On a recent and showery Saturday, we ventured down the peninsula to Portsmouth.  Our primary purpose was to visit the monthly Antiques to Flea Market, a free event held each month in the Middle Street parking garage.  We also planned on walking around the Olde Towne area and to find a place for lunch.  Like many of the cities in the area, there are many historical sites, some predating the Revolutionary war while others are related to the Civil war.  To learn more about these sites, stop by the Visitor’s Center and pick up a map for the self guided walking tour.

A good place to start is on the water front by taking a stroll along the sea wall.  The view of the Norfolk Shipyard and downtown Norfolk are just a part of what you will see there.  In warmer months, the Lightship Portsmouth museum is open for tours.  However, there are several other museums in the area and the ferry that travels across the Elizabeth River to the downtown Norfolk area to keep you busy.   If you are looking to grab lunch, venture over to High Street.  Both sides of the street in this shopping district are lined with just about every type of restaurant imaginable.  We took the recommendations of a nice family walking past us and ventured into the Bier Garden for some authentic Bavarian food in the hopes of taking the chill off.

If the weather had been a little warmer and drier, we would have spent more time exploring the waterfront.  We thought about taking a ride on the ferry but it requires exact change ($1.75/$3.50 per person/round trip) which we did not have with us and because it was drizzly and cold, it did not seem like the best idea.

At first glance, this ship does not look that big until you notice the tug boat out front.  It quickly provides a scale to judge the size and also makes the river seem so much larger as well.  Portsmouth is an old port and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway begins with mile marker “0” in the water between Portsmouth and Norfolk.  

A chance to ride the paddle boat ferry will be just one of the reasons we go back to Portsmouth.  The schedule is available in the Visitor’s Center, just remember to bring plenty of change and small bills to get on.

Also available is a map of the historic homes in the area.  We took a short walk around looked at the houses.  If only it was a little warmer…

This house was rather unique in the fact that the fenced in yard was huge.  We were in the process of having a picket fence installed in our backyard and this one held our attention, perhaps a little too long…
Blame it on this guy!  He followed us as we walked the length of the property and more than once, he jumped up and barked at us.  We stopped and petted him a few times, his tag told us his name is Crosby and he was very friendly.  Don’t you just love the bow tie?  See you next time Crosby!