Victory At Sea

On Thursday, May 4th, we toured the Norfolk, VA, waterfront. We started at Nauticus, the National Maritime Center, that houses a maritime-themed science museum, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and the mooring of the Battleship Wisconsin. From there, we boarded the Victory Rover, a tour boat that took us on a two hour narrated tour of the Norfolk Harbor and the Norfolk Naval Base. Above is a photo of the USS Cole, once again seaworthy and ready for duty. This is the destroyer that was bombed in the port of Aden in October, 2000, a precursor to 9/11.
This is a photo of another ship docked at the naval base. Note the string of white bobbers in the foreground. Each of the ships in port have this barrier surrounding them. Should someone breach the bobbers, a warning shot will be fired. If an approach continues, the next shot will be fatal. Had this type of barrier surrounded the Cole in the port of Aden, the suicide boat would have been blown out of the water. Live and learn.
Are you having a hard time seeing anything in this photo? I had a hard time taking this picture because those three black beetles bobbing in the water are submarines. I call them Stealth submarines. On this bright sunny day, it was difficult to see them, even though they were pointed out to the tour passengers. It took me awhile to zoom in on them. Can't imagine being able to see them if they were out in the ocean. Oh yes, I caught a bird in flight too but I didn't see it until I posted the pictures.

The day we took the tour, the USS Nassau had just returned from the Middle East to home port. You can see the sailors lined up on the deck before being released to join their families. Four or five ships have returned this week so there is much joy and celebration in Norfolk.

After our tour, we had a quick lunch and then visited the Hampton Roads Naval Museum that contains artifacts and exhibits of two centuries of naval activity in Norfolk area. Part of the museum is the USS Battleship Wisconsin, which is open for tours. So we climbed aboard and explored the ship. Mel was in his glory. He just loves giant machinery.