M/V Nearly Perfect: Sept. 14-16, 2017

We left Tangier around 7:00 a.m. for a 7 hour trip to Hampton (our longest day since starting this summer cruise). We docked at the Hampton Public Marina right next to a beautiful old-fashioned carousel and the Virginia Air & Space Center. George and Mary Jane went to the Virginia Air & Space Center for a while, then we rode the carousel. This carousel is one of 70 classic wooden carousels in the United States and contains 42 oil paintings, 30 mirrors, a Bruder Band Organ, and 48 hand carved wooden horses. It was beautiful. On Friday, we took a step back to 1607 and spent the day at the Jamestown settlement. After viewing a movie and walking around the museum, we headed outside to the recreations of a Pawhatan Indian village, Fort James, and the 3 ships that carried the first settlers to the new world. We then walked the grounds where the first settlers came ashore on the James River. We had been here two years before, but it was still amazing to see where the early settlers landed and how they lived.

On Saturday, we jumped ahead to 1781 to fight the battle of Yorktown, the last major battle of the American Revolution which secured the independence of the United States. After a short movie and a trip around the museum, we drove around the actual battlefields. There were flags around the battlefield areas depicting where the British, French, and American troops were stationed. Our tour included the Moore house where the terms of settlement were negotiated and then to the settlement field where the British soldiers under Lord Cornwallis laid down their arms and surrendered. We then stopped at the Mariner's Museum and walked through exhibits featuring the Merrimack and the Monitor. Unfortunately, our visit was cut short because of a function at the museum that night. After two really busy days of settlement and fighting, we treated ourselves to a very good seafood dinner at the Surf Rider at Bluewater.