Category Archives: History

Historical background of a location we visit.

The Nauticus Museum in Norfolk, Virginia

Posted on by
Reply

Continued… We headed inside the museum. There was a big exhibit on the Wisconsin, as well as two different films about her in two different theaters. Our big take away was that the US spent ridiculous amounts of money on her and barely used her.

In 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the battleship in preparation for entering World War II. Construction on the Wisconsin began in January 1941 and was completed in a record breaking 39-months. She was commissioned in April 1944 and sent to the Pacific in September 1944 to join the “greatest armada ever assembled int the Pacific ocean.” Even though the Wisconsin was designed to accommodate less than 2,000 crew, she had nearly 3,000 crew onboard. That explained why the beds were in such weird places…

The Wisconsin engaged in combat in Okinawa in March 1945 and “played a vital role in every major Pacific naval operation…” She was decommissioned in 1948. She was recommissioned in 1951 and sent to Korea, where she destroyed strategic bridges, tunnels, railroads and supply stations with her 16-inch guns. In March 1952, an enemy shell hit the deck. Three crew were injured and the deck was damaged, but they were able to quickly repair the damage. It’s the only direct hit the ship has ever taken. She was decommissioned again in 1958.

She was recommissioned yet again by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. This recommissioning was very controversial. She’d been mothballed for decades and was in bad shape. The government spent a lot of money to get her back up to par along with a tremendous amount of more money to modernize her. The restoration/modernization project took two years.

Continue reading →

The Battleship Wisconsin at the Nauticus Museum in Norfolk, Virginia

Posted on by
Reply

Sunday, July 6 — It was supposed to rain hard in the afternoon, so we decided that an indoor activity was a good idea. We settled on a museum called Nauticus, which had a retired Navy battleship on display. The museum didn’t open until noon, so we left the boat at 1130 and headed to downtown Norfolk. It was close to the historic area we’d visited yesterday. This section of town was built up and modern. Even though the two museums were only blocks apart, it felt like two totally different worlds.

We were sad to see there was a traffic jam around the museum. We also noticed a conga line of people with suitcases walking towards the museum. Eventually, we realized that there was a cruise ship next to the museum that was currently boarding. We found a parking garage directly across the street. Like the other garage, parking was free for the first two hours and inexpensive for more time. As we approached the ship, we were struck by how huge it was.

Continue reading →

The Moses Myers House and Gourmet Grilled Cheese in Norfolk, Virginia

Posted on by
Reply

Continued… From Adeline’s room, we moved into the part of the slaves quarters that was above the utility room. The signs said that the Myers had dozens of slaves over the decades, but didn’t say how many slaves the household typically had at any given time. The guides did tell us, but we don’t remember now. But we do remember they always had several, not only one or two. There was a big binder full of information that we didn’t read. Some of the displays on the walls were bills of sale for the various people. One display showed a bill of sale for a mother and daughter. In the bankruptcy inventory, they were identified as “washer and daughter.” John Myers did allow at least one of his slaves to purchase his freedom. We didn’t go into the portion of the slaves quarters over the kitchen.

View of the back yard from the slave’s quarters. What is now a parking garage was once a creek.
Continue reading →

The Moses Myers House in Norfolk, Virginia

Posted on by
Reply

Dawn on Saturday, July 5, 2025

Our plan was to go to historic Ft. Norfolk. There was a marina barbecue from 1300 – 1500 that Eric went to, so we didn’t head out until 1500. When we entered the fort into the map app, it said it was closed on weekends. We decided to go sightseeing in historic downtown Norfolk, anyways, as there were plenty of other things to see. Even though we hadn’t entered the MacArthur Memorial as our destination, the map app sent us to the Memorial’s parking garage. At first we were confused, but then we realized the garage was for the general downtown area, not only the Memorial. Parking was free for the first two-hours, and it was inexpensive for additional time.

When we walked out of the parking garage, the first thing that caught our eye was a church across the street.

We later found out this church was built in 1850 and was designed by Thomas U. Walter, who designed the US Capitol dome. The original steeple toppled over in 1879 and was replaced in 1897.
Continue reading →

Celebrating Independence Day at Historic Fort Monroe — Part 2

Posted on by
1

Continued… When the tour concluded, Eric and Keith announced they were hungry. They went to a nearby restaurant called The Deadrise, which was over at the marina.

The food was good and the portions were huge. Keith, who was not a seafood fan, loved the crab dip (even though it wasn’t as good as Haste Away’s).

It looked like the section of the marina closest to the restaurant was closed, as there weren’t any boats in the slips. We were too far away to get a look at the part of the marina that was occupied. There was an anchorage beyond the marina that was deep enough for Kosmos. Given that it was a holiday weekend, we were surprised there weren’t more boats anchored out there.

Christi stayed at the Visitor’s Center and went on the 1500 tour. It began much the same as the 1400 tour had. But instead of stopping at the entrance casement, the group walked on to the four-acre parade ground.

Continue reading →