The Waterfront of the Elizabeth River

At the mouth of the Elizabeth River you have a huge shipping complex, both civilian and Navy.  On one side is Portsmouth, Norfolk on the other.  Across Hampton Roads (the way to the Atlantic) you have the major seaports of Hampton and Newport News.  The end of the Roads is the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay.  Tons, literally of ships.  Neither of us had ever seen such a massive accumulation of shipping and shipyards.  Every bend seemed to be even more stunning in scope.  I'm glad we were able to see it from the water.

Our entrance into the heavy industrial area was through this lift bridge.
It was synced with a train bridge.  We were there almost an hour as
one long train after another had to pass.  Train traffic always has priority over
shipping.  This massive bridge has 4 lanes of traffic.

I cannot imagine the energy required to lift the tons of road high
enough for large vessels to pass under.  One of the few rude bridge
tenders managed it.

The sign tells a lot.

We marveled at how close the boats would be tied up.  That's a lot of
metal relying on those fenders and ropes!

Not a sight you see everyday, at least not us, an aircraft carrier.

The Norfolk Navy Station is at the tip of the land at the mouth of the
river.  This is the famous Battleship Row although other boats are
now tied up there.  Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet departed from
these piers.

This ship was in dry dock for a thorough bottom job.  A museum we
visited in Norfolk had a large scale model of how it works.  Basically,
you drive the boat into a lock,  settle it in the blocks, close the gate and
then pump out the water.  Amazing technology made easier with modern
pumps and hydraulics but the concept has been around since ancient Rome.

Massive cranes wait for a cargo ship to arrive and unload.

Cranes in use to load up a container ship.  We passed this boat on it's
way out the channel to the ocean a few days later.

This massive coal loading plant sits idle.  Not many coal burners left.

These floating gates/catwalks provide a security cordon for the Navy ships.  As boats
enter and  leave, tugs pull the barrier out of the way.   An interesting radio call
we heard was from an increasingly irritated harbor controller trying to get a looky-lou
sailboat to move out of the way of an incoming submarine.   Common sense isn't
required to own and sail a boat!

Lots of shipping and repair facilities along the waterfront.

These tugs are taking a long  pipe between them to its new location.