Loop Dreams

Loop Dreams

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

May 11, Mariner Museum & Jamestown

May 11
 
Rented a car and traveled to The Mariners' Museum and shared the adventure with Bob and Linda on Erika Lynn.  From bow to stern, The Mariners' Museum was filled with fascinating stories. The highlight was the USS Monitor Center which included the iconic revolving gun turret which was rescued from the bottom of the ocean.  The USS Monitor was lost at sea for more than a hundred years, lying 240 feet below the ocean's surface, 16 miles south east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.  Discovered in 1973, the resting place of the revolutionary "cheese box on a raft" became America's first National Marine Sanctuary in 1975.  Over the years hundreds of divers, scientists, historians and archaeologists have worked to discover, recover, preserve and honor the Monitor.  The museum did an excellent job re-enacting the historic battle of the Monitor with the CSS Virginia.  The battle involved the first two ironclad vessels and concluded in a draw.

                                           



Merrimack model
                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                       

Parts of the Monitor, raised from the ocean floor




The Monitor gun turret from above
 
 
On Aug. 5, 2002 NOAA archaeologists and US Navy divers accomplished what some thought was impossible---the recovery of the Monitor's rotating gun turret from the ocean's surface.  The spectacular feat was the culmination of five years of planning and successful recoveries from NOAA's Monitor national Marine Sanctuary. Raised from its watery grave with all of its contents intact, the turret was in a time capsule from December 31, 1862.

Chesapeake Lighthouse lense

                                                                                                                                   


Cross marking the spot where settlers first landed
Just beyond the Cross is where the first settlers landed in Jamestown in 1607.  This is America's Birthplace where we explored the lives of the original settlers from 1607 through on-going archaeological digs.

                                          Jamestown Monument

Statue of Indian Princess Pochohantas


Original Church tower dating to the 1640s.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

May 7-9th, Spring Rendezous, Norfolk, VA

May 7 - 9

We moved the boat to Waterside Marina across the bay in Norfolk, VA and met many other Loopers
going to the Rendezvous.  It was a treat to see some old friends.  The marina provided a taxi shuttle to the grocery store and there was a group of 18 ladies in three taxi vans that swooped into the store for provisions.  On the way home we were sitting in laps in order to provide room for groceries.  Loopers are flexible in any situation!  Rita and I found the Waterside Mall with a Dillards and the guys went to tour the Nauticus museum.  We had a wonderful day shopping.  All of the classes were informative and we met a couple that gave us some wonderful insight concerning the Chesapeake Bay which will be our next adventure this fall.

Battleship Wisconsin at the Nauticus Museum.  Looks like it's coming right up the street!!!!
 
Mermaids are throughout the city
 


May 6,

May 6

Portsmouth is a city dedicated to preserving its heritage.  More than 250 years of American history is unveiled  during the Olde Towne Walking Tour.  As you walk thru the town you notice street names like London, Queen, King, and High with roots tracing back to 1752 when William Crawford took 65 acres of his plantation and laid out the area in streets and half acre lots.  He called the new community Portsmouth, after his hometown of Portsmouth, England.  Today a genuine British telephone booth stands at the North Ferry Landing as a reminder of the sister city relationship Portsmouth, England.


This 1881 Confederate Memorial recognizes Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry and Navy branches
                                
Grice Neely house circa 1820.  Has a New Orleans flair with ironwork, balcony and stairway
                   
The old Elks Lodge was used as a backdrop for several horror films
                                                                          
Court Street Baptist Church
 
Lighthouse ship
 
St Paul's Catholic Church built in 1897 to replaced its predecessor destroyed by fire
                                   
                                                    










May 5, Portsmouth, VA

May 5

Portsmouth, VA is located at the Zero Mile Marker on the Intracoastal Waterway, the midway point between Maine and Miami and also the halfway point on our Loop.  It is home to the nation's oldest naval shipyard and is located in the world's largest and deepest natural harbor.  The US Navy's first battleship, the Texas, was launched in 1892 at the US Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth.  The Texas was the first ship made of the steel built manufactured at the shipyard.  The first ferry service in America was established on the Elizabeth River between Portsmouth and Norfolk in 1636.  Our dock was minutes away from the historic downtown and we are parked across from the ferry.  Wonderful place to explore!

What a contrast to the Dismal Swamp.
                                    
Sailboats around the military ships
 
                                                                                     
The Commodore Dinner Theater, circa 1945.  We attended opening night of The Avengers with John and Rita
                                 
Brandy IV and Loop Dreams at the Portsmouth city dock
                          

May 4, Dismal Swamp and Drummond Lake

May 4

Left early to go down a feeder creek to Drummond Lake.  There is a small dock six miles north of the visitor center. A narrow feeder canal, 5 miles in length connects the Dismal Swamp to Lake Drummond.  We had to pull the dingy over the damn via rail. Drummond Lake was beautiful and the cypress trees roots were amazing! Returning to our boats, we then traveled 12 miles to our last lock.
The Lock master serenaded us with a conch shell.  Fantastic boating day!

Feeder canal to Lake Drummond

 
                                                                     
Dinghy trolley from the canal to the lake
                                                                       
Dropping the dink in the lake
                                                                  
Lake Drummond was once owned by George Washington
                                   
                                                               
                                                              
                                                                           
Headed back to the big boat
The cypress trees make the water a tea color, but we were told this water is very pure and Lake Drummond is where tall ships came to fill their water barrels.  The    water would last many months at sea in the wooden barrels without going foul, due to its acidity.      

May 3, Dismal Swamp

May 3

The Dismal Swamp Canal was conceived in the 1700s by politicians and entrepreneurs that included George Washington.  This canal was envisioned to transport Atlantic white cedar, destined to be cut into shingles, out of the great swamp.  Washington had hoped to drain the swamp and farm it, but that scheme did not succeed.  The money was in the trees.  Work began on the 22 mile canal in 1793 and more or less finished up in 1805, providing a sheltered route between Norfolk and the Pasquotank River and Elizabeth City.  Over generations the canal has prospered and suffered; today it's a national historic landmark that is used mostly by recreational boaters.  The canal's water primarily comes via the Feeder Ditch from Lake Drummond at the swamp's center.  We took off early in the morning to start our adventure down the Dismal Swamp to make the 11AM lock.  Back to locks again!


Foggy morning in the swamp
                                                                         
Erika Lynn and CBay waiting at the lock
                                              
We left Key West in February, travelling 1217 miles and heading to Norfolk, Va, just 33 more miles
                               
Brandy IV on the lock wall
                                                            
Pasture land along the canal
      
CBay, Erika Lynn, Loop Dreams and Brandy IV at the Dismal Swamp visitors center
                                                                                          
We enjoyed a cookout at the visitors center after our hike through the swamp
 
                                                                               

Monday, May 14, 2012

May 2, 2012 Edenton

May 2

It was another sightseeing day.  Edenton claims itself to be the prettiest town in the South, so off we went.  First a quick stop in Hertford at Woodward Pharmacy which is known for the best old fashion milk shakes and ice cream at old fashion prices.  Edenton, an old historical trade center, has retained much of the business district, and many well preserved homes.  We did a walking tour, entering the 1758 Cupola House and the1736 St. Paul's Episcopal Church. This town is where 51 women signed the famous Edenton Tea Party Resolution of 1774.  They declared they would refrain from drinking tea to protest "taxation without representation".  The declaration is one of the earliest organized women's political actions in the US history.  This was one of the best and most informative tours yet experienced on this trip.

CBay and Erika Lynn arrived in Elizabeth City later in the day and we had a group dinner that evening at Cypress Grill.  The food was excellent and we all traded war stories, and prepared for our next adventure, The Dismal Swamp.


                                                                         




 

Unfortunately, the old piano was out of tune.

Old Court House

 Have John & Ken been bad boys???

The gang enjoying dinner and sharing experiences.


May 1, 2012 Kitty Hawk and Manteo, N C

May 1
 
Rented a car and went to Kitty Hawk to visit a remote sandy beach where in 1903, Orville Wright broke our human bond with Earth.  He flew.  It lasted only 12 seconds, and the distance of the fight was less than the length of an airliner.  Orville and Wilbur Wright opened a bicycle shop in 1892 in Dayton, Ohio which supported their dream to fly.  Their experiments cost around $1,000! We marveled at standing at this historical site where they marked the first 4 flights and reconstructed the 1903 hangers and quarters/workshop. 

Historical photos from the museum
 
 

 
 
Replica of a Wright Brothers plane

This 60 foot monument atop 90 foot Kill Devil Hill honors the brothers and marks the site of hundreds of glider flights that preceded the first powered flight.
 
The Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II is a representative 16th century sailing vessel we saw while visiting Manteo on Roanoke Island.  Sir Walter Raleigh's colonists hadn't planned to land at Roanoke in  1587.  They were bound for the Chesapeake.  Dire circumstances set them ashore farther south, and eventually sent John White, grandfather to the first English child born in the New World, Virginia Dare, back to England for supplies.  War between England and Spain delayed White's return for three years and when he did return, the colonists had disappeared---never to be found.  The name of a native Algonquin Indian tribe, the Croatans was carved on a fence post as the only possible clue to the whereabouts of the lost colony.
 
 
Roanake Marshes Lighthouse