Our first, busy weekend was over Mother’s Day. There were lots of activities for kids and mothers on Saturday. The campground hosted a visit from a petting zoo with a wide variety of animals and fowl. The Bike Shack was open making electric bikes, beach bikes, trikes, tandems, and pedal carts of varying different sizes and configurations available for rent.
Martha and Sherry try out one of the pedal carts during a
break one afternoon. They were helping clean out
the Bike Shack for opening it after the winter months.
The inflatable water slide was opened on Mother’s Day weekend.
On Tuesday, May 15, we set out with our work-kamper friends, Sherry and Russell, for Chincoteague National Wildlife Reserve and Assateague National Seashore located along the Eastern Shore of Virginia/Maryland/Delaware. The trip took us on and through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel which is a 23-mile link crossing at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. It lies between the Atlantic and the Hampton Roads harbor and nearby mouths of the James and Elizabeth Rivers of the Commonwealth of Virginia. By the way, each tunnel is one mile in length and with a depth between 25 and 100 feet below the surface (ocean tides change the depth, of course). By the way, we have learned that Hampton Roads is not a town but an area comprising at least five cities in southeastern Virginia.
The Eastern Shore has the Chesapeake Bay to the west and
the Atlantic Ocean to the east. To the south is the
mouth of Chesapeake Bay and to the north is the land mass
where Virginia connects to Maryland and
Maryland to Delaware.
We had a very sunny day for the trip. It was also unseasonably warm as the temperature hovered in the upper 80’s. At the Chincoteague National Wildlife Preserve the perspiration on out bodies brought the flies out of the landscape – swat, swat, swat – on our walk around the pony viewing loop. Before going on the trail to the Assateague Lighthouse, we sprayed ourselves with repellent. It certainly helped. It also helped that the trail was shaded by tall pine trees.
Tradition has it that the large ponies along the Eastern Shore were
offspring of those that survived a shipwreck. The horses, feeding
on the salt-rich native vegetation, drink more water than others
their size. The result is a larger abdominal region that
some describe as being bloated. The ponies come in
all the standard horse colors and markings. They are allowed
to run free though they are checked three times per year
by a veterinarian. The herd is limited to 150 of the
most healthy while the others are auctioned annually.
The original Assateague Lighthouse was less than one-half the
current height. It was enlarged shortly after the Civil War.
In 2013 it was refurbished with funds from a local group.
Yes, the lighthouse still serves a function. It is only open
on weekends and is operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.
While in this region of the USA we’re taking advantage of the opportunity to eat seafood. One of the more interesting places was The Crab Shack at Chincoteague. The food was delicious. The most interesting thing about it was that they had a dressing called Cajun Parmesan Ranch. At first sound, we thought it might be a “hot” dressing. They offered it for nearly everything on the menu. It was something their chef had developed several years ago. So, we gave it a try. We had it on everything we ate. Oddly, it wasn’t as expected as far as the Cajun name was concerned. As best as we can tell, it had a Ranch Dressing base with some parmesan flavoring and spices. It was quite unique and very good. Byron gave them a high review on Trip Advisor.
Our second trip found us traveling with Sherry and Russell to Nauticus, the museum in downtown Norfolk that features the USS Wisconsin. It is an interactive science and technology center that explores the naval, economic, and nautical power of the sea. A good bit of the museum deals more with the commercial aspect of shipping in and out of Norfolk rather than the military aspect in the exhibit area Mighty Seaport. Another area of the museum presents the history of the 1907 Jamestown Exhibit and historical information on the launching of the “steel navy.” It was in 1907 that President Theodore Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet around the world as an affirmation of American naval strength. The museum also shows 3D movies throughout the day. There are some exhibits in the museum that feature battleship-related exhibits as well as the Hampton Roads Naval Museum.
This is the figurehead from the prow of a ship called Excelcior.
Many years ago the tradition of having an ornately carved prow
was in vogue. Several maritime museums have examples
of these objects of art. So it is with Nauticus. This photo
is a composite spliced together to show the different
sides of the ornate work surely done for a vessel
of the US Navy. Note that on the left is “Lady Liberty”
and on the right is “Blind Justice.”
The model of the plane shown here is of a Curtiss pusher, the one used
in the first successful flight of an aircraft from a naval ship.
Eugene Burton Ely was the pilot. The test flight took place
in the waters of the Hampton Roads area.
Models of the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor in scale show the difference
in size between the two, ironclad ships. While Virginia (aka Merrimack)
had more canons, Monitor was more maneuverable with a larger
canons mounted in a turret that could turn 360 degrees.
The canons were able to inflict more damage. That particular naval battle
changed the thinking on the use of armament on ships and saw
the demise of wooden ships in the Navy and the mounting of stationary artillery.
Martha stands next to a scale model of USS Wisconsin, the
retired battleship docked at the side of the museum, Nauticus.
The “anchor” exhibit is the USS Wisconsin which is reached via passage through the Naval Museum. In the previous blog, you can see a photo of Byron in front of USS Wisconsin. It looks huge, right? Well, step on board the first deck after walking the gangway and you see how really huge it is. Photos just don’t do it justice since 2D photos don’t give you a view in true perspective.
The main deck of Wisconsin (BB-64) from the prow of the ship. The chain links for the
anchor each weigh 110 pounds. The stern is 887 to the rear.
The main deck as shown from the stern with the heliport clearly
in view. There are three turrets on the ship; two are on the
forward deck and one on the rear. 90 sailors are required
to operate each turret with operations occurring
across multiple levels.
An aerial view gives a bit more perspective. BB 64 is the second
battleship named for the state of Wisconsin.
The Mariners’ Museum and Park. The museum, which calls itself America’s National Maritime Museum, comprises nearly 60,000 square feet of space and over 32,000 items. The Ship Model Gallery is amazing to see. The major holding is the USS Monitor, which was a relatively small ship in comparison to the Merrimack (CSS Virginia). The Monitor is undergoing careful restoration while a full-scale replica sits in a prominent location.
It was Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend that Byron learned about the death of his oldest brother, Danny. About a month earlier we were told of the formal diagnosis of vascular dementia but had no idea that things had progressed so quickly that it would take his life so soon. Hubert Daniel Songer, Jr. served for 20 years in the Air Force as an officer. The next twenty years of life saw him returning to something he did during college years at Southern Illinois University, serving as a broadcaster on radio. He anchored a morning show on KAHI in Auburn, California until retiring from that career and moving to Lone Oak, a small town just south of Paducah, Kentucky, in 1998.
We made the trip to Paducah for the memorial service. We split it in two stopping overnight at the home of Lewis and Marcia, an older brother of Byron. We continued on the next morning and arrived on Wednesday afternoon providing time to visit with family. The memorial service was held Thursday evening at Grace Episcopal Church with inurnment in the church’s yard.
An American flag marks the stone under which the crematory
remains of Danny Songer were placed the evening
of the 84th year marking his birth on May 31, 1934.
The inscription at the base of the statue reads
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
