End of the Intracoastal!!

Monday was a big big milestone. I completed the intracoastal. I came to Norfolk and I felt like a little teeny ant amongst a variety of huge ships. I was a little disappointed I couldn’t see the “mile 0” marker. I wanted to take a picture as a memento. I heard there was one on the there but after looking and looking I couldn’t find it. I paddled along the port and around the piers and saw a ton of boats, container ships, a naval yard, huge Navy boats, aircraft carriers and cruise ships. I rounded the corner to go under the bridge to Hampton a submarine passed me. I saw just about everything coming through Norfolk, it was very lively. The cruise ship I saw was followed by a couple of police boats; they kept following me around, maybe because of my packed kayak and creepy beard? Yesterday, I set out to try cross the mouth of the river to, following the bridge over to Cape Charles. I didn’t get that far though before I felt a little apprehensive. I sat at the mouth of Little Creek and tried to make up my mind; it was HOT yesterday, near record temperatures. The part that got me worried though was the visibility it was really hazy from the heat and the south wind we had from the last couple of days had blown the smoke from the south Carolina forest fires up here and I couldn’t see more then a mile. I was at the mouth of Little Creek and couldn’t see the bridge. I was worried about getting run over once I get out there because I had been told that most guys put their boats on auto-pilot and I am going to cross the shipping channel about half way along. I am in no rush… I have plenty of time to cross the bay. It’s about 8am now. I am going to give it another try right now. I will let you know how it goes, I will keep you posted. Keep your fingers crossed as it’s a big crossing. Tons of pictures, next time I get to a Wi-Fi spot I will upload them…

I stayed on Al and Mary’s boat again last night. They are amazing, they have done so much to ensure the success of this trip, and I can’t thank them enough!