Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Portsmouth, VA

Hey Everybody,

Not much for you today...This morning I drove north as far as I was permitted to go on the Outer Banks Islands. The road ends at the beach....hmm....sand + my car? Oh yeah, I remember. I can't do that!

Just one picture of the Norfolk/Portsmouth Harbor on the Elizabeth River. From one of the bridges the covered scaffolding looked like some sort of post-modern building. But no....it's just one of several ships in the shipyard hospital. I asked about touring (or really, just viewing) the huge Naval Shipyard. Restricted! I thought they might have a viewing platform or something, but they don't.

I found the local paddle-wheel ferry system to be quite a bargain. It's basically a city bus that runs between Portsmouth and Norfolk every 30min or so. It's $3 round trip! The story behind the ferry system was interesting... Since 1636 there has been some sort of boat service. Until 1821 the boats were rowed across the river. Paddle-wheel ferries were then introduced, but between 1821-1832 (year of the first steam-pwered ferry) blind horses were used to turn the paddle-wheels.

I am considering heading inland for a day or two for caves. These caves have been on my list since the trip began, but I admit that my inability to access a beach tonight to watch the best sunset (in weeks!) annoyed me just enough to conclude this might be a good time to take a break before tackling the snooty east coast!

So, hope this finds you well. I'll be in touch from somewhere...soon.

 

3 comments:

  1. I thought that was a huge pile of sand, not a covered scaffold. You should be a history teacher!

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  2. It's going to be a long trip if all of the east coast is snooty!

    And yep, that scaffold was cool looking. If I were a creative writing teacher (which I'm not, unfortunately--I'd be really good at that), I'd use that photo and say, "Tell me a story."

    You know my feeling on caves..."worst place on Earth", but you enjoy!

    And get your oil changed!! Walmart will do it for about $30. SL

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  3. I love that "tell me a story" exercise. Maybe you. An do it in your classroom on the next music Friday day!?

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