Packed up everything and left the house which had been home for six days at 11am. Made the short journey east to Acushnet. Parked in the cemetery and then went looking. Unlike in Cleveland we didn't have a map, just a photo which gave us a clue that it was near a wall, had a hill behind and a couple of trees. Told Ann this as we set off looking and within three seconds she said there it is.
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| Ellen Beattie nee Bird |
Ellen Bird, my Great Great Aunt, who I mentioned back along in the blog, moved to New England and died in Newport, RI. We'd noticed out of sheer coincidence that she was buried along with her husband within a few miles of where we had been staying. Whilst we were stood there, Ann then noticed other names on the back of the headstone.
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| Birds |
Had a look and saw it was William Bird and his wife. Said to Ann that looking at the dates it could well be her brother. After paying our respects we went back to the car and went on Google. Indeed she had a brother William born in 1885 matching the inscription.
Next we headed an even shorter distance back east to Battleship Cove. It had three large vessels to look at, USS Massachusetts which was a battleship, USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jnr, a destroyer and USS Lionfish, a submarine. From the outset it was clear that these vessels were in a much worse state than every other place we have been over the years. We started on the Massachusetts and it's deck was in an awful condition, with the wood all rotten. Went and had a drink in the cafe which was in the Mess Hall and then set off on a tour. Most of the rooms up top had nothing in as though it had been ripped out. Down below had a little more but overall it was quite disappointing. Lots of places had water in where holes have been eroded and are letting the rain in.
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| Massachusetts |
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| Not sure he'll survive that hole in his chest |
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| All the vessels |
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| The state of it! |
We went back to the mess to have lunch but they had run out of food. Decided to finish the museum then find somewhere else to eat.
Headed onto the Lionfish next. The entire top deck of the submarine was missing, jut corroded away. Inside it was actually not too bad.
Met a man from the museum in there. Ann said you are the first old guy we've met so far and normally these places are full of them. He told us that he just likes talking about submarines. We discussed the condition of the vessels compared to other places and he said quite simply this place doesn't have the money to look after them unlike the likes of the USS New Jersey which we had seen three weeks ago. Also these ships have been decommissioned for far longer so have had longer to be eroded.
We finished the Lionfish and then went on the Kennedy but really didn't stay very long on it. Got a magnet and left. We had a packed lunch with us but Ann had suggested we save that for tea tonight. So we decided to go to a Sonic Drive In for lunch. I was pleased as early on in the holiday she said we couldn't go to one for the entire trip.
We got lunch delivered to us by the carhop on roller skates and then headed east to Connecticut. Made our way to the Best Western Plus in Berlin just south of Hartford.
Ate the packed lunch for tea and now preparing for our final activity day tomorrow.
States visited - 14
