F-18's, Firefighters, Beach Fun and Amazing Grace

After leaving our friends Kathy and Randy and our son Sean in Southern Maryland, our next stop was the Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach area where a couple of special events were planned.  Through my work, I met a couple of Navy fire chiefs a few months back.  When I told them of our road trip, they inquired as to whether we would be in their area.  Since our trip was to be an adventure, we added this stop and were promised the red carpet treatment.  They did not disappoint.

Our host was the district fire chief of Norfolk Naval Shipyard who picked us up at the Navy Lodge where we were staying.  Our first stop was Naval Air Station, Oceana.  We were introduced to the CO of the base who directed our host to give us the VIP tour starting with the air control tower's observation deck.  From there we had an eagle-eye view of the F-18's and the runways.

Here the N.A.S. Oceana fire chief is pointing out some incoming F-18's

He then drove us out to the flight line where the fire department's crash truck is positioned all day long. The firefighters do two hour rotations on the truck throughout the day.

We toured the entire base; however, I was not permitted to take pictures in some areas.  After we left N.A.S. Oceana, we were given a tour of the Norfolk Naval Hospital campus which is rich with history and sits on some of the most beautiful real estate in Portsmouth, VA.  We ended the day with a window tour of Norfolk Naval Shipyard and a walk-through tour of its fire station where Steve was presented with a few gifts

Here is Steve with our host and tour guide, District Fire Chief Steve White

And here is a picture with everyone who hosted us that day

We spent the next day at Virginia Beach.  Although I took several pictures, this one is my favorite.

After spending the day at the beach, we were able to get together with a high school classmate of mine and her family.  Beth and I reconnected a few years ago thanks to Facebook and have been following each other's lives using that medium.  When I was certain we were going to be in her area, I contacted her and she graciously offered to cook us dinner.  We spent several hours getting reacquainted, feasting on delicious appetizers, dinner and dessert, and being entertained by her granddaughter Grace.  I pirated this photo from Beth's Facebook and I hope she doesn't mind but I had to include a picture of this adorable little (almost) four-year old.  Grace played shy in the beginning but quickly warmed up to us.  Her creativity, beauty, stories, and pure innocence kept us enchanted all evening long.

Those two days were filled with adventure and memories, thanks to the help of our friends.