Virginia bound . . . I'm going home, kinda

It had been 16 months since my last vacation so I thought it would be a good time for another.  I took Friday off and we headed to Norfolk, my hometown

We took an unexpected tour of the outer areas of Wilmington.  After 30 minutes of exploring and eventually finding an exit where we could turn back around, we finally managed to get out of the city.  Woohoo Virginia, here we come

I booked a Riverview room at the Holiday Inn PORTSMOUTH-OLDE TOWNE WTRFRNT with my priority club points.   I expected to get a room next to an elevator and close to the noisy bar.  On the contrary, it was on the 5th of 6 floors and away from the elevator.  The room had a great view of the Tidewater Yacht Marina next door and also a view of the Waterside.  The front desk clerk was very nice and gave us a coupon for a free breakfast at the restaurant.

The plan was to have dinner at the Bier Garden with my cousin, his girlfriend and her daughter.  So my husband and I got there early and they were packed.  We're used to going out just the two of us with no reservations required.  Change of plans, dinner ended up at Roger Brown's Restaurant and Sports Bar. 

We stayed at the Bier Garden while we waited to meet our party at Roger Brown's.  We ordered a platter of cheese and sausages.   The other appetizer was a dish of cheese and fruits.  We never order fruits but this was an exception.  It had these little Kiwi looking fruits which I didn't care for.  It didn't taste like Kiwi.  The strawberries were really good even though they were out of season.  My husband had a few German beers, of course. 

I asked the bartender if they had Tennents in a bottle hidden somewhere since there were none to be found.  He said that Tennets are no longer distributed in the area.  In Portsmouth I asked him, he said no.  In Hampton Roads I asked, negative on that as well.  Ugh!  Turns out this English bartender is also a Tennents fan.  Nice   He recommended Spaten Lager.  I found a new beer that I really like, which just happens to be rarer than Tennents.  I think I need to move to Europe

As it was nearing our 7pm dinner engagement, we moved on to Roger Brown's.   While we waited, my husband had another beer there.  For dinner, we were seated at a round table in the corner of a dining room.  The room was not so full and the noise level was low since it was separated from the bar. 

After dinner, my husband and I took a leisurely stroll back to our hotel.  The Olde Towne Ghostwalk was held that evening.  There were many groups of people walking around or gathered at old houses and historic buildings.  At each site they stopped, they were told of stories that have haunted Portsmouth's history.  The guides were dressed in costumes of old.  We even heard a ghost lurking about behind the bush of a house we passed

We then went on to The Deck Restaurant located at the marina next to our hotel.  The place was not at all busy.  When we walked in "Purple Rain" by Prince was playing and I thought of Hans   The music selection was good then Karaoke started and every singer decided to sing some country tunes.  I tolerated it as we finished our beers

It was a rainy day with a bit of humidity in the air.  But all in all, it was a pleasant day.