fancy Saltine restaurant for drinks and dinner. We had a great time trading boat-stories and joking about the never-ending adventures of full-time living on the water. It felt good to laugh so much! Hanging out with fellow boat people always provides plenty of levity.
The downtown Norfolk Hilton houses many amenities, which include several different trendy restaurants, including where we dined with the Sammons on Sunday evening, 06/12/21, Saltine.Walking up to Saltine, in the elaborate, downtown Norfolk Hilton complex.We had a fun evening with our friends, Mike and Pam Sammons, aboard Sea C Rider.
On Sunday, 06/13/21, I finally got my wish and the glorious SUN came out! A front passed through overnight and left us with bright blue, sunny skies and low humidity, and we discovered that Norfolk is beautiful bathed in gleaming sunlight. 🙂 Steve and I walked into town to the Brick Anchor Brewhouse to meet the McKinleys for a farewell brunch, which was delicious. We thanked them profusely for the wonderful hospitality they showed us there in Norfolk during our stay. They could be AGLCA Harbor Hosts! 🙂 Since the weather was so spectacular, they recommended we walk to the Pagoda and through its surrounding gardens on our way back to the marina, so I could get a plant fix. We followed their advice and found the prettiest little park, right there in downtown Norfolk, and adjacent to the looming USS Wisconsin. Steve headed back to the boat while I lingered, taking advantage of the sunshine, and walking around downtown snapping picture after picture.
Finally! A view of the harbor in Norfolk in glorious sunshine!The sun DOES shine at Waterside Marina!There were street scooters and bicycles scattered all over downtown Norfolk, just waiting for passersby to whip out a credit card and put them to use. (No worries – with my horrible balance issues, I gave all of them a wide berth!)Downtown Norfolk in the sunshine.Where we met Cathy and Scott McKinley for brunch on Sunday, 06/13/21, since we were leaving Norfolk the next morning.Scene from inside Brick Anchor Brewhouse.Scott and Cathy McKinley, Sunday-brunching with Kristin and Steve Linn at the Brick Anchor Brewhouse.Walking over to Norfolk’s Pagoda and Oriental Garden, right there next to the harbor.Views from the lovely Oriental Garden, where I got my plant fix in Norfolk!The Pagoda, a gift to the City of Norfolk from Taiwan, is an oasis in the Freemason area of Norfolk. A quiet Zen-like garden with large Koi, water lilies, and great views of the waterfront. It is often a venue for parties, weddings, and other events.It’s impossible to tell from this picture, but the Koi in this pond were over a foot long!“The Marine Observation Tower”, also known as the Pagoda, was a gift to the Commonwealth of Virginia & City of Norfolk by Taiwan Provincial Government Republic of China, as a result of a sister state relationship established in 1981. (Originally, the structure was a 500,000 gallon molasses storage tank.)There we are in the reflection of the Pagoda windows. 🙂The pagoda’s roof line is very ornate.One of the gardens’ multiple exits to the riverfront area.I could’ve stayed here for hours (especially in this day’s fantastic weather), but I gave Steve a break.An Asian mermaid…(?)From my sunny walk around the city. I’m a sucker for architecture out of the past.The Homecoming sculpture in Norfolk’s Town Point Park by artist Stanley Bleifeld is a larger than life size statue of a US Navy Sailor being greeted by his family upon his return from sea duty. The Homecoming has particular significance because it was dedicated the same week the crew of the USS Cole returned to Norfolk following the terrorist attack in Yemen.Historic US Customs House in downtown, Norfolk, VA. Completed in 1859.Mermaids are everywhere!Beautiful harbor view. (Our friends, the McKinleys’, condominium is located in the building on the far right of this picture. What views they have!)Mermaid at the marina.The sailing yacht, TAMSEN, just happened to be docked in Norfolk during our stay there. TAMSEN is a 171-foot long luxury superyacht of impressive proportions. She was completed in 2007 by world-renowned yacht builder, Perini Navi, in Viareggio, Italy, and originally named C.2094. TAMSEN can accommodate as many as 12 guests onboard and has a total of 5 qualified crew. As we walked past this splendid sailing vessel, Steve and I liked to joke that TAMSEN would be “our next boat”. Hahahaha…One of my favorite pictures I took at Waterside Marina in Norfolk, VA.Sunday evening, 06/13/21, was by far the best day for sunset pics!
