Here's to Heroes!

"Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, 

but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"   

By Patrick Henry

“Duty, honor, country.  

Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you out to be, 

what you can be, what you will be.”  

By Douglas MacArthur.

Having left Portsmouth a couple of days ago and historic Yorktown this morning, Velsignet continues northward up the Chesapeake Bay.  As we cruise through this part of the United States which has played and continues to play an important role in defending our democracy, we remember and "raise a glass" to freedom fighters.  Here's to the Rebel Patriots and Continental Army for our independence!  Here’s to the men and women who serve(d) in the United States Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and Coast Guard!  

From High Street Landing in Portsmouth, we took a ferry across the Elizabeth River to downtown Norfolk.  This is Mike and Steve Quinn in front of the excellent and extensive Douglass MacArthur Memorial Museum.  Douglas MacArthur was a 5-star general whose entire life (because he grew up in a military family) revolved around service to the United States.

One of the items in the museum was MacArthur's 1950 black Chrysler Crown Imperial Limousine that served as his staff car from late 1950-1963.  Nearly every member of the General's motor pool detachment who worked on or drove this car carved their initials into the dashboard!

MacArthur led the forces in the Pacific during WWII and also during the Korean War.  This is a Korean "backpack" that farmers used to carry straw or hay from the fields.

MacArthur's iconic hat, pipe and glasses on display.

The majestic MacArthur museum was established is what was once Norfolk's Courthouse and City Hall.  This photo gives you a sense of this.  In the space below the iron railing is the resting place of Douglas MacArthur and his wife, Jean.

Here we are across the street from Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin.  Because we rented a car to look at a new motor for our dinghy, we chose not to partake in this museum and instead, get our errand done.

The Norfolk/Portsmouth area is big in the manufacture and testing of military vessels.  Lining the waterway of the Elizabeth River (miles!!) were shipyards of battleships and aircraft carriers and submarines and transport ships (?).
 Norfolk is one of the few in the United States with dry dock capacities for ships of these size.

We also saw this Red Cross ship along the Elizabeth River near Norfolk.

As we started up the York River towards Yorktown, we were thrilled to see a submarine out for a sea trial, guarded by a military patrol.  Any vessel in its vacinity was required to "get out of the channel."

As we neared Yorktown's Riverwalk Marina, Mike readies the lines for docking.

The top of this Victory Memorial at Yorktown can be seen for miles from the York River.  

We were docked at the Riverwalk Marina in Yorktown by 1:30 p.m.  We quickly got ready to explore the town and our first priority was the American Revolution Museum.  The museum opened late in 2016 and is a living history museum with exhibits indoors and outdoors.

After our time indoors, we went to the outdoors camp area to see what life was like for the soldiers who fought in the American Revolution.  There were people in era costume who answered any questions we had.

This is a patriot who described and explained to us the firearms used by individual soldiers.

We were also given an explanation and demonstration of a cannon being fired.  It was loud!

This statue was commissioned to honor George Washington after he stepped down as our first president.

The museum offers hands-on experiences for kids, living history figures in outdoor exhibits, movies, and displays.  Having enjoyed the "Hamilton" play; watched "TURN:  Washington's Spies" on Netfllix; reading books relating to the Revolutionary War, Ben Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson; re-watching Mel Gibson's "The Patriot."---The museum brought all together what we'd read and heard prior to coming here.

We spent our second day in Yorktown (yesterday) visiting the Yorktown Battlefield National Park.  Mike is now old enough (62) to purchase a lifetime pass into the National Parks (which he did); As a card-carrying senior, he gets to bring Brenda and 2 others into National Parks for free!

The Yorktown Battlefield offers a wonderful museum and living history guides.  Our guide on the battlefield and also through Yorktown's Main Street was Virginia colonial figure, Thomas Lee.  Thomas Lee was a federalist and therefore, wasn't a fan of neighbor and fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson.  He did a wonderful job helping us to understand the background, strategies, participants, and circumstances that allowed us victory over the siege of Yorktown.

This is a church off Yorktown's Main Street that was built in 1697.  Adjacent to the church is a cemetery with grave sites of local patriots and veterans of more recent wars.

The local Fife and Drum Corp marched and performed down Yorktown's Main Street and onto the patio of the Nelson House. (Nelson was a wealthy businessman, patriot, and served as Head of Virginia's Militia;  Besides his service to the Continental Army, he offered his home and donated much of his fortune to the effort.)  The Fife and Drum Corp for the Continental Army served as a means of communicating orders. For this reason, every soldier was trained to understand what each Fife and Drum tune meant.  It was important that each commander had at least one Fifer and one Drummer so that as instructions were issued, they could be communicated to the soldiers efficiently.

This is us, in the shade, on Main Street, in historic Yorktown.  So far, Yorktown is Brenda's highlight of the trip. 
Besides its rich history, Yorktown has a wonderful waterfront with a great sandy beach for sunning and swimming.  The Yorktown Pub has great seafood gumbo.  The Saturday morning outdoor market with live music was delightful.  And we so very much enjoyed getting to know fellow Loopers Sheila and Ed (MV "Floating Debt") and Deb and John (MV "Saltiare").