Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl): July 20

Day 124 - BIG Ships Everywhere

We were only going up the Elizabeth River 12 miles today so we slept in and then Stan changed the oil in the engine and fixed our front head. The Great Bridge bridge and lock only open on the hour, so we were ready for the 11:00 opening. The lock only lowered us about 6 inches, the amount changes with the tide. We had to wait at two other bridges for their opening times, so it took us quite awhile to make it to Norfolk.

We passed the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. This facility is the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy. It is used for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. We saw quite a few ships being worked on, but luckily none were being moved. Norfolk is a busy port with lots of activity going on.

After getting things settled on the boat we wandered through the Waterside Festival Marketplace, which is right above the marina. It's a cute place, but only has a few chain restaurants, not much of anything else. Since it was so hot we decided to spend a little time at the MacArthur Mall. It is a beautiful three story mall with every store imaginable and an 18 screen theater. A great place to spend a hot afternoon. By the time we left the temperature was much better. We stopped at Out Backs for dinner and then watched kids play in a fountain in the park by our boat.

Leaving Atlantic Yacht Basin this morning

There is a small park along the river...lots of people were sitting in the shade watching the boats go by

Great Bridge Lock

A sign at the lock telling you the distances on the Atlantic Intracostal Waterway. We have come 1236 miles from Key West. The zero mile buoy marking the beginning of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway is right before we cross the river to Norfolk.