Monday, July 26, 1993

Really did leave this morning. Got up at 5:30, started the engine, untied the lines, and were all ready for the six o'clock opening of the bridge. Great Bridge opens once an hour from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The lock is supposed to be coordinated with the opening of the bridge, but the good ol' boy who was tending the lock took his sweet time. He was a nice guy and very talkative, but he wasn't about to wear himself out hurrying over to the switch or button or whatever it was he had to push. But we finally got through the lock and took off up the channel. We really lucked out. There were a lot of bridges to go through, most of which opened only every half hour. We just happened to arrive at the right time for all of them, so we didn't have to wait.
Went by Waterside in Norfolk, where we were the other day. Saw the naval base from the water. Even more impressive than from the land. Saw aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines, every kind of ship imaginable.
Went through a very narrow channel to Willoughby Harbor and tied up at the marina. We went there, because the facilities guide said the rate was 75 cents a foot, but it turned out they had just raised it to $1 a foot. If we'd known that we'd have gone to the Waterside Marina, which is much easier to get in and out of and much closer to the center of town.
Ate brunch on the boat and then held the annual stockholders meeting of Jofian, Inc. Two people were present--Roy and me. Not surprisingly, we were both elected to the board for another year.
Found our way over to the street the bus runs on. Had four minutes to get there, so we had to zoom. Fortunately, the bus was late. I rushed up to the bus stop and looked around to see if a bus was coming, even though I was fairly certain it must have gone by and there wouldn't be another for an hour. Saw a little blue van coming, but of course that couldn't be the bus. To my surprise, it pulled up and stopped, so we got on. Apparently, so few people ride the bus on this route that they just use the little mini-bus instead of a full-sized one.
The bus took us to K-Mart. We looked at all their toaster ovens, but couldn't find one small enough. Ever since we bought the new microwave oven, which is slightly wider than the old one, we haven't been able to put the toaster oven in frontward between the microwave and the dish closet, so we're trying to find one no more than a foot wide.
Bought a new Dust Buster and a tape recorder. Also, some stuff from the drugstore section. Then we went to an ATM and liberated some cash. Crossed the street and looked for a toaster oven in some other stores. The one at Woolworth's was almost small enough but not quite. Had a hassle getting them to show it to us. There was none on display, and the clerk refused to take one out of the box. We talked to the manager, and she told the clerk to take it out of the box, which she then did.
Gave up on the microwave. Crossed the street again and ate some ice cream. Barely had time to finish it when the bus arrived to take us back to Willoughby.
Ate supper and enjoyed some really nice showers. Watched an interesting PBS program on wildlife in Australia.