Thurs Sept 10: A Norfolk Interval

 In which we discover that Norfolk is the mermaid capital ...

In spite of a cloudy, gloomy rainy day we decided to get the bikes out and try the 10-mile Elizabeth River Trail - along the water and into some of the historic neighborhoods.

 

The Battleship USS Wisconsin is on display as part of the Nauticus Nautical Museum right near us. She definitely has bigger anchors than we do...Not that size matters.

Near her is a very touching memorial to all the soldiers lost in war.  It's done in the form of bronze casting of their actual letters, which are scattered about as though from the breeze.   They are very touching - in all cases the letter writer did not come back from his particular war, and there is a letter for each war from the Civil War and on.

The big Harley-riding guy near us finally broke down and had to leave, he couldn't read any more.  I, too, was emotional thinking of my 19 year old father leading troops into the Battle of the Bulge.

Don't be fooled by how sunny the pictures look.  I tweaked them, otherwise everything would be grey.  But a little drizzle didn't dampen (see what I did there) our spirits and we soaked (again!) in the architecture in the Historic Freemason District and then in Historic Ghent.  SO MANY different kids of houses!

Below you will find a marker honoring the ICW Mile Marker Zero (obvi the real marker is in the water).  This marks the start of the waterway which then goes all the way to Texas.

Mermaids were scattered throughout the city - no one is sure how many, but it's in the hundreds.

We spent the rest of the day holed up in the boat as it rained, and watched the end of the season of Devs on Hulu.  If anyone else has watched the whole thing I would love for them to explain it to me.

Boat Name Of The Day!