Autumn 2015: Virginia & Florida

Start: Thursday 24^th Sept 

Flying used to be such a big adventure; now it’s like catching the bus. We boarded the 11.00 am fight from Heathrow and landed in Washington DC at 2.15 pm local time. Good flight and on time.

Our first port of call is indeed a port: Portsmouth, to see Ralph and Kelly, and now also our lovely new granddaughter Virginia, all of 7 weeks old and really cute. Here she is, apparently balancing a chair on her head. You’ve got to start them young if you want a circus performer in the family.

 We all head over to Norfolk on the little stern–wheel ferry. Norfolk is the major US naval shipyard on the East Coast and has many warships being refurbished in the inlet that we cross. We are visiting a naval museum in Norfolk that sets out the naval heritage of the area from colonial times (that’s when we Brits lost the American War of Independence. They do mention that a lot!). But, typically of American museums, it’s very well presented. There were even uniforms to try on, as modeled by this jolly jack tar who looks kind of familiar.

Norfolk is full of all sorts of ships, and here’s an old sailing vessel being used for a marriage ceremony. Let’s hope the groom isn’t influenced later by the ship’s name.

Back to Portsmouth now, and its picturesque Old Town. It’s all much like the photo, with a few grander buildings here and there dating back to the late 18^th century.

Baby Ginny (Virginia) entertained us all the while. One forgets just how constantly active babies are. Quite unexpectedly she gave us a wonderful first smile at a meal out on our final evening. I was lucky enough to capture the moment on camera, not that a photo can do it justice. That was the cherry on the top of our time with Ralph and Kelly, so nice to see such a happy family.

It takes about three hours to drive the 200 miles to Claire’s, near Fredericksburg. Unfortunately the weather’s rather wet but we manage a trip into Fredericksburg Old Town. It’s very much like Portsmouth Old Town with wooden colonial-style houses and porches with swings. 

To make up for the poor weather and lack of photo opportunity, here are some nice family portraits of firstly, Scott, Steven and Mathew, and then Claire and Katy.