End the Dismal Swamp - Begin the AGLCA Rendezvous

Date            May 5, 2012                            
Day             312
Departure    Elizabeth's Dock, Dismal Swamp, Deep Creek, VA  8:15 am
Arrival         Waterside Marina, Norfolk, VA 11:45 am
Miles                10.1     
Cumulative   5174.8

We have come to the end of the Dismal Swamp Canal and made our way to Norfolk, VA.  The sign below indicates the start of the swamp in Norfolk but it is really the end of the swamp for us!

Getting through bridges is all based on timing.  Unfortunately our timing for this bridge was off.  We had to wait almost an hour for the next scheduled opening!

It is clearly evident that Norfolk is a military city.  Everywhere we looked there were naval ships along the river's edge; some in dry dock, some not.

We spied the Lightship PORTSMOUTH tucked between two buildings.  The Lightship PORTSMOUTH was built in 1915. She served for 48 years off the coasts of Virginia, Delaware and Massachusetts helping mariners avoid dangerous shoals or enter safely into harbors at night. Typically, the ship would anchor at a strategic location at sea and remain there for months at a time. The maximum crew for the Lightship PORTSMOUTH during her half-century in service was 15 men.

Destroyer Bainbridge (was involved in Maersk Alabama rescue from Somalian pirates)

We meet again!  Our friends, Jim and Dale on Sweet Pea, arrived in Norfolk in the afternoon.  We last saw them in early January in Ft. Myers.  They have since become Gold Loopers (completed the Loop) and traveled to the Bahamas.  We first met them at the 2010 Spring Rendezvous in N. Myrtle Beach, SC.  It's good to see old friends again!

The AGLCA 2012 Spring Rendezvous begins tomorrow here in Norfolk and ends on May 10th.  We will be busy attending meetings and seminars, so may not get to post as often.  Stay tuned!