East Coast Tour Day 5

Hey y’all. The boys were up at 6 and on the road by 7:45 headed to the Naval Base at Norfolk.  Just before we left, a hotel security official came up to a couple of chaperones and told them that in his 15 years of being in security at the hotel he had never met young boys so well behaved.  He commented that for a group of boys that size he was astonished there wasn’t one noise complaint.  As we headed to Norfolk half the boys slept the other half played cards, drew pictures, created a collage/mural on the bus wall or read.  We arrived at a food court in a mall on the edge of the base for an informal sing.  The sound was surprisingly good for a mall.  The boys sang and were well received with cheers, bravos and warm compliments, especially for “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8otFPu_g2U. Norfolk Naval Base is the largest naval base in the US, covering nearly 30,000 acres with 40,000 people.  We passed through security letting people with extra metal pieces in their bodies go first, so Hooyah ( a Navy cheer) for titanium and the metal plate Todd says he has in his skull.  The buses were boarded by Navy personnel and the tour began.   We were informed that security had been heightened since April from Alpha to Bravo Level (second of four levels) because ISIS has put the base on its list of places it would like to terrorize.  After seeing the weaponry and people in uniform, good luck with that ISIS.  Some of the interesting things we learned included the facts that there are helicopters the Navy has that are too big to fit on an aircraft carrier, battleships are being decommissioned, there are Navy bombers that use up half their fuel taking off due to the weight and the Navy is developing an aircraft carrier that will have no people on board (that part could be top secret so mums the word).  We left the base and drove about an hour to Virginia Beach.  The boys walked along the boardwalk (cement now), waded and walked along the ocean and of course found souvenirs to buy. It was hot, so the breeze off the ocean and toes (some boys a little more than toes) in the cool surf were welcome relief.  We arrived at the hotel in Richmond, VA and went immediately to dinner.  There was time for a swim in the pool then lights out.  A few boys have to get up early to be rock stars on TV in the morning the rest get to sleep a little later.