A Blast from the Past...Two Weeks in Norfolk, VA

My first, no make that my only previous time spent in Virginia has been a two week period around 1983. I got into the Naval Reserve to make some extra money. Having spent four years in the Navy back in the late 70's, it was a job that I could do, and I had some fun experiences from those days. I had somewhat forgotten what it was like to actually be back in the Navy....in fact shortly after the trip to Virginia I resigned from the reserves (could do that as I had filled all of my Naval service requirements prior to that period. Virginia though was not the problem at all. In fact, overall (other than the military part of it) I had a very good time there. I took the photo at left at the Naval Base. As I remember it was April and the weather was wild. I can remember it being very cold some days and wore heavy coats, I also had a few days with t-shirts and shorts. The base was remarkable, easily the largest Naval base I had ever been on. The "pier" seemed to go on forever, and there were ships of all types along its huge length. Massive buildings (I worked in the Naval Supply Center which was also huge) and a great area from the pier to the main gate. It was a very cool place.

I made some good friends there, had a buddy named "Converse" and another named Jim (thats Jim in the photo below). Jim was from of all places, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He thought it was a great place to live and work. I on the other hand worked in Louisville, Kentucky, and at the time....well, lets just say the part time job in the Reserve was not out of a sense of fun. Anyhow, we went to Virginia Beach (where the second photo was taken) and had a good time there. It was an interesting town, very crowded on the main streets, but we liked the beaches. Due to the weather that day there were very few in the water.
I also remember going to (what I believe was called) the Azalia Festival. That was cool, had a German Naval Ship there, a Renaissance Festival, and they had a huge airshow (on a hot day) at the Naval Air Station. The planes put on a remarkable display, and could really do some flying over the Atlantic Ocean. We also (being sailors of a sort) some exploring of the local nightlife. I remember a few places we went to, but they were largely the normal rock and roll dives of the period. Listened to some music, and enjoyed some of the local beverages that the locals offered to sell us (for a nominal fee). As far as fun things to do, I think we got in more than our share.

My early impressions of Virginia were that it was a fun and interesting place. I did not return for a long time; really until I came back here. When going to Louisville via Charlotte there are two routes; one is through Tennessee, the other is via Virginia and West Virginia to Louisville. I can go up I-77 into West Virginia and pick up I-64 which runs into Louisville, Kentucky. It is a little longer than the I-40 route, requires the payment of tolls, but is a easier drive. Funny thing about I-64, not only does it run into Louisville, Kentucky, but taken in the other direction it runs straight into....Richmond, VA.