Sunny with clouds this morning, stiff breeze at times, few drops of rain at times, kept looking like it might storm but never did. We went to see the Naval Shipyard Museum and the Light Ship here in Portsmouth. The Light Ship is actually an aid to navigation; in situations when they need a light but can't build a lighthouse, they used to station a light ship at the danger point to warn other ships. They had a crew of 8 to 15 men; they would be on the boat for 2 months and off for 1. There were several stationed up and down the east coast, the last one was decommissioned in the 1960s and moved here permanently.
The naval shipyard museum had information on the long naval history of the area. The shipyard was busy before the Civil War, and was hotly contested between the 2 sides. The area was involved in the war of 1812, the Spanish-American war, and of course the first and second World Wars. In WWI, two German ships were captured and the men interned here. They were given permission to build facilities on shore, and so a German town was built by them in the area. Once the US entered the war, then the Germans were sent to POW camps.
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| The magnolias are in bloom here |
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| During the Civil War, when the Union side held the city, anyone wanting to leave the city required a pass which they had to obtain from the man who lived in this house. Of course, the house came to be known as the "Pass House" |
Got groceries this afternoon and spent the rest of the day planning where we will go from here. As we leave Portsmouth we enter Chesapeake Bay, and there are numerous places to go and things to see. We plan to leave tomorrow, unless the winds persist, will either go to Hampton or Yorktown.
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The Lightship, now permanently cemented in place in Portsmouth
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| Sign in a flowerpot along the street. |
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