A NOTE TO OUR READERS:
"Experience America's Waterfront" is from the June 2007 issue of Southern Living.
Because prices, dates, and other specifics are subject to change, please check all
information to make sure it's still current before making your travel plans.
I've done everything from kayaking in the Atlantic Ocean to
standing on the flight deck of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in
Virginia. Still, I never really understood the glory of Hampton Roads
until I walked along the water's edge in Norfolk one summer morning. All
around, I could see what makes it so special. This is America's
waterfront.
It's the smell of salt air rising off the Chesapeake Bay and the
snap of sails billowing on the masts of a tall ship. It's the way a
sailor hugs his family when he's finally home from sea. It's the fragile
boats of Jamestown settlers, the thunder of the Monitor and the
Merrimack, and the rattle of liberty ships sailing bravely for far-off
shores.
For four centuries, these waters have set the stage for the pageant
of a nation. English mariners named Hampton Roads for the safe harbor at
the confluence of three rivers--the James, Elizabeth, and
Nansemond--that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. Norfolk, home to the
world's largest Navy base, sits in the heart of the region that holds
nine other cities from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach.
above: Fireworks often illuminate waterfront celebrations.
