When we originally planned the trip, we considered only staying one night in Norfolk. Between it being a city and the surrounding area being so industrial, we figured we wouldn’t really like it all that much. But it turned out to be a really cool stop, and as I find myself saying over and over on this trip, I wish we had more time.
I visited the USS Wisconsin (BB-64), berthed at the Nauticus museum and Hampton Roads Naval Museum. The Wisconsin is an Iowa class battleship commissioned on April 16, 1944, and her last action was in the Gulf War. I’ve always found military ships and aircraft fascinating, and I was excited for the opportunity to tour her. I wish I’d had more time to spend at the Hampton Roads museum – I at least did a quick walk-through – but I’m glad I spent more time touring the ship.
I also found the Armed Forces Memorial by James Cutler and Maggie Smith to be incredibly powerful. The memorial is dedicated to veterans of American conflicts from the Revolutionary to Persian Gulf War. Norfolk is full of military history, and this memorial tells an incredibly powerful story of life during wartime. 20 bronze cast letters, each an actual letter written by a service member who never returned home, are scattered across the memorial, appearing to be blown by the wind. Many of the authors were killed within days of the letter’s date of writing.
This morning, I took a photo walk around the city. I explored the NEON district, which is an emerging artist community that was definitely down on its luck. There were tons of cool murals and benches and public art. From there I debated visiting the art museum but didn’t have enough time, so I wandered the Freemason district and its cobblestone streets lined with interesting old homes.
We typically mostly cook aboard, but we took advantage of the chance to try some local restaurants while we were here, and we loved every place we tried. We went to the Monastery (delicious European food – the escargots are incredible), Jack Brown’s (where the playlist was 100% something I’d have created – 90’s-2000’s alt & metal – and the beer list had plenty of stouts and porters), and Steampot for breakfast (to-die-for rosemary biscuits!).
We met lots of great people too. The couple two slips over were from Stonington, CT, which is where we bought Silent Sky, and they ended up inviting us aboard for drinks. While we were watching the Bucs at one of the waterfront bars, we had an interesting conversation with a local, and as boats come and go we’ve gotten to chat with sailors who have done this trip many times, and those who are first timers like us.
Norfolk was a lot of fun, and I look forward to visiting again.
