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Revelers drive a Jeep down the beach during Fourth of July celebrations in Smithfield, Virginia near the James River on Wednesday, July 4, 2012. Parked along the river is the Idle Fleet, a group of inactivated ships waiting to be scrapped for their parts.
Bumper stickers cover the back of a pickup truck near the community garden at the Five Points Community Farm Market in Norfolk, Virginia on May 25, 2012. Though the region is largely conservative because of the military influence, pockets of progressive development are taking place in the Hampton Roads area.
A High School Marching band from Williamsburg, Virginia performs at the Attucks Theater in Norfolk, Virginia on April 14, 2012 prior to the band The Last Bison taking the stage.
Norfolk mayor Paul Fraim and other men prepare for the groundbreaking of the new YMCA in Norfolk, Virginia on August 24, 2012.
The funeral of Kelly Valentine, 13, at Catholic Church of St. Stephen Martyr in Chesapeake, Virginia on Tuesday, April 26, 2011. After the service, the family buried Kelly at Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home on Cedar Road. Valentine died after a tragic accident where she was hit by a car on Cedar Road while retrieving a dropped cell phone.
Women in hats mill about on the edge of the Lafayette River during a garden party at The Hermitage Museum in Norfolk, Virginia on October 14, 2012. The party was themed after the show "Downtown Abbey" and was hosted by WHRO. In the background, loom the cranes of the shipping docks.
Women have tea at The Painted Lady in Norfolk, Virginia on August 14, 2005.
Festival-goers at the Pungo Strawberry Festival in Virginia Beach, Virginia on May 26, 2012.
Children watch trains traverse a diorama at The Children's Museum in Portsmouth, Virginia on July 14, 2005. Shipping and the Norfolk-Southern rail line are two economic forces that have helped to shape the region.
A man rises to the surface at a birthday pool party in Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday, July 14, 2012.
A young family at a rally for Mitt Romney in Portsmouth, Virginia on May 3, 2012. The Hampton Roads region was visited regularly by presidential candidates during the election, vying for the conservative vote.
Law enforcement officers watch the scene at a rally for Mitt Romney at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia on September 8, 2012.
The congregation of CrossRoads Church gathers at the beach in the Ocean View area of Norfolk, Virginia on July 1, 2012 for a full immersion baptism ceremony.
A young girl after having her portrait made in Suffolk, Virginia on October 24, 2011.
An elderly woman mows her lawn in the Larchmont neighborhood of Norfolk, Virginia on September 22, 2012.
Thelma Harrison during an interview in Portsmouth, Virginia on August 4, 2005.
A backyard in Portsmouth, Virginia in July 2005.
A young girl beats the heat by floating in an inflatable pool in the front yard of her home in Portsmouth, Virginia on August 4, 2005.
The daughter of military parents, Zamaria Lee, two weeks old, on May 1, 2009 in Norfolk, Virginia.
A dog sits by a truck near the docks of Tyler's Beach, a resting place for the fishing boats of Rushmere Shores, along the banks of the James River in Smithfield, Virginia on October 5, 2009.
Suzanne and David Eich open the door of their home for a house-guest in Chesapeake, Virginia on Saturday, March 28, 2010.
Men fish at sunset by a waterway along Colley Avenue in the Ghent section of Norfolk, Virginia on October 11, 2012.
A man and woman buying 40s of Miller High Life at a gas station in Norfolk, Virginia on April 29, 2012.
Men smoke blunts and listen to music on the corner of Colley and 38th Street in Norfolk, Virginia on September 23, 2012.
A homeless family sits on a corner in Portsmouth, Virginia on August 22, 2005.
Storm clouds from Hurricane Irene gather over Norfolk, Virginia on August 26, 2012.
Oystermen working on the James River near Smithfield, Virginia on Friday, October 16, 2009.
Men steam oysters at the 36th annual Chuckatuck Oyster Roast in Suffolk, Virginia on April 11, 2012.
Actor-Interpretors before a scene begins in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia on Tuesday, October 5, 2010.
The dugout of the Tidewater Tides during a game at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia on April 13, 2012.
Revelers mill about the streets of the Ocean View section of Norfolk, Virginia after a St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 17, 2012.
Fleet Fest on Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday, October 20, 2012. During this annual event the base is made open to the public for tours of the ships and for demonstrations.
Crew members secure the USS Enterprise after it's 25th and final deployment on Sunday, November 4, 2012 in Norfolk, Virginia. The USS Enterprise is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. After being inactivated it will be towed to Newport news and gutted in the same shipyard where it was built 50 years before.
A wounded vet kisses a returning sailor at the homecoming of the USS Enterprise after it's 25th and final deployment on Sunday, November 4, 2012 in Norfolk, Virginia. The USS Enterprise is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. After being inactivated it will be towed to Newport news and gutted in the same shipyard where it was built 50 years before.
A crowd of onlookers at the Grand Illumination Parade in Norfolk, Virginia on November 17, 2012.
A newspaper advertisement featuring Taylor Swift burns as kindling on a fire pit at a back-yard New Years' Eve gathering in Norfolk, Virginia on December 31, 2012.
Kayakers paddle down Manchester Avenue after Hurricane Sandy in Norfolk, Virginia on Sunday, October 29, 2012. The neighborhood is frequently flooded. In the last year more than $1 million was spent to raise the roads above flood level, to no avail.