Olde Towne

32 hrs Atlantic City to the hospital point anchorage, Norfolk VA. Despite having finally peed on the foredeck early in the AM Ballantine danced around in the cockpit as we set the anchor. The Skipper Bob cruising guide, which a kind friend had gifted to us, listed a free dinghy dock behind the Wisconsin. This required a ride across the choppy river and then tucking behind a warship. As the alternator had once again stopped working I was elected to don a lifejacket and brave the slop. With such obstacles to overcome it wasn't surprising that no such dock existed. But pee we would - so we tucked in behind the Wisconsin, scaled a wall and found some grass. Relief.
The refrigerator was looking bare and one of us was down to 2 clean shirts so today was clearly the day to adventure into the wilds of Virginia. The cruising guide suggested that the closest grocery was on the Portsmouth side of the river, but the only dinghy dock was at a marina. After googling for a laundromat we set out. $12.60 to tie up the dinghy turned into a deal when we discovered that instead of walking 4 miles with the laundry we could use the marina's washing machines. We returned the laundry to the dinghy and set out for the grocery store.
Based on the military industrial area we could see from the water we didn't expect a nice walk. But it turned out to be lovely. Portsmouth has an Olde Towne (love the Es) section which we wandered through on the way to the Food Lion. Large oaks, holly borders, Southern style facades and parks bordered the streets. We emerged into the expected fast food car dealer realm and found a well stocked grocery. As we were dividing the groceries for the walk back a gentleman asked if we were off a boat and offered a ride. What more could one ask for?
Now with the laundry washed and the groceries stowed we are ready to set out... but bridge opening schedules must be respected and so we will depart in the morning with the hope that chronos and kairos align and with them the bridge operators.