Shrine of the Infant of Prauge, Wakefield Virginia

Rocky and I had a wonderful vacation. We spent hours at the Virginia Living Museum, went to the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, the Naval Museum in Norfolk, toured Bacon's Castle in Surry, visited both Ft. Boykin and Ft. Huger and hung around Jamestown. Rocky got a good look at the ghost fleet from Ft. Huger and in Newport News we got a good look at a carrier that was being serviced at the shipyard. We lolled about on the boardwalk at Virginia beach and were delighted at how cool the temps were on the ocean.

We went to the Infant of Prague shrine in Wakefield, which is pretty close to where we stayed (Foursquare Bed & Breakfast, Smithfield, VA). The shrine is a little wooden church with a magnificent tabernacle and a beautiful statue of the Infant. Mass was wonderful. The locals are used to tourists and are genuinely nice people. We felt welcomed. People smiled and said hello. When the sign of peace came we got genuine handshakes, not the Northern Virginia cold jellyfish shake--- I hate the sign of peace but at the shrine is was okay. After Mass we chatted with the priest. He went to the seminary with our Bishop Loverde. The Catholic world is vast but very small too. If you're in the Tidewater area try to get over to the shrine. They only have one Mass there in the Summer, the 5 PM vigil.

Later in the week we went to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk. It's a historic Virginia landmark, and is Virginia's only basilica. Again, everyone greeted us kindly and I sang songs during Mass that I haven't heard since I was a child at St. Augustine's in DC.

Finally, I learned a good lesson abut traveling with a diabetic. Don't wait until they say they're hungry. At noon or at least one start looking around a for restaraunt or they'll feel sick.