During the final week, we took an evening to see the LanternAsia exhibit at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. It featured a walk through a mile of large Asian lanterns; silk-like fabric stretched over framing to create large objects of colorful artwork. Of course, the exhibit was set up in the midst of the Garden’s landscape which made it a bit of a double treat. The exhibit had been in Norfolk in previous years. New this year were some underwater scenes, representing Coastal Virginia. In all, there were nearly three dozen displays. What follows are several photos of the LanternAsia exhibit.
Entrance to the exhibit.
The whale actually changed colors three times on a revolving basis.
A depiction of a dragon being carried in a New Year Parade.
An elaborate frog (enlarged to see the intricacies of the patterns of colored fabric.
The largest display (in length) was of a dragon that stretched for nearly 150 feet.
Our next visit was to Cape Henry and First Landing State Park. The original lighthouse at Cape Henry was built as America’s first public works project. The building of a lighthouse was first proposed in 1720. Cape Henry sits at a point on the Chesapeake Bay and can be seen from Maryland as well as Virginia. It was not until the USA had won independence that the original lighthouse was constructed. The 90-foot structure is significant in that the stone for it was from the same quarry that provided stone for Mount Vernon, the US Capitol, and White House. It was completed in 1791 at a cost of $17,500.
The lighthouse is no longer in operation but remains as an attraction for visitors.
In the late 1800's a “new” lighthouse replaced the original. It is still in use
today under the control of the US Coast Guard.
It went into service in 1881.
Martha stands beside a monument at First Landing State Park. It was in
this area that colonists first landed and spent time before moving
inland to Jamestown and an adequate supply of fresh water.
On our visit to the NASA Langley Welcome Center and the Virginia Air and Space Museum we purchased tickets for a harbor cruise on Miss Hampton II. It was a nice day, as to the clouds in the sky, but a little warm. By the way, it was just a three-hour cruise.
Miss Hampton II at the dock before leaving on the cruise.
Two of three carriers seen while on the cruise of the ship base. The George H W Bush on the left and Abraham Lincoln on the right. We also sailed past the Gerald R. Ford which has yet
to be deployed but has made the initial “sea trials” cruise several months ago. It is now
about one year from commissioning.
A supply ship and two destroyers in port. The supply vessel is named
USNS Medgar Evers and did sail out later that afternoon.
Fort Wool, originally constructed prior to the Civil War, was also
on the cruise itinerary. This shows a view of the battery made
of stone. The fort was built on a man-made island, quite
a feat for the time. We were allowed to walk around the
fort which is on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Some portions of the fort have additions built from concrete
added during World War II. Those portions are crumbling
and will not last as long as the stone areas.
After lunch with our friends, Russell and Sherry who also work at the KOA, we then went to Fort Monroe, another historic fort in the Hampton area. The fort was also constructed during 1834 at the same time Fort Wool was being built. Fort Monroe is now decommissioned. Much of the housing has been sold to developers who have made renovations. The fort sits on Old Point Comfort. Around the fort is a five-sided mote. A portion of the fort is now designated by the National Park Service as a National Monument. Within its wall is the Casement Museum. Jefferson Davis, who was president of the CSA, was imprisoned here near the end of the Civil War and remained here until a couple years after the war.
A Civil War display in the Casement Museum
The mote around Fort Monroe though built at the southern tip
of the Virginia Peninsula.
One day a good friend from our RV resort in Kissimmee showed up at the campground. She was a grandson in the area and wanted to get by to see us. Byron saw her walking across the parking lot and did a double-take. Martha did the same from within the store while looking out from her position at the registration desk. During the summer Minnie lives near Syracuse, New York. Thanks for dropping by, Minnie. We’ll see you when we return to Great Oak at Kissimmee.
Our final trip of the month was made to Jamestown Settlement. The museum and outside display of Jamestown Settlement is operated by a private agency and different from Historic Jamestown, which is operated by the National Park Service. Still, there is a lot of history shown that is worth the trip. We did make a mistake, however, in that we viewed the outside displays immediately after viewing the introductory video. As a result, we came into the museum building and went through the gallery, which is set up chronologically, in reverse order starting with the end of the seventeenth century. It is better to go through in chronological order as it begins showing a contrast between England of the 1600’s and the native Virginia area under the control of the Powhatan tribe.
A plaque inside the Jamestown Settlement museum.
The replica of the Powhatan village. Huts, constructed as shown,
provided covered housing for the Powhatan inhabitants.
The settlement village is inside a fort that was built in order
to comply with English laws for financial support though there
was no hostility between the inhabitants and the Powhatan tribe.
A display showing the path of the voyage of the three ships that
originally came to Virginia.
This is a true-scale replica of the largest of the three ships that
came across the Atlantic Ocean after leaving England in
March of 1607. The colonists first landed in Virginia
on May 13, 1607. After a period of rest, the continued on
up the James River until they found an area where fresh
water was in plentiful supply. Oddly, the settlement
did not survive into the 1700’s.
To those of you that have made positive comments regarding our blog, we thank you. We are glad you enjoy traveling with us in a virtual manner. Our blog started as a way to allow our children to keep up with us. It has also become a good supplement to our memory since it provides a digitized way of looking back at where we’ve been and what we did.
