Order the Prime Rib!

The next morning Karl, Kelly and I went for a walk/jog while John plotted a course for a 1:00 cruise to Coinjock, NC.  We then walked downtown to breakfast at Three Way Café and were at the doors to the Nauticus Museum for the 10 am opening.  We were greeted by a high school marching band from Pennsylvania.  We all marched up the stairs to the USS Wisconsin, one of the largest battleships ever built.  The USS Wisconsin was launched in 1943 – two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

It is one of four Iowa-class battleships constructed by the U.S. Navy.  She played a major role in World War II, earning five battle stars for service against Japanese forces. She served during the Korean War, and led the and led the Navy’s surface attack on Iraq during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, firing not only her first but also the campaign's first Tomahawk Missile Navy’s surface attack on Iraq during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. She was decommissioned at Philadelphia and retired to the Naval Inactive Reserve Fleet in Portsmouth, Virginia, in October 1996.

At quarter to one, we scurried back to the boat and cruised out of the marina to wait for the bridge opening at 1:00. It was down the Elizabeth River to our one and only lock for the trip at Great Bridge Lock, where Kelly and Karol were at the ready to take the lines to get us up to the next level in the canal. We then had a smooth cruise to Coinjock which is a tiny marina along a narrow canal. It has one dock lined with a restaurant and a general store. There we played our first of many games of Rummikub before heading to dinner at the Coinjock Marina & Restaurant (our one choice) where we were surprised that the restaurant was so busy!  Every single boater you mention Coinjock to says to have the prime rib so naturally John did.  There were no houses or town around, so it was funny to see so many people packing the place. There was live music which was decent too.