Wednesday August 11th 2010

Thought we’d get lucky today, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. They ordered the wrong part!!!! The new one, the right one, will arrive tomorrow. With the afternoon free, we decided to check out Virginia Beach, an ocean resort destination. A lot like Myrtle Beach, but much smaller.

We cruised the main drag, then went to the aquarium. It is supposed to be the biggest and best in the state. It was fun, and had some interesting exhibits: a shark tank, where you could get up close and personal, and a sting ray pond, where you could touch and feel the guys. They are smooth, slick, lacey, and very delicate. They definitely creeped me out!!!

After that, we headed back to the beach and had dinner at a beachside café. Lo and behold, out in the surf, very close to the shore, were several dolphins! They were having a great time playing in the surf. The lifeguard was having a heck of a time keeping people from swimming out to them. These were the first we have seen in some time.

After dinner, we continued to watch the dolphins, from the beach, then left to return to Portsmouth.

Thursday August 12th 2010

YEAH!!!!! They finally got the right part, and put it on the shaft, and we launched at @ 1:30PM. The wind was whipping, and we were between thunderstorms. Our departure from the lift left much to be desired, but we made it, and then the challenge of getting into the slip at the marina began! Left, a quick right, then another quick left, in to the slip. I really amazed myself! I got her in there with no problem. I must be getting used to her!

We spent the rest of the afternoon buying food and supplies at Walmart, then picked up the food we had in cold storage at Ocean Marine.

The forecast for tomorrow is not good, so we will stay another night. The weather, plus the fact that tomorrow is Friday the 13th, did not excite us!

We ended the day with dinner at “Paddy O’Brien’s” pub. That reminded us of the old joke: What's Irish and stays out all night???? Pati O'furniture.

Friday August 13th 2010

It was a good decision for us to stay put. It was overcast and in the low 80’s. Thunder boomers kept looming large, and the wind was definitely blowing hard.

We decided to keep the rental car until tomorrow, so we headed back to Virginia Beach to play golf at a course we saw there, “Owl’s Creek”. It was mostly a par 3 course, which was good, since I hadn’t played since pre-knee surgery in 2008. The knees were fine, the left hip? Not so good!

We actually had a great time. It felt so good to be back on the golf course again. My worst hole was a par 5, where I got a 7. No snowmen!!! It was a little strange playing with rental clubs, regular sneakers, and no glove, but we managed.

Dave and I have decided that we really like this part of Virginia. It is very green, with a nice mix of vegetation. Beautiful pine trees! However, this small stretch of land between North Carolina and Washington, DC, has the worst traffic
problems!!

We headed back to the boat and had dinner, then waited for the concert on shore to start. They have a summer concert series at an outdoor pavilion, right at the top of the dock. Tonight’s band?? Heart!! We had to come all the way from Seattle (where Heart is from) to Portsmouth, Virginia to see them!! Well, actually, just hear them. Because of the wind, and some strange echoes, it was really hard to hear the music correctly. I finally gave up.

All of a sudden, Dave was knocking on the deck and calling for me. Across the river, somewhere in Norfolk, they were having a fireworks display that was just like the 4th of July. Beautiful! We heard on the news later, that the display was after the baseball game in the stadium. Even though they lost! It probably lasted about 20 minutes.

Saturday August 14th 2010

On the move again!! Or so we thought. When we started the engine, no tach and no amps!! Again!!! After Dave rattled things around a bit, they came back, so we headed out. We headed up the river and got just past Hospital Point, when the instruments, all of them, went dead. Soooo, we made a U-turn and went right back to Ocean Marine. They told us we were in luck, that there just happened to be an electrician working today. He would be over shortly. Guess what??? We waited all
day, and he never showed up!

We waited until 5:30pm, then we called our hero, Frank, from Tow Boat US, to see if he could recommend a good electrician. He put us in touch with Tim, who will be here tomorrow morning (Sunday!!).

With another evening in Portsmouth, we took the passenger-only ferry over to Norfolk, and explored the waterfront. Not much there, but there was at one time. We had dinner at “Joe’s Crab Shack” (think Red Lobster), then walked the dock and took the ferry back to Ocean Marine.

Tonight they had a RAP concert in the pavilion. It was loud, but deep inside the boat, with the AC going, and with a movie playing, we couldn’t hear the Rap music at all.

Will we find the answer to our electrical problem tomorrow??? Stay tuned!

Love & Hugs,

The Admiral