Thursday, August 4, 2011

76°17.569’ W

36°50.638’ N

Waterside Marina

Norfolk, Virginia

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORI!

Barb and I were surprised that Huen and Cricket had left Norfolk a day early to return to his boat. We wish them well and good health. With a little luck we will cross wakes again.



Cape Hatteras Lighthouse



Kitty Hawk



Since we were up early, we got in the car and drove back to the Outer Banks hoping to visit Ocracoke Island. When we arrived at the ferry the attendant said it would be at least another two hours plus before we could board for the 40 minute ride! We didn’t want to wait so we turned the car around and drove to the Cape Hatteras National Park which was worth seeing. From there we drove to the Wright Brothers National Monument at Kitty Hawk, another National Park worth visiting.



Kitty Hawk Memorial



Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel



Entering the tunnel



Light at the end of the tunnel



I have always wanted to see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel that was completed in 1964 and selected as one of the seven engineering wonders of the modern world. The bridge and submerged tunnels are over 17.6 miles long with two, one mile long sections of tunnel sitting on the bottom of the Bay allowing ships to pass over them into the Atlantic Ocean. In 1999 a second phase was completed when two additional lanes were added above the surface of the Chesapeake. The four lanes of traffic are now reduced to two lanes through the tunnel. A third phase to install two one mile underwater sections is now being considered which would provide four lanes of unobstructed traffic,



Water over the tunnel



Ship crossing over the tunnel



Tomorrow we will drive to the Flints home close to historical Williamsburg, Virginia. We have a lot of catching up to do and are looking forward to our visit.