The Rendezvous Starts

Date:                                  May 6, 2013

Days on the Cruise:             42

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

We are in Norfolk to attend the America's Great Loop Cruising Association Spring Rendezvous. The events started at 2:30 with check-in and registration. Before check-in, we walked around the Norfolk area North of the Waterside Complex. This took us into the Freemason Historic District and the area around the USS Wisconsin, a battleship that is on display in the museum area. We ate lunch downtown, then walked along Harbor Walk past the battleship and to a beautiful Japanese Garden called Pagoda Park. 

The bow of the USS Wisconsin

USS Wisconsin

Wisconsin Square

"The Lone Sailor" Monument

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Entrance to Pagoda Park

Pagoda Park

Pagoda Park

Pagoda Park

Pagoda Park

Pagoda Park

Pagoda Park

Pagoda Park

Pagoda Park

Beautiful flame azaleas in Pagoda Park

The "Admiral" in Pagoda Park

Pagoda Park

The town houses and condos in the Freemason area are well done and are built in a beautiful setting along old city streets. We walked up town to a 7-Eleven to get some bread and milk, then we headed back to the boat. 

Beautiful Residential Street in Norfolk

Norfolk is filled with various painted mermaids. It must be the Mermaid City!

Battleship gun between condo buildings

Big Navy Hospital Complex across the harbor in Portsmouth

Check-in and dinner were fine. We picked up our "Goodie Bags" which are filled with trinkets and information. We participated in current looper introductions and told the group about ourselves and where we are on the Loop experience. There are a lot of people here-at least as many as were at the Fall Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama last year.

At dinner, there were more introductions of "Gold" Loopers who are those people that have completed the Loop and who have earned the Gold Looper flag. Barbara and Craig from "Blue Heron", whom we have traveled with on this trip received their Gold Looper designation, as they crossed their wake here in Norfolk last week.

Maggie has made a few friends here at Waterside. Many Loopers who have their boats here also have dogs. One dog that Maggie has interacted with is a 4 year old Golden named Sampson. He is from Austin, TX and looks very much like Ben and Amanda's Golden Sadie.

Tomorrow starts the presentations and the demonstrations. I have lined up a mechanic from Ocean Marine Yacht Center to come look at our bow thruster on Wednesday morning.

Thanks for Reading!