From the Seas to the Skies
Hampton Roads, VA

When I was little, we had a poster hanging in my sister's bedroom. It was a cartoonish sort of thing, a map of something called "Hampton Roads." It showed the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay with a lot of towns dotting the shoreline - Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach. I could never find the mythical Hampton Roads, and I never figured out where the 'road' was, since this was obviously all water.

Now I know better. Hampton Roads isn't a nautical Oz, but the generic name for that mixture of water and shoreline, rivers and tributaries at the mouth of the Chesapeake and the Atlantic Ocean. It's equally rich in history and resources. Native tribes and Europeans have called it home. Friendly and foreign fleets have visited and fought in its waters. NASA originally launched from here, and the sight and sound of Navy ships and Air Force planes are as common as those of pleasure boats and flocks of geese.

Each of the cities that make up Hampton Roads has its own personality and history, but they all share that wonderful location. You're rarely more than a few blocks from a water view. You won't find a Yellow Brick Road to Hampton Roads, but I-64 from the west or Rt. 13 across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel from the east. Navigating around the area often means using the many tunnels and bridges that go under and over the rivers and Bay.

You'll be doing a lot of that, since each city has its own collection of special places. By design or luck, they all compliment, rather than compete, with each other. They all share the Southern appreciation of history and tradition, an attention to detail and to "doing it right."

"Nautical history has become a testament to the ingenuity of mankind. The Mariners' Museum is its home." Not too many homes have a golden eagle with a 19-foot wingspan greeting visitors in the entrance hall, but the figurehead from the USS Lancaster seems to know that it belongs here. So does the lighthouse lens marking the entrance to one of the museum's 13 galleries. Both artifacts are simultaneously delicately beautiful and filled with power - much like the waters they surveyed.

If maritime lore is your passion, you can lose yourself here for a day and still not be sated. If your time is limited, there are three things you should not miss. The Chesapeake Bay Gallery pays special attention to the lives of those who make their living from the Bay. Few museums spend much time considering the watermen who've spent the last three centuries learning the Chesapeake's ways. Through photos, oral history, and hands-on activities, the men who are so much a part of the Bay finally get their due here.

A completely different display is the Crabtree Collection of Miniature Ships. Something of an eccentric, Crabtree spent his life carving exquisitely detailed miniature ships. Some of the displays have magnified areas, so you can see the finer points of these finely-appointed models.

The third display is part of the recovery and restoration of pieces of the USS Monitor. Divers recovered the ironclad's propeller, anchor hatch and part of the shaft from the site of the wreck off the waters of North Carolina. The pieces are resting in a large vat of water as they are electrostatically treated to carefully remove dirt, barnacles and other debris without causing further damage. Eventually, the pieces of the ship, which survived its battle with the CSA Virginia (the USS Merrimac to any Yankees out there), will be put on display.

The Virginia Marine Science Museum does for nature what the Mariners' Museum does for maritime history. It's another huge place where you can easily spend an entire day. There are lots of computer simulations and videos. It's more educational, in that it spends a lot of time explaining things, then letting you try them, too. If you've ever wondered what a stingray feels like, visit the touch tank. (They feel a lot like rough bologna). The sea turtle hatchery and nursery is also popular. To simply relax, there are two aquariums, where you can watch as fish, sea turtles, sharks and other aquatic neighbors cruise past you. The museum also boasts the only 3-D IMAX theater in Virginia. If you've never done an IMAX, you really should. You will truly feel as though you are in the center of the action.

The other major museum is the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton. NASA started here, so there's a heavy emphasis on space exploration. The Apollo 12 Command Module is here. You'll really respect the courage of the astronauts when you see just how little that thing is! If you're inspired, there's another display gives you a chance to see yourself in a space suit, a Mars meteorite, and about 100 other interactive displays.

Enough history and education. Portsmouth is relaxation and atmosphere. Olde Town is a visual and architectural delight of townhouses that date from the late 1700's. The self-guided walking tour is unusually well detailed, with snippets of the 'people' history of the buildings. The guided Lantern Tour at twilight is another option, as a costumed guide leads you through the neighborhood.

Don't miss the Commodore Theater on High Street. This is a fully restored 1945 Art Deco style motion picture theater that shows first run flicks. But that's just the start. It is also a full restaurant. You order your meal by phone from your table in the theater and it's served before the movie begins, the ultimate "dinner and a movie."

If you have kids with you or just want to play some more, schedule a stop at the Children's Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth. I saw kids having to wait in line behind adults as they stood inside giant bubbles, crawled around inside a computer, and scrambled up the rock climb wall. For the less active, the Lancaster Antique Toy and Train Collection features several operating train gardens.
Norfolk, of course, is synonymous with "Navy." The naval base is huge, and the bus tour is well worth it. The drive along the docks is particularly impressive. While it's easy to gawk at the ships and subs, perhaps the most amazing sight is the floating dry docks. A ships sails in, the doors are shut, and the water is pumped out. If you think an aircraft carrier is big, imagine the crate that's big enough to hold it!

Suprisingly for what most people think of as a military town, Norfolk has a very sophisticated arts community. The Chrysler Museum of art is one of the largest collections, with over 30,000 pieces of Tiffany glass, European and American painting and decorative art, and works from African, Egyptian, Islamic and Asian cultures. Contemporary artists, meanwhile, are showcased at d'Art Center. It's a working art gallery that houses the studios of over 30 regional artists. You can watch, chat and purchase under one roof.

Maybe that map in my sister's room wasn't so wrong after all. No, it's not Oz, but Hampton Roads certainly has a little bit of magic about it.
-0-