June 3 (Wednesday)
After the convention I drove back to Wilmington, North Carolina to check out a few shops and grab lunch along the river. The old downtown area is nice to walk and has a lot to see including art and a battleship. Being back in the South also gave a bit of nostalgia seeing Waffle House again, especially with all the memes and jokes about it.
From there it was a drive to Norfolk, Virginia to spend the night. I found it amusing that after the Marriott in Carolina Beach which had one of the two elevators out the entire time, the second Marriott I stayed at on the trip also had the same situation. After checking in I walked around the area for a while to see the harbor.
June 4 (Thursday)
The next morning it was off towards the beach to visit the Aquarium at Norfolk. As far as aquariums go it is fairly nice and well suited for children as a learning adventure. One interesting difference is that it has an outside boardwalk that briefly takes you around the marsh it is adjacent to so you can learn more about the ecosystem. It’s also quite close to Oceana Naval Air Station meaning don’t be surprised if you hear military jets doing training exercises.
During trips I am a fan of looking for local art, often in the form of murals, but stickers as well. The prevalence of both has risen sharply the last decade in towns and cities I have visited. One thing that can be frustrating is seeing a great mural and not being able to get a picture in time and further not having time to swing back around for it.
The sticker game offers even more variety as you go from one area to another.
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