Traveling with Storys: October 21, 2024 - Norfolk, Virginia

October 21, 2024 – Monday Day 26 of this journey

Norfolk, Virginia

Our sea day yesterday was still a bit on the rocky side. Seas were moderate, but were coming across the beam, so you really feel the side-to-side motion.

Once we entered the Chesapeake Bay, it was still a long way to our dock. The sun was just beginning to add a little light to the east, but we were able to catch glimpses of some of our Navy’s vessels. Quite an impressive site. And something I was really looking forward to seeing.

Part of the US Fleet

Where we will be docking

The various aspects of the Naval base here are hard to comprehend. It is the largest Naval base in the world. It is the home and headquarters for the USN Fleet Forces Command. 4 miles of waterfront and 11 miles of piers and wharfs. The adjacent Chambers Field has 134 aircraft and 11 aircraft hangars. There is also a submarine base. Along with all of this, are many private providers supporting these ships and planes.

We arrived at our dock adjacent to the Nauticus Center which is a maritime museum. Part of its display is the USS Wisconsin. It has 9 big guns and is something to see.

USS Wisconsin ("Whiskey")

We have the “included” tour today which is a bus ride to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens where we will spend a couple of hours. There are four busses of Viking passengers. For our bus, we spend the first hour on our own visiting various areas of the gardens. (They give you a great map.) It is a huge complex and very well done.

The gardens were established in 1938 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. Over 200 African American men and women were given the task of clearing the land and planting the garden. Within the first year they had planted 4,000 azaleas, 2,000 rhododendrons, 1,000 bushels of daffodils, and several thousand miscellaneous plants and bushes.

It is surrounded on 3 sides by Lake Whitehurst. Canals have been added and during the summer you can take a tour of the gardens by canal. There are over 60 themed gardens that run a wide gamut of themes. We checked out the rose garden and the Japanese Garden as well as a hot house with tropical plants and orchids.

Part of the canal system

In the Japanese Garden - it was so serene

A Crepe Myrtle - quite alive, gorgeous smooth bark

At 11:00 am we are scheduled to take a 25–30-minute narrated tram ride around the gardens. It was a great way to get a better feel for all the different things they are doing. The tram itself must have been designed for school children as we all felt a little like sardines. We still had about 30 minutes left, so backtracked to the bonsai gardens which are adjacent to the Japanese Garden.

Twin redwoods

Goldenrod - something is always in bloom here.

A beautiful pyracantha in front of a golden bush.

One of numerous bonsai plants

Upon leaving the Gardens, we were to have about an hour of a bus ride to see more of Norfolk. Our tour guide wanted us to see some of the naval base, but there was an accident on the freeway that had turned the freeway into a parking lot, so she abandoned that idea and headed for downtown historical Norfolk, which is not far from our dock. Interesting history.

We were dropped off at the dock and headed back to the ship. After lunch, we headed out to find a drug store to pick up a couple of items we could use. After walking for about an hour with no sign of a pharmacy, we headed back to the ship. When we are docked, there is always local security making sure we belong on the ship. We chatted with one of the guards and he confirmed that there wasn’t a pharmacy within walking distance. Oh well, at least we got in a good walk.