Annapolis: Navy, Boat Show and Family

Brio has made it to Annapolis. She's been traveling for almost a month now. Annapolis represents a waypoint for the cruise. There is a crew change here. We say "Good-bye!" to Jeff, who flies home today (October 5th) to Colorado. We will miss him. It also represents a high point in terms of activity. We enjoyed an incredible tour of the Naval Academy, led by Jeff's grandson who only just graduated this past spring. This afternoon, we will go to the Annapolis Power Boat Show, an anual event of legendary proportions. Most importantly, we have had a couple of days with Chris's cousin and wife, Bill and Renee. They provided hospitality, home cooking and ready access to laundry. Good food and clean clothes and lovely conversations. It doesn't get any better.

As we toured the Academy, one statue stood out in terms of its unique visage. This is the figurehead of Chief Tecumseh, the famous Shawnee leader in the early 1800s, for the USS Delaware.

Our tour started with a visit to the sailing center. Here is a picture of Jeff and Ben.

And here are the boats. The Navy 44s:

Her deck layout:

And the Colgate 26s:

The Navy program is designed to build skills and, more importantly, the sense of teamwork. (There's no "I" in team.")

The Chapel is a focal point of the campus.

The dome is magnificent.

As beautiful as this is, the more significant attraction was under the Chapel. It is the Crypt, where John Paul Jones is reportedly buried, at least at one time. It's unknown whether he is buried there now.

John Paul Jones

The campus has many staues. Here is another impressive staute, James Stockdale. He was the senior-most captive of the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War. In this rank, we led the captives and developed the "tap code" to communicate with his fellow prisoners.

The several branches of the Navy are honored with statuary around the campus.

Think of this achievement in light of the Wright Brothers's first flight just a few years before.

At the other end of this hall is a beautiful model of a mid-1800s sailing ship.

There were parts of the campus that were unavailable due to renovations or the shut-down. The museum was so affected by the shut-down.

It was just as well, because we had to exit the campus before it was locked down in preparation for "March On", where all midshipmen march on to the football field prior to a home game. We made it, although we had to take a few back alleys to avoid the MPs.

Happily, Navy beat Air Force 34-31.

Cheers,

Brio