Day 65, July 31 - LAST DAY!!!

Smithfield to Virginia Beach, VA
42 miles

Another day of very few pictures since there was really not much to see.  The area between Smithfield and Virginia Beach was highly populated and had very heavy traffic and endless stores and malls.  One of the bigger challenges for me was that many of the bridges did not allow bicyclists and there were waterways everywhere.  I flagrantly violated the law on at least one occasion and went over one anyway.  Don't worry, Mom.  It was safe.  There was a 6 ft wide shoulder leaving it a bit of a mystery as to why cyclists were not permitted.  The shoulder was strewn with trash and broken glass but it was otherwise quite ride-able

In Portsmouth I had to navigate around a police standoff situation.  Some guy had holed himself up in his home with a gun and the police had blocked off all the streets for about a half mile around.  After a bit of a detour I got back on the route I was following.

I reached the building where tickets for the ferry across the Elizabeth River are sold about an hour before it was to open.  This was a Sunday and it was not even 8 A.M. yet.  While I was waiting it started raining again and I hung out under the awning until the ferry arrived and I dashed on board.

On the other of the river I hid from the rain for about 15 minutes until it let up then continued on my way.  The scenery from there to Va Beach was truly uninspiring but my eagerness to reach the water kept my mind occupied until eventually....

Finally at the Atlantic.
WOoohooo!!!

Virginia Beach: