The tours for Friday were scheduled to begin at 8:30 with a walk to the
Victory
Rover
tour boat to join in with the parade of Tall
Ships out on the water as part of
HarborFest Weekend. Due to the
poor weather, the parade had to be
canceled
and the Tall Ships came in on their own, under motor power, Thursday
evening
and Friday morning. After waiting in the hospitality room for an hour
the rain stopped and we did board the Victory Rover for a tour of the
harbor.
This took us out towards the main channel and past the Norfolk Naval
Base. The boat operator pointed out the ships in port and what they
were. Destroyers (new ones), a submarine and Aircraft Carriers.
The USS
Enterprise (CVAN-65) is there and in the process of being
dismantled.
Friday afternoon was a tour of the
Nauticus
Museum and the
USS Wisconsin BB-64.
We had our memorial service in the theater of the Nauticus due to the
weather. Julius G. played taps and we had a bag piper. The wreath
was then carried out to the Wisconsin by Steve and George to be dropped
in to the water. Had the weather been better, the fantail was set up
for us, but decks do get slippery, and the weather was to unpredictable.
For Friday night, many had signed up for a dinner cruise on
The Spirit of Norfolk.
We had about a 105 in attendance. There was a buffet dinner with a lot
of
food, all good, plus a cash bar. There was a D.J. for music. A group of
high school grads were there and the D.J. pretty much catered to their
music; maybe 10 to 1 even though we out numbered them 3 to 1. Other
than that it was a nice evening. There was some rain with a little
wind, but you did not notice it while underway. (I do know a couple of
shipmates that took Dramamine anyway.)
On Saturday we left the hotel by bus around 9 am for Newport News to
tour the
Mariner’s Museum and Monitor Center.
This is a really good place to visit. While we only had a half day
there,
to see all they have, you really need more time. Anyone vacationing in
the area should make this a must see, reserving a full day. It includes
eight different areas of naval history and artifacts.They have an
amazing display of the USS Monitor, including a full size replica of
the deck, and the original gun turret, which was recovered
off
the NC coast. There is also a photo presentation of three well known
photographers,
Ansel Adams,
Ernest H. Brooks II, and
Dorothy
Kerper
Monnelly.
Lunch was supposed to be at the museum, but it turns out the cafeteria
was not open on Saturday. We all piled in to the buses and went to the
food court of the MacArthur Center Mall. With many choices, no one
should have left hungry. (Only had 35 minutes to get it and eat it.)
Leaving the mall, we went to the
General
MacArthur Memorial and Visitor’s Center
in Newport.The generals life was presented from beginning to end. A
good amount of time to spend there is a half day to really see it all.
We left there around 3:15 heading back to the hotel for the annual HPRA
business meeting.
The HPRA business meeting was held in the hospitality room immediately
after the Saturday tours. The
treasurer’s report was read, and approved, as well as the minutes from
last year’s meeting. There was a lengthy discussion about the 2014
reunion, as George has had some issues in getting an acceptable
contract
for a hotel in Cleveland. It was finally agreed to move the 2014
reunion to Jacksonville, Fl., April 24-27, 2014.
Some members
agreed to look into locations for 2015, and a vote will be taken
electronically for that selection once all of the necessary information
has been collected and disseminated to the organization members.
The Annual Saturday Evening Dinner was held starting at 7pm, preceded
by the photo session for the various groups ---
everyone, shipmates and
the various periods (40's, 50's, 60's,70's). Some of this
will be on
the photo site when available, along with many photos from the
attendees. Our bag piper was there to open the proceedings. The
dinner was excellent, and the large slice of chocolate cake was maybe
the best ever, with lots of calories. The prizes for the drawings are
getting better each year. After the normal prize drawings, the 50/50
and the
three free nights, there was a separate set of three drawings,
two quilts and a
blanket where that money will go to help pay for the Hugh Purvis Navy
Plaque, now on display at the
Navy Memorial
in Washington D.C. There is a link to the plaque on the home page. The
evening
ended with an incredible fireworks display out in the harbor as part of
HarborFest weekend.
Thus all good things must come to an end. Sunday morning was checkout
and saying goodbye during breakfast. It was also a good time to stroll
through the
HarborFest area and see what was
happening. A few were
staying a couple more days to see more of the area while others had
flights to catch or other places to be. (Select for details ---
HarborFest)
So, Its "See you next year" in
Jacksonville
FL. It is hoped that it will be as successful as this one,
with less (or no) rain!
***