"Me" time, ICW, bridges

Friday, October 19 - As soon as I knew there was an actual shopping mall within walking distance of the marina, I knew how I would spend our first day in Norfolk. I needed some alone time and Wayne had boat projects to do, which invariably involves having all the cushions off the settees so he can get to his tools, and having tools, cushions, and junk scattered all over the boat. The chaos makes me a wee bit crazy since there's usually no place left to sit, I'm in his way, and it is hazardous stepping around tools and what not. He was probably glad to have a little space himself, so it was a win-win deal.

[Men will probably want to skip this paragraph.] I was at the mall ten minutes before it opened, pacing in front of the Dillard's entrance, looking at my watch every thirty seconds. I think the last time I was at an actual shopping mall was in Sault Sainte Marie, and that was rushed. I did not intend to buy anything, but having time to just browse as long as I wanted was a luxury; I spent five hours there! 

Speaking of luxury, the first thing I did was treat myself to a badly needed (and well deserved) pedicure. Aaaaaah! As I told Wayne afterwards, I finally felt feminine again; I have not worn any makeup since well before the start of our trip and the pedicure gave me a boost.

The marina couldn't let us stay another night because of the wine festival this weekend, and even the anchorages nearby appeared to be fully occupied. We had wanted to see Nauticus (The National Maritime Center), which is now the permanent home of the largest U.S. battleship ever constructed, the USS Wisconsin. There was no time to tour Nauticus, but we did run over to tour the USS Wisconsin before checkout time at noon.

Although mile "0" on the Intracoastal Waterway is in Norfolk, the ICW actually starts in Boston (some resources say Maine, and yes, it does include the Chesapeake Bay). From Boston it goes south to Florida and then along the Gulf Coast to the Mexican border, via interconnected canals, creeks, rivers, bays, and sounds.

We started this section of the Intracoastal Waterway in the Virginia Cut, which feels like a river (sometimes a creek) lined with forests, grasses, and marshes, and traversed by many bridges. We passed through one lock and under three lift bridges, five bascule bridges, and three swing bridges. A few are open continuously except when there's a train. Most of them only open on the hour and the half hour, and some don't open at all between 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. due to rush hour traffic. There were also two fixed bridges - each with 65' of vertical clearance:

At Wayne's insistence I stood on the bow trying to calculate whether or not we would make it under the first fixed bridge, and make it we did (hallelujah!), with probably a couple feet of headroom to spare. As I returned to the cockpit, Wayne asked if I would steer while he went down to change his pants.

The second fixed bridge was a different story: we cleared it, but barely. From my vantage point on the bow, there did not appear to be any space between the anemometer and the bridge; we think the antenna actually hit it.

Yikes! I just looked at the chart and counted thirteen 65' bridges (one is 64') ahead of us in North Carolina alone! I told Wayne and he said we will probably go out in the Atlantic to avoid some of them.

Parked ourselves at the Pungo Ferry Marina for the night.