We left Norfolk for the short 20 mile run to Newport News, Seeing Norfolk from the water was just as impressive today as it was when we got here. We passed the Nauticus Museum and the Wisconsin. The weather was good and we just watched the busy water activity from the flybridge.
It was awesome to come so close to the USS Enterprise, our countries first nuclear powered carrier ship commissioned in 1961, she was built here and is now being decommissioned (a long process). The name was followed in Star Trek in 1966, then the 1976 Shuttle.
The Newport News shipyard was active. When I was working, I would keep tabs on the marine industry and this place this place was always on the top of the list of places to keep up on. The gigantic overhead crane is prominent in all photos of Newport News, very cool to see it in person.
We crossed over Hampton Roads where many maritime battles took place including the battle of the Ironclads the Monitor and the Virginia !! We stayed at Leeward Marina, not a usual Looper stop but near the USS Monitor Mariners Museum The free laundry was a nice perk too.
The story of the Virginia (née Merrimack before it was taken and iron wrapped and renamed) fighting the Monitor was displayed very well at this museum. The museum is ridiculously under priced at $1 thanks to endowments and worth the short Uber ride from the marina. We passed historic Hilton Village which had rows of cute cookie cutter cottages.
As soon as you enter the museum you see this beautiful lighthouse lens. We learned that there is a break in the lights as it spins indicating the flashing pattern of the lighthouse, in this case 43, four lights, a break then three lights.
We watched a short film about the battles at Hampton Roads and walked past the actual red turret light that went down with the ship when the Monitor sank. Then a clear class walkway over what the ship looked like on the bottom before it was raised. The exhibits then opened up into naval artifacts combined with interactive displays, so well done.
Wonderful film of the battles, we were alone in the theater. Looper Tip: remember how we avoided water traffic by leaving early. Be there when all the museums open – it makes a difference!
There is a replica of the Monitor outside the museum.
And then you see a full size replica of what the turret looked like after it was raised off the ocean floor. Then you go up a couple levels and can see the actual turret inside a huge tank of electrified seawater. The process of descaling and preserving the metal will take years.
If that wasn’t enough, there is an Oracle Americas Cup exhibit here now. Do not ever ask Ellen her opinion of Dennis Connor and the changes that resulted to the America’s Cup in the 80s, but the exhibit was great.
there is also a large display of intricate ship models going back hundreds of years.
And there’s even more. There is a small craft museum building with boats from all over the world.
We planned to leave Newport News for Hampton but we made a decision while having coffee that that rain coming in later this week would make travel to the north and west a bit tricky. We have had incredible travel days by leaving early in the day, keeping our days shorter, and watching the weather, we didn’t want to be out on the Chesapeake when the rains came later in the week. So, Yorktown it is.. see you next blog.