Rod Arrives in Portsmouth, VA
Sunday 1st November 2020
Rod had a really early start this morning – up at 4.30 am to catch a flight out of Providence to Baltimore and then on to Norfolk. His travels went well and shortly before 11 am he arrived at the dock in Portsmouth. He was quickly pressed into service helping to fill the water tanks and tidy the cockpit, just before it started thrashing down rain. Fortunately it cleared up shortly after lunch and we were able to take a walk around town. I’ve grown to like Portsmouth – it’s got a fine waterfront with views across the Elizabeth River to Norfolk and some of the naval shipyards and the downtown area has many good restaurants and pubs. This afternoon we wandered around the older residential part of the city with attractive historic houses, trees and gardens. As you get away from the center of town the area seems a lot less affluent and more run-down. However, when I bicycled out to refill a second propane tank this morning, I saw two things that gave me a sense of the strong community of the area. Firstly there was a church service taking place in the parking lot of a neighborhood church. A stage and sound system were set up with three people singing gospel music to the congregation who were gathered in their cars. It was quite moving. The second event was being lead by a group of Hells Angels gathered in front of a supermarket. They were running a food collection for local people in need. I got talking to a couple of the bikers, who couldn’t have been more pleasant and offered to keep an eye on my bike when I went in to shop. To be honest it wasn’t really what I expected.
Tomorrow marks the first day that our boat insurance will allow us to go further south than Norfolk and so we will start our journey down the Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW). Apparently they view the hurricane risk as much diminished … even as Eta forms in the Caribbean!
Mike
36 49.891 N, 76 17.764 W
We really liked Portsmouth as well, very friendly, kinda quirky. Hope your fuel issues are resolved for your trip down the ICW. Enjoy!
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