Portsmouth over Norfolk

I've now been in both Portsmouth and Norfolk. The areas right around the waterfront in both towns are nice. But I advise against straying too far into either town. If you must, in order to reprovision, you should do so in broad daylight. There are a lot of people hanging out on the streets doing what appears to be nothing. Portsmouth has an old town area, and a cute main street with cafes and shops. It also has two small yacht basins where you can tie up for free. Overnight stays at the basins are not permitted. If you want to hang out and relax, I would choose Portsmouth over Norfolk. Norfolk has more services with an upscale grocery store and a shopping mall within walking distance of the waterfront. I stayed at the Waterside marina which costs $1.50/foot/night. They have showers, laundry and a gym. But the facilities are very basic. Ordinarily, I would have taken advantage of the gym. But I've already had quite a workout these past two weeks.

I bought the boat in July, and could tell that I had lost weight this Fall when I switched from my Summer uniform of shorts and tevas, to jeans and sneakers. The jeans which used to fit me snuggly, now were quite loose. Getting the boat in shape for the trip was a lot of work. Well, I surveyed myself this morning in the shower, and any love handles which I may have had, are now completely gone. When I'm done with this trip, if there's anything left of me, it will be muscles, skin and bone. I've also given up on shaving. It is disconcerting though, that as I near 40, a good part of my beard has turned grey.

There are quite a few attactive southern belles walking the streets of Norfolk (I'm just looking. I promise, Amy). Or maybe it's just that I've already been asea too long. Although, the girls maning (womaning?) the kiosks in the mall are a little too aggressive for my taste. No, I do not want to listen to the sales pitch from every one of you. Also saw a guy riding a segeway. I wish I had the camera on me. He was in a business suit and looked like a complete dork. It's got to be the gayest thing I've seen on the trip so far. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I was visited by one of my blog readers last night. She and her husband offered me the use of their car to get supplies, and their sewing machine to repair the bimini. I thank them for their offer, but I think I'm just going to continue slowly zig-zagging down the icw while I repair the rudder.

And on a final note, If you see a beer called Steel Reserve, do not buy it. It will completely F you up. It won't hit you for an hour or two, but then you will be fall down drunk.