Paradise Creek/Jordan Bridge Hike 11/25/2014

Paradise Creek today, was not as Paradise as we wanted it to be but we still had 17 out of 21 Tuesday Groupers to show up for our 7 mile + hike. We gathered there in the parking lot off of Victory Blvd. in Portsmouth around 9:00 A.M. First we talked about what we would be doing and with the rain I decided not to have the compass contest because the paper that everyone would need to write on would get wet and people would get cold standing around. After this we hiked around the park which is about .5 mile and back into the parking lot. Here, instead of losing someone because of the rain, we picked up two other members that showed up late. We had our little safety talk and everyone said their names, which were, Joe, Bill, Jim N, Steve, Stephanie, Diane, Juliet, Gwyn, Lance, Carl, Mark, Sandra, Angie, Jim H, Susan, Margaret and Bruce.Leaving the park we hiked about one mile to the Jordon Bridge and headed up to the top to try and see all of the sites. With the weather it was a little hard to see downtown Norfolk and there was no way we could see Town Point Park in Virginia Beach, which is visible on a clear day. Our next stop was Creekmore Hardware Store on Bainbridge Blvd which was open in 1949. Two of the men, one is Mr. Creekmore’s son, have worked there all of their lives and are still going strong. After checking out the store and all of their old items of which most are “Made in America” we headed to Lakeside Park where we had our lunches under a picnic shelter with dry tables.

After everyone ate their Sardines, PB&J’s and Tuna meals, or what ever else they brought, we headed over to the bridge that spans the small lake and took some pictures. At this point we had hiked 3.5 miles and it was time to head back. Just like any other Tuesday Outing, when we start back there is no stopping us and we always make it back in record breaking time. In spite of the bad weather everyone said they enjoyed the hike and wanted to do it again, maybe with a little better weather, next time.

Steve and Stephanie had to cut their trip short after reaching the top of the bridge because of a water leak in the apartment up above their apartment. Talked to Steve and he said it is not real bad but they cannot find where the water is coming from, rain water or a leaking pipe. Let's hope this clears up real soon and the weather also, so we can have a better day next week on Phyllis’s paddle to Lake Drummond. Hope to see everyone there.

Bruce

View Bill's pictures and learn how a bridge is built! https://plus.google.com/photos/117475145040031402609/albums/6085849287738026497?banner=pwa&authkey=CISn8cuvv5_aQQ