Norfolk, Virginia...

My old stomping grounds…I lived 15 minutes away from Norfolk in Chesapeake, Virginia for 20 years. I was as up and out for the sail in up the Elizabeth River for our docking place beside the retired Battleship Wisconsin. Norfolk, Virginia is a 400-year-old seaport that is home to one of the best maritime schools in the country and one of the most extensive naval bases in the world. Our ship was docked at the Nauticus Museum Complex located in the heart of downtown Norfolk and with sweeping views of an historic waterway known as the Half Moone. We picked up a map and started our trek on the Cannonball Trail. This Trail is a walk-it-yourself tour, through 400 years of Norfolk and American history. Our first mission on the Cannonball Trail was the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to find the Revolutionary War-era cannonball still lodged in the wall of St. Paul’s. We found the church and the lodged cannonball…The church was locked, however a lady from the church staff kindly offered to show us inside the church. The Trail winds through the districts of Norfolk’s most charming and oldest standing neighborhoods. We walked on the cobbled streets of the earliest residential streetscapes and historic homes in Norfolk; where turn-of-the-century buildings stand in the shadows of modern structures. Throughout downtown, narrative plaques mark places and events of historic interest. We returned to the ship before lunch time as my friends Barbara and Kevin White were picking us up for lunch. Barbara and I worked together for 7 years and she was my right hand person…  We had a great lunch at Freemason Abbey Restaurant, located in an over 150-year-old renovated church noted for its delicious She Crab Soup and that it was. Barbara surprised me by inviting my friend and former Executive Assistant Rie to join us for lunch…what a nice surprise and great reunion we had. We bid our farewells to Barbara and Kevin…thank you for sharing in our day in Norfolk. We boarded the ship and headed to the aft deck to enjoy the beautiful weather and sail away. It was nice to be back in the area again.