Excerpts form the the November 2011 newsletter
“Sailors of the USS Piedmont traveled to history-rich Virginia for their 22nd annual reunion in Norfolk, Va. The Holiday Inn Select, near the Norfolk Airport, was the site for the reunion, and management and employees were extremely accommodating for the Wednesday-Sunday gathering. They even greeted us upon our return from the Friday, Oct. 14, daylong bus tour with a patriotic, flag-flying, hand-clapping lineup in the hotel lobby shouting their thanks for our service to the country. The hotel included free buffet breakfasts everyday, provided shuttle transportation to and from the airport, and other places,and donated several gift certificates for free lodging at our concluding raffle Saturday night.
“The Shirley Plantation was visited on Thursday, Oct. 13. This Plantation was settled in 1613 and was the home of Anne Hill Carter, mother of General Robert E. Lee. It is the oldest plantation in Virginia and is still an operating farm owned by an 11th generation descendant of theCarter family. Originally 800 acres, the farm, on the banks of the James River,nowcontains 400 acreswithrotating crops of tobacco, cotton, soybeans and corn. AWillow Oak tree on the plantation isan estimated 350 years old.There are 11 buildings in all, which were purposely erected separately from one another tolimit damages in case of fire. The guide said that no fire damage has occurred to date.
In addition to the plantation stop, Thursday’s bus tour took us to the Charles City Tavern for lunch, and then to the Yorktown Visitors Center, featuring a tour of the battlefields and a film of the Battle of Yorktown where the British surrendered to Gen. George Washington, giving America its independence. Next was the Mariner’s Museum, the largest and most comprehensive maritime history museum and home of the USS Monitor exhibit (early iron-clad ship).
“During Friday’s activities, we took a whirlwind bus tour of the Norfolk Naval Station, the largest Naval installation in the world, home portfor 78 ships. Next was a tour of Virginia Beach lighthouses and the landing at Cape Henry where British colonists first came ashore in 1607, eventually settling in Jamestown,our nation’s first settlement.
An outstanding lunch awaited us at Lynnhaven Fish House on Chesapeake Bay. From there we visited the Military Aviation Museum at Virginia Beach airport, displaying one of the largest collections of World War II and Korean era airplanes and several aircraft dating to World War I. Our last stop was at Doumar’s, home of the world’s first ice cream cone machine, andall were treated to an ice cream cone. Abe Doumar created the first ice cream cone at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.”
