Norfolk - Out and About

We arrived in Norfolk as we were able to use a berth that we had access to through being a member of the Ocean Cruising Club.  Gary and Greta live in a lovely Condo (or apartment as we would say in the UK) on the edge of the historic Freemason district of Norfolk and right on the Elizabeth River. The docks for the Condos are not all in use and Gary/Greta have agreed with the tenants that OCC members can be used although we did not meet Becky who own the dock we were to stay on.  So Greta and Gary were there to take our lines along with Ian and Fiona from Ruffian, funny that Ian and Fiona in Ruffian are from the South coast in the UK and have been following the same route as us for the last 12 months but our paths have not crossed until today.  It was nice that we had everyone to commiserate with us and it was even nicer to be invited onto Ruffian that evening for drinks which is lead to us making Ian and Fiona dinner and having a few drinks whilst sharing cruising stories, shame that they were moving on the next day.

The very lovely Gary and Greta

 Gary and Greta’s dock is so perfect for access to Norfolk and we enjoyed the chance to get off the boat.  The Freemason area of Norfolk is very pretty with it’s old cobble streets, we found out from Gary that the cobble originate from Britain!

Beautiful house in Freemason area of Norfolk

Another pretty house

and another

It Halloween by this time and whilst walking around Norfolk we noticed that Woman in Black was playing at the local Wells Theatre, so we decided even though we could hardly stay awake it would be a nice thing to do on Halloween, so we booked tickets.  What a great evening out, the play was really good, spooky and a bit scary just what we needed to keep us awake.

The great Woman in Black stage - the last chest was also used to represent a house and cart

We were still experiencing the odd weather which seems to occur in this area at this time of year, one day lovely and sunny, they next day the northerly wind will blow and it will be freezing! We were glad to have the electric on the dock so we could use our little heater.

As we were awaiting various packages to arrive – filters, impellers, Semco and Amanda was keen to visit the outlet shopping centre we decided to hire a car for a few days. We spent an entire day stocking up at the supermarket, we cannot believe how many times we have visited Walmart!!  We also crossed the river and visited Hampton Roads and also Fort Munroe before heading to the retail village in Williamsburg.

Lighthouse and Fort Monroe

Pretty church in Hampton Roads

Amanda wrapped up for winter in Hampton Roads

Who would have thought we would have been buying winter clothes but as he temperature had been down to around 5 degrees it didn’t seem to strange to buy a winter coat.  The winter coat had a good outing the next day as we visited the Outer Banks and False Cape for a blustery walk along the beach, it was jut what we both needed to take our mid of the boat problems – the day had started with a call to enquire when our new batteries would arrive, were due that day and were told to call back in the afternoon, typically when we called back in the afternoon they were now expected on Wednesday!

Amanda loving her new winter coat on the cold beach

Mark wrapped up on the deserted beach

The little birdies avoiding the waves

Stunning beach

Finally Wednesday arrived and we waited for a call to confirm that batteries had arrived, we were also still waiting for a parcel, due on Monday, now Wednesday! Finally late afternoon Mark called to asked about batteries and they were in, thanks to Gary for running Mark around to get these!

All ready to leave on Thursday only to find out that the Great Bridge Lock which we needed to use on the Intracoastal Waterway was broken! And could take a week to fix!  We even had a farewell drink with Gary and Greta but again we were stuck and now waiting for weather to allow us to sail outside rather than use the Intracoastal.  Thankfully by Thursday the weather looked favourable for Friday.

We are extremely grateful that during this and time we were able to have a safe berth, that this was not costing us anything and that Gary and Greta were so kind and helpful.