It wasn’t a good weekend for Santa.
As I was waiting in line to get my t-shirt and number for the Jingle-All-The-Way 5k race on the Old Dominion University campus, he bumped me as he tried to make his way through the crowd. He grumpily continued on without as much as an “excuse me.” Perhaps he hadn’t had his coffee yet. I later saw him putting on a happy face for a bunch of kiddies.
At the Norfolk Grand Illumination Parade that night, the parade was going as planned, then all of a sudden seemingly ended without a visit from the jolly old man. Kids looked down the street, but he was nowhere to be found. Families started packing up their blankets and many headed for their cars. After about a 10-minute gap, one of the volunteers announced the rest of the parade was on its way. Five minutes later, Saint Nick made his drive-by.
In addition to doing the Jingle-All-The-Way 5K, I crossed over the Elizabeth River to Portsmouth Sunday morning and ran around (and around, and around) the Paradise Creek Nature Park on what ended up being the first really cold day of the year in these parts.
Norfolk is the second largest city in the state with a population of nearly a quarter million people. It is the home to the largest Navy base in the world and NATO headquarters. The USS Wisconsin and the Nauticus naval museum dominate the waterfront.
Portsmouth, with a population of 100,000, is also a Navy town. It is the location of a large and very active shipyard, although it is actually called the Norfolk Naval Shipyard to avoid confusion with Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
67 runs downs, 67 to go.
