Checking Out Norfolk on a Sunday

Date:                                  May 5, 2013

Days on the Cruise:             41

From:                                Waterside Marina, Norfolk, VA

To:                                    Waterside Marina, Norfolk, VA

Statute Miles:                    0.0

Time:                                0.0 Hours

Cumulative Miles:             1,232.1

On Board:                         Chuck, Susan, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut


It was still cold on Sunday...and very gray. We walked around Norfolk during the afternoon and checked out the area within about 8-10 blocks of the Marina. There was a festival at the Harbor Walk, but it looked like the weather may have muted the final day's attendance. 

"Blue Moon" in the Marina

"Blue Moon" in the Marina

Susan looking for the bath house at the Marina

Harbor Walk next to the Marina

A beautiful sailboat at the Marina

Public area and official dog walking area at the Marina

Public area at the Marina

Up town, like you might expect on a Sunday in a big city, there were not a whole lot of people. We found a big urban mall called the McArthur Center which reminds us of Lennox Mall in Atlanta. We also saw the excellent public transportation system in action downtown in front of the Mall in the form of light rail. Very quiet and right where you need it. 

Street Scene in Downtown Norfolk

A pocket park called "The Plot". This park is totally "Green" in that it is made entirely out of recycled materials and plantings

"The Plot"

"The Plot"

"The Plot"

Street Scene in Norfolk

The battleship USS Wisconsin trying to sail through Plume Street in Norfolk

Another pocket park in downtown

Still another pocket park in downtown Norfolk

On the back side of the Mall, we found the McArthur Visitor's Center and Museum dedicated to General Douglas McArthur. He and his wife are interred in a rotunda in the Museum. McArthur chose Norfolk for his final resting place because of his mother's ties to the City. She was from Norfolk.

The visitor's center has some interesting exhibits surrounding the U.S. Army's Rainbow Division and their battles in WW I. It has some artifacts from McArthur's career. The Museum, in a separate building, contains seven or eight big exhibit areas, and chronicles his life from birth to death. McArthur was once Commandant at West Point where he penned the motto "Duty, Honor, Country". It was interesting to learn about McArthur's demise and his removal from the Army by President Harry S. Truman, basically for insubordination.

The museum and the visitor's center are interesting for their origin and their continued presence. The facilities and the displays were given and are supported by the private McArthur Foundation. There is also private support from Korean entities such as Hyundai and Kia. Some friends speculated that this memorial to McArthur might not have been so popular with many people, and the Foundation has unilaterally kept McArthur and his accomplishments in the public light.

The McArthur Museum and Visitor's Center

We noticed in walking through the downtown area that there is what I call a "Cleveland Effect" on some of the streets here. In Cleveland, OH, which is right on the shores of Lake Erie, in the winter, the wind picks up speed as it blows down the streets between the tall buildings. It can lower the temperature considerably through wind chill and make it even more brutal to walk the streets. We saw this yesterday in Norfolk. The wind speed increased on streets where there are tall buildings that make a canyon like effect. It was brutally cold for May in Norfolk!

Several of us got together for drinks on "How Lucky Again" and we all stayed until almost 10:00. We got to know Steve and Meredith from "Free at Last", Bob and Monique from "Q's Cabin", and Joe from "Knot So Fast". Joe has a home on Smith Lake and also one in Birmingham. His builder is the father of the builder of our first home at the Lake. 

Monique and Bob are from the beautiful Anna Marie Island near Bradenton and Sarasota. Their big Sea Ray is a replacement for a mountain cabin that Bob was going to get for Monique. They went to the sea instead!

Meredith and Steve are from Long Beach, CA. They bought their boat in Homestead, FL, and are doing the Loop. The diverse backgrounds of Loopers is one of the things that makes this trip interesting!

As the show here starts on Monday, some of the late comers are now here. We saw Ozell and Maryanne on "Freya, whom we were docked next to at Oriental. We also saw "Lightfoot" here in the Marina.

"How Lucky Again", "Knot So Fast", "Free at Last" and "Blue Heron" are all on this row at Waterside

Thanks for Reading!