Bits of Norfolk, Virginia

After going to Palm Sunday Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, we went to brunch at d'egg Diner, a breakfast place in downtown Norfolk. We enjoyed pancakes and omelettes and grits. 

Fun logo

We also enjoyed hot chocolate

The area has a lot of naval history, one of the most famous bits being the battle of the Ironclad ships during the American Civil War. 

Informational sign

The battle waters

Nearby is a small park with an Armed Forces Memorial. Several letters to loved ones have been rendered in metal and attached to the concrete floor, making a striking but subtle impression. The letters range from the War for Independence to very recent conflicts. 

Armed Forces Memorial

Right next door is Nauticus, a maritime museum that feature the USS Wisconsin, a battleship that served in World War II. 

Posing by the battleship?

A longer view of the battleship

The museum

Norfolk has one of the branches of the World Trade Center, housed in a very modern-looking building. Next door is something more classical.

World Trade Center

US Customs and Border Protection

We wanted to go to a baseball game. Norfolk has a AAA team for the Baltimore Orioles called the Norfolk Tides. The walk was not far (less than a mile) and we found some interesting things along the way.

Walking along the embankment of an overpass

At first, I thought this was a gun pointing up

Running from the photographer

Norfolk baseball stadium

Walking in

We stood in line for a few minutes then had the brilliant idea of ordering tickets online. I didn't really beat us making it to the front of the line but the online (on-phone) purchase was already made, so we used that to get in. It was doggy day in the park, but we only saw dogs at the entrance, not really in the stands. 

Our seats were in the sunshine, which turned out to be a bit hotter than we were prepared for. Like most AAA stadium, there are no bad seats as far as the view goes.

View of the game

Awesome fans

Reverse view

My wife started advocating for moving to seats that were unoccupied and in the shade. Eventually we agreed and moved behind home plate, with a better view of the pitching.

New view

The inter-inning entertainment included a race to build a hamburger. The tomato below happened to roll away, dooming the chances of that competitor.

Making a burger

We left after the seventh-inning stretch since the home team was not doing well (the game eventually ended with an 8-12 loss). On the way out we saw the mascots hanging out together. I am fascinated by their main mascot, a seahorse that looks very fierce (a seeming contradiction).

Mascots!

Don't mess with this pony

Outside the stadium is one of the many mermaid statues that are all over Norfolk.

Me and my mermaid

On the way back to the car, I made a second attempt on a geocache where the owner had emailed me a hint after a DNF (did not find).

View from the cache

The waterfront has one of those classic local tourism signs.

Have I seen this somewhere else?

Our last bit of tourism was to visit Mount Trashmore. The local dump was buried under dirt and turned into a park. The "mountain" isn't too tall but does provide a good spot for kites to catch wind and nice views. There are no recreations of U.S. Presidents' heads.

Mount Trashmore

Daughter running up

My son, less ambitious

View to one side of the mount

View of Lake Trashmore

Grandpa find a gentle slope

Kite flyers

A large and extensive playground is right nearby but our children were not interested because too many other children were there.

Playground

More playground

Another view of Lake Trashmore

Cute Kid Pix October 2023

More pictures that did not make their own post...

My youngest finally had his first baseball game after two weeks of rain outs. He had a good time, getting on base with a hit and scoring the first run for his team. His age-level is the first kid-pitch level, so a bunch of players made it on base from walks. The game ended in a 3-3 tie, which may have been appropriate since it was Nationals versus Cardinals and all the players had the same color jerseys. Everyone had fun on a sunny Sunday.

They get to steal too, so here he is on second

And on third

My son finished off a "building bricks" set that is not Legos. He made George Washington's Mount Vernon, a place we visited some time ago. 

Not the happiest builder in the country

With scouts, we did some outdoor cooking, including foil packet dinners on the grill. The boys loved it!

Yummy self-made dinner!

My eldest had another debate at which I was a judge. I wound up being a proctor for the Extemperaneous Speaking competition, which meant I handed out the topics to the participants thirty minutes before they talked about it. The time was for them to research the topic and prepare seven minutes of remarks.

I had a couple of breaks and wandered around the campus of Calvert Hall College High School, named after a Catholic colonial leader and led by Salesian Brothers, so the statue on campus is of Cecil Calvert and Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. 

Teamwork!

Another patron--Our Lady of the Library!

My youngest had his final game at the end of the month, which they won 12-13 against the Orioles. Fall ball has a very short season and no playoffs!

On third

He's also had fun playing board games, including the popular Pandemic. 

Victory!

Our dance studio, That's Dancing, had a Halloween party. We dressed up in cowboy outfits. One couple came as Barbie and Ken, so I took a turn in the Ken box as "Cowboy Ken Doll." Our niece came to the dance too!

Dressed up for dancing

Dancing

Ready to be bought

My wife danced herself to the bone!

The cub scouts had a pack meeting where kids dressed up. My youngest reused his baseball uniform as a Halloween costume.

Discussing ring toss strategy

Going for a hat trick

As for actual Halloween, we never took a picture of our youngest in his outfit (the Link outfit from a birthday party earlier in the year), but we did get a shot of his candy collection in a bar chart.

Do they learn this in school?