Sunrise on Tuesday, July 1
On Tuesday morning, Eric went back to the hydraulic store in Portsmouth to exchange the fittings. He found fittings with angles that would work better in the space we had. Upon return, he finished installing the transfer pump. Much to his aggravation, one of the fittings was leaking. It was too hot to keep working in the engine room, so he gave up for the day.
On Wednesday morning, Eric took apart, tightened and resealed both fittings on the fuel transfer pump. Since the transfer pump had fuel in it, it was messy. He captured the majority of the fuel in a bucket and used the oil pads (AKA diapers) to suck up the rest. In great news, it wasn’t leaking anymore! He started the transfer pump and it worked! Woo hoo!
He immediately started polishing the fuel. Even though we haven’t had any issues with the fuel we’d gotten in Florida, we figured cleaning it was a good idea — better safe than sorry! The new pump was 150% faster than the old one, pumping 2.6 gallons per minute versus 1-gallon per minute.
On Thursday, Eric changed the generator Raycor filter, then cleaned up from all the projects he’d done the last few days. Put away the tools was a project in and of itself!
We forgot to mention that Keith broke his glasses on Sunday. Eric was able to repair them enough that they were still usable, but the fix was tenuous and we needed to get Keith new glasses. Since we were paying for the exam and glasses out of pocket, we chose to go to the optometrist/Optometrist Center at the Norfolk Costco. We’d made an appointment with the optometrist for Tuesday.
There was a Mexican restaurant near Costco called El Rodeo that had great reviews, so we went there for lunch before the eye appointment. The food was authentic and good, it was excellent value for the money, and the service was fast, making it an ideal spot for a quick lunch. It’s the best Mexican food we’ve had so far in Virginia (though El Mezcal in West Palm Beach, FL was still the best we’ve had so far on the east coast).
The eye exam and ordering glasses was uneventful. Afterwards, we went shopping at Costco, which was always a lengthy adventure.
On Wednesday, the weather forecast was a big thunderstorm with copious rain, lasting most of the day. Eric and Keith went to Miss Roxy’s to play D & D. Christi stayed aboard and did chores. The sunset that night was blocked by clouds, and the clouds turned an intense red.
There was a Waffle House near us in Little Creek that we’ve passed multiple times. Each time, we’ve talked about how none of us have ever eaten there. Since it’s such an iconic part of American culture, on Thursday we decided we should try it. Christi and Eric ordered grits as their side dish, which was a porridge similar to oatmeal but with ground corn instead of oats. The grits were buttery and not at all sweet. Keith had never had grits before and did not like them, but Christi and Eric did.
Afterwards, we went grocery shopping. While there was a large Food Lion near the marina, Karen had encouraged us to go to Wegman’s in Virginia Beach since “it was an experience.” Wegman’s was a large, very high end market with lots of prepared food choices. While most stores have utilitarian decor, the interior of Wegman’s was lovely. And there was a cute toy train that went around the store!
In the evening, Eric went to the marina social that they do every Thursday, but it abruptly ended when it started to rain.
And finally, these birds seem to live at the marina and were fun to watch.
