Portsmouth...

We are now in the Hampton Roads area and that means big boats and lots of them. Navy and commercial vessels are common sites in this area but one thing that we aren't used to seeing is a cruise ship in dry dock. If you think these big boats look huge in the water, imagine seeing one in dry dock. Quite the site!

We began our tour of Portsmouth at the Lightship museum and the Maritime museum. A lightship is essentially a floating lighthouse that also doubled as a rescue vessel. I must believe this had to be one of the most boring occupations in the service as crews of 9-14 men per vessel would be dispatched for 2-4 months at a time with the responsibility of maintaining the light and only serving as a rescue vessel in times of need.

Spring is in full bloom in the area and that was evident as we walked the streets of the historic district and viewed the homes; blossoming flowers and trees in their fine greenery added to the beauty of the area.

It would be our last evening with friends on Charm, as they would be continuing there journey home and we would opt to do some bumming around the area. We chose a Pub which had good burgers, good beer and good prices. It would have been a perfect meal if not for the pickle incident......yes friends......you know what I'm getting at here. The Captain has a severe aversion to pickles and neglected to order his hamburger platter absent pickle. We realized after the order was placed but it was too late. The burger was plated with pickle and despite the waitress' removing the pickle from the plate before it reached the table, the Captain's plate had - yep you guessed it - 'essence' of pickle on the burger bun. Oh dear, if you can imagine Eeyore's sorry eyes and face you'd have a great description of the Captain.

Tomorrow, Norfolk.

The Admiral

4/28/2010