We arrived in Hampton, VA and stayed at the Salt Pond Marina.   Immediately, we walked to the office and looked for our Rhode Island Ballots.   They were not there.   We called Narragansett Town Hall, who confirmed they sent the ballots to the Marina.   We then asked the town hall to send replacements to Beaufort, NC, our next stop that we could think of.

The next day was laundry, getting meds refilled, and groceries.   We have plenty of frozen food, but the fruits and veggies don’t last as long.    We took an Uber to Walgreens, stood in line, and got the meds refilled.  Then we walked to the Kroger, where I think there was more alcohol than food there.   Bought beer, more box wine, and lots of fruits and veggies.

Gary was hangry (hungry turning to whining), so he needed to be fed.    There was a Wendy’s near the Kroger’s.  But because of COVID, only the drive through was open.  Gary would not walk in the drive through with fear of getting arrested.  So we found a Bojangles where we could walk in, get our fried chicken, and eat on the lawn, right on the busy street.   

Uber back to the marina, and then filled up the refrigerator again.   The next morning we started our trip to Norfolk and the start of the ICW.

Norfolk, VA is home to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and Norfolk Naval Air Station and other military bases.  The dockage at the Naval Air Station is impressive since there are numerous large aircraft carriers and other very large ships.   

We saw an astonishing parade of military hardware.  We needed to stay clear of an aircraft carrier, exiting the channel.  So cool.  We saw the the USNS Comfort, which was in NYC during the height of COVID.   We cruised past the General Dynamics Dry Docks, mixed in with housing and public marinas.   We went past the WW2 destroyer, the Wisconsin.  It was like going through a ship museum from the water.

After Norfolk, we went through Portsmouth VA, where we were in the Elizabeth River, and Mile 0 for the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW)