Norfolk & Hampton & Gloucester...

May 4, 2023



      Statistics at our conference about The Great Loop.  The rise in 2022 is thought to be due to COVID.


Our stay in Norfolk was an extended stay due to bad weather and the Great Loop Rendezvous to listen to talks on places and routes we will be traveling over the next 6 months.  The work on the boat and props certainly made it impossible for us to go anywhere so we were lucky the diver and the prop shop was able to work with our schedule.  During our stay, Danny and I walked from Waterside over to Ghent to see what was new.  On Sunday, I walked up to the Chrysler Museum of Art and Glass Museum before the big storm came through Norfolk.  I took pictures of some of my favorite pieces of art!  I got to see the Renoir Classic- The Daughters of Durand- Ruel (1882), 2 glass compotes from New England in the 1850's which I loved for their vibrant colors, and a number of works from the Tiffany studios.





                          


  


My favorite artwork is a type of artwork called Pointillism which now is divided into true Pointillism (essentially dots of paint to make a picture) and Divisionism (which is dabs of paint, so they are not points).  The work shown is by Paul Signac and is the Lagoon of Saint Mark, Venice, Italy.  There were several artists in the early 1900's who did this type of painting.  The full picture you can see and then I took a close up of the right lower corner so you could appreciate the dabs of paint!



Lastly, I ALWAYS enjoy any Picasso I can see.  There was a work on display which I had never seen in person or in a book.  The work done in 1923 is called Decoration for a Mardi-Gras Ball.

We had friends come over for dinner and Joanne was there for a class and Judy, my other sister came to visit in the middle of a storm.  We enjoyed dinner at 456 Fish, Jack Brown's Burger Joint, and Still(by way of the ferry to Portsmouth).  A new place we found and enjoyed immensely- or I did at least was Vino Culture on Granby Street. It is a quaint wine store with wine tasting on Friday-Sunday with a full explanation of each wine.  The woman who owns the shop is a certified Sommelier (is you haven't seen the 2013 documentary Somm, you should).  I believe I purchased 5 bottles of wine of little known vineyards and Joanne purchased one as well! A great experience and great time.


One of our surprises at the conference was seeing Ron and Betty Dubard who were one of the Looper couples that rode in our car with us to the tornado emergency shelter in Demopolis, Alabama.  When Betty saw me, she just reached out and kept hugging me.  I told her I still had the small wooden crosses she gave both Danny and me the day when we got out of the shelter that I keep by my bed.



                      

When we left Norfolk, we crossed the river to go to Hampton staying at Blue Water Yacht and meeting Brett and Trish to have dinner at Surfrider.  The next morning, I took Timmy's car for a dermatology appointment and Danny and Timmy cruised around the southern Chesapeake Bay to go to Gloucester.  They enjoyed seeing the Blue Angels practicing for an air show the following day while traveling.
We continued to enjoy seeing family and friends in Hampton, Newport News, and Gloucester as well as our numerous doctor and dentist appointments while we were in the area!  Dash, Noah, and Holley enjoyed being driven around by their Pop-Pop on the dinghy.  Danny and I both appreciate the time everyone took to visit with us while we were here.  Those that we missed, hopefully we will see late this year during the Holidays!










Lori on Pickett's Pub took this picture of our boat on Saturday morning at sunrise!
Next stop... Deltaville


TOTAL MILES TRAVELLED   2609.60 miles
TOTAL DAYS 175




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