On Wednesday, June 9, we rented a car from Enterprise and drove to Newport News to tour The Mariners' Museum which was designated by Congress as America's National Maritime Museum with over 120,000 square feet of gallery space. The highlight is the USS Monitor Center with a full-scale Monitor replica, artifacts including the iconic gun turret, and the Battle Theater.

Briefly, the other seven galleries are: Chesapeake Bay, a history of people using the Bay for travel, commerce, and recreation; Age of Exploration which chronicles the scientific changes in shipbuilding, navigation, and cartography of the 15th through 18th centuries; The Nelson Touch explores the naval career of Admiral Horatio Nelson; Defending the Seas exhibits the US Navy's role in history; Great Hall of Steam is about oceangoing commerical steamships; The Miniature Ships of August and Winnifred Crabtree is 16 miniature vessels that document the evolution of the sailing ship; and International Small Craft Center features some of the most remarkable watercraft from around the world. Yes, our feet were tired at the end of this museum; however, we then stopped at various stores for supplies. We stayed in Hampton for two extra days as the Bay became very windy; we learned that a forecast of 2'-3' waves really means 3'-5'.

On Saturday, June 12, we cruised 35 miles up into the Severn River off Mobjack Bay and stopped for the night at a very remote and quiet marina.