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 |
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.
Statue of Indian Princess Pochohantas |
Original Church tower dating to the 1640s.