PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA

AUGUST 8, 2012

We arrived Friday & anchored in the Elizabeth  River just off the port city of Portsmouth, Virginia.  We came through the Norfolk shipping channel with barges, container ships & all sorts of security boats running up & down the waterway.

ACROSS THE ELIZABETH RIVER

 


Yesterday we woke to Mitt Romney making a speech at a fundraiser in front of the USS Battleship Wisconsin & Museum just across the river on the water front.  We could here the crowd but had to tune into the local channel to hear the speech.  After that finally quieted down there was a Polynesian Cultural event that lasted the rest of the day.  It was cool in the 70's & cloudy.  The singers & drummers finally got rained out about 8pm when,  a big storm blew through.  The quiet after a day full of noise was wonderful.

We managed a short trip into the marina dock & got laundry done & rode our bikes for a few groceries.  The city of Portsmouth, Virginia is a wonderful.  The entire waterfront is geared for walking, with many museums, art galleries & shops.  The post office is just blocks down the street .  We rode a short ways down main street with brick sidewalks, restaurants' shops & churches.  On Monday we will bike through the neighborhoods & see the historic sights.


On Sunday AM we slept in.  It was very cloudy & cool after the storm last night.  Rod spent the day doing standard maintenance, filling the batteries with water, changing the oil filter, checking connections etc.  I on the other hand decided to clean some of the stainless on the deck. 



Just a suggestion to future women wanting to help with the maintenance of the boat.
DO NOT TRY CLEAN THE WIND GENERATOR POLE WHILE THE GENERATOR IS ON!!!!!
Now I am usually not so careless.  I had already done many of the stanchions & tubing on the aft deck.  So when I began the pole for the generator I started at the bottom & went as high as I could reach.  The bottom looked so good, I thought I'll just finish the top.  I put one foot on top of the generator & stuck my hand right into the blade.  Lucky for me I was reaching for the pole so I still have all my fingers.  Just a couple of cuts with  a lot of soreness & bruises.  Just what Rod did not need, a bleeding wife.  He quickly took over, cleaned me up & bandaged my hand.  After a few minuets The drama had worn me out.  A couple of Advil & I went to bed with an ice pack.  Rod saved the day one more time.  He has had a lot of practice being married to me.