Touring Norfolk on F.R.E.D.

Saturday was spent touring Norfolk on F.R.E.D., a Free Ride Every Day, an all electric vehicle. FRED is run by the Business Bureau and available by a phone call..   Note the car behind the picture of Joy and Debbie with driver AJ.  We set off on foot to take the light rail which is not up and running yet, so after stopping in a coffee shop to ask about the light rail, we were told to call FRED, free and no tips allowed.  We were picked up and driven through town to the historical district and Pagoda which we were interested in seeing. The Pagoda was a gift from Taiwan to Norfolk for the trade that they share and an excellent use of space that was an old chemical tank.  The base supports for the tower now support the Pagoda and a lovely urban Asian park was built around the Pagoda.   After our short stroll through that part of town we found our way to a sushi restaurant for lunch.  In the meantime Joe and Butch were seeing the Green lantern movie, and joined us in the afternoon for touring the Wisconsin and the Nauticus museum.  We enjoyed their company over the last few days.  Butch owned a bakery in Poland, Ohio, which is where my Aunt Sally and Uncle Bill Foster live.  Debbie had a hair salon and they sold everything to live on their boat about a year ago, having just been married a year.  Debbie is also a spunky, lively lady, who doesn't know how to swim and gets seasick but she was lovesick first, so Butch and the boat won out.

The last picture is of an 1800s Abbey which is now a wonderful restaurant where we had supper.  Debbie and I found it while touring the historical section of Norfolk.  Stained glass windows adourn the entreeway and bar.  Beautiful!

On Sunday we all left Norfolk early, about 6am and headed up the Chesapeake for Deltaville, where we are scheduled to have some work done in that boatyard.  The first five hours we enjoyed a brisk sail, but then the wind changed to a more northerly direction, bringing a brief shower and motoring into the waves for the next three hours.  We joined with our other new friends John and Suzanne, who arrived a few hours before we did, and all  had dinner together on in the Deltaville porch, grilling brats and steaks and sharing some food.  Dominoes lasted until 10 when we all were yawning after being up at 5am to get underway.