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April 18, 2013 Day 342

Hampton City Marina
Hampton, VA
Total miles to date: 5836.4



We had a fun, informative time this morning visiting with Robert Peet, Lock Master at the Deep Creek Lock.  He invited us over for coffee, fruit, and pastries and gave us additional history about the Dismal Swamp.  He entertained us by playing the conch for us before we departed.  He has a large collection of seashells that boaters have given him, so Joyce let him choose one of her collection to add to his!  We stayed at this lock for over an hour talking with him before locking through.  The lock dropped us 10 feet and then we were on our way. This was our final lock of the Loop!

Lockmaster playing the conch for us

Joyce took the helm exiting the lock and turned it back over to Bill and Bob when we got to the busy ports and bridges on the Elizabeth River. Portsmouth and Norfolk have busy harbors with industrial and Navy ports, boatyards, marinas, heavy boat traffic. Security boats make their presence known around the Navy piers!

We decided to take a detour and go up the James River. We went as far as the James River Bridge and then turned around, enjoying seeing the ships under construction at the Newport News Shipyard.

We arrived at the Hampton City Marina at 3:00 and tied up on the face dock.  This is another nostalgic stop since this is where we first saw Carried Away!  Shortly after we arrived our friend Carla Morin stopped to visit!  We were so happy to see her and will attend her wedding next week.

We went to dinner with Bob and Gennie and came back for a relaxing evening.