Elizabeth River Park

The Elizabeth River Park reopened this past weekend, after being closed for extensive renovations, and we were there to check it out! The park is a unique one in the area, with a special focus on boating and outdoor watersports -- the boat landing there on the Elizabeth River is famous because it leads right to the Hot Ditch, a famous fishing spot in the HRVA area. Besides the improved landing, there's now a snack shack, large picnic area, playground, and small fishing/crabbing pier.

Probably the coolest thing about the park though is that it sits right in the shadow of the new South Norfolk Jordan Bridge. The bridge, which is almost 170 feet tall, allows the huge ships from the shipyard across the river to pass right under, providing a really spectacular sight. The old vertical-life bridge still stands, which is also pretty neat to see. The new bridge features a pedestrian walkway and I have plans to walk it in the future sometime -- it's supposed to provide some of the best views in the area!

We spent the day playing and fishing from the pier -- James and A. caught crab or two apiece (but we tossed them back, too small). I can already tell this is going to be a good summertime destination for us!