irginia Beach Trip - Day 4

With the plumbing emergency, it didn't feel like a I got a lot of sleep...  When I woke up in the morning (0600), I found that the tub had drained.  Erin later told me that the City Water folks had not yet arrived so that seemed like a good sign.  We all waited to see what would happen...  Eventually (0730), the city truck showed up and they checked that the sewer was not clogged from the street side.  This was good, in a way, but it meant the problem wasn't resolved. Erin and Austin then spent some more time pouring Drano and double checking there was some drainage - things seemed to have resolved themselves after their efforts.  Meanwhile, Brenna slept...  After spending as much time as she could with us, Mollie departed for Beaver Dam (0800).  It was sad to see her go!  But, just as I was thinking about it, she returned (she’d forgotten several things).  By that point, Erin had departed and returned with some donuts for everyone's breakfast (they were good).  Once Mollie was gone for good, I spent some time reading, walking and visiting with Erin and Austin.  The previous day, I'd suggested that we check out some of the nearby Naval Bases - Austin seemed interested.  Once Brenna was awake, we all got ready to leave.  At around 1130, we drove west towards Naval Station Norfolk so I could show everyone the ships on the Navy Pier.  There were all kinds of interesting vessels to look at, including the USS Ford and USS Truman.  Austin and Brenna were quite engaged with all the things I was able to tell them and we spent almost 30 minutes talking about the ships.  Afterwards, we drove around the base so I could show them points of interest, drive by the pretty houses and stop at spots (on the Naval Air Station) where I used to live and work.  Once everyone had seen what they wanted, we got off the base and drove to the nearby NEX complex.  It seemed to be mostly unchanged since I'd last visited but the kids didn't remember it at all.  We walked around on the main floor (in every section) and I suggested that the kids fill up a basket for me to buy them.  While waiting, I started to feel hungry and got lunch at Burger King in the food court (1335).  Meanwhile, Brenna was trying on clothes and Erin/Austin were looking at housewares on the second floor.  We all eventually (1400) reconvened and I purchased all of the items (mostly clothing, games, dog toys/treats and household items) .  Next, we headed back to Erin's house and everyone took a break for part of the afternoon.  I was glad to see that Kiki liked her new toys and everyone else seemed relieved after the sewer emergency.  Our dinner was some more sandwiches from TASTE (good!).  At 1830, we left Erin's house again and drove to Dam Neck Naval Base so I could show everyone the pretty beach.  Of course, we brought Kiki and she had fun running around in the surf and chasing crabs that came out of their holes on the beach.  We spent about an hour walking along the Atlantic and everyone really enjoyed themselves.  Returning to Erin's, I met her next door neighbor (Ron), who reminded me of our old VA Beach neighbor, Floyd.  He had a pool and a yard that was the toast of the neighborhood.  Erin and I were talking to him until it was almost dark but I then decided that I wanted to walk while there was still time.  Once I returned to Erin's again, I thought our day was done.  I actully sat down for a drink of Sangria and was about to play a game with Brenna but then Erin and Austin suggested we go get ice cream at Lolly's Creamery (nearby).  Not wanting to pass up another local experience, I went there with them.  Unfortunately, there was a HUGE line.  To pass some time, I went for a walk in the neighborhood and reached my 10,000 steps.  Once I was back with my daughters (and Austin), I tried a few of the many interesting flavors of ice cream in the pleasant evening air.  The girls were very talkative and suggested that I needed to get an Apple Watch (so they could know that I was OK) and that I needed a Shutterfly gift card to make more travel books.  I responded that I didn't like the first idea but did like the second.  Back at Erin's for good (at least for the night), I was really tired (it was approaching 2200) but everyone wanted to play some of Brenna's new games from the NEX.  I agreed to be part of the fun for a little while and was glad to watch everyone having a good time before I headed to bed (2300).  Glad for a nice day at "The Beach"!