Hi guys,

as you might have read a little while ago on Armorama, I will be travelling through the US between May 23rd and June 7th, From San Fransisco to New York.

I had hoped to be able to visit Aberdeen Proving Grounds to take a load of pictures, but for that I needed a ride form the station to the museum. Because of the dates I will be in DC, that fell through.

So now I wonder if there is anything related to maritime museums/naval museums in the Washington DC area. I will be in DC June 2nd and 3rd, or just one of those days.

So what is there, and doable by public transport, as I do not possess a drivers license...

Schedule as it looks now:

May 24th - 26th San Fransisco
May 27th - 28th/29th train to Chicago
May 29th - 31st Chicago
June 1st - train to DC

After DC I want to visit Philadelphia and New York as well (I fly home from JFK on the 7th).

Thanks in advance

Hi Harm!
Sounds like a good trip,mate, and yes, besides the Smithsonian, there are QUITE a few great places in and around DC for us salty dogs...follow this link for some great ones (with maps!)...
Museums
~Gunny

In NY, you can visit the USS Intrepid.
If you are driving up from DC, you can stop along the way and visit the USS Olympia inPhilly, the USS New Jersey in Camden, and the USS Ling in Hackensack.
You can also swing by Valley Forge outside of Philly, head up the Washigton Crossings by Trenton, and Washington's Headquarters, about 5miles down the road from my house in Morristown.

All pretty interesting sites.

In San Francisco you can visit the WW2 submarine Pampatino and the Liberty Ship O'Brien near Fisherman's Wharf. They are worth the visit - great views of the city and the bay from the O'Brien, too. It took me a morning to go through both of them.

Across the bay is the USS Hornet museum. Little tougher to get to - take the ferry across to Oakland then the bus to the Hornet. Not sure if you can get there via the Metro. Again, worth the visit - but will eat up most of a day.

In Chicago you can see the U-Boat at the Museum of Industry and Science.

Thanks for the tips guys!

I'll probably check at least some of them out. I have been to the Arizona memorial on thursday (very impressive and sobering), and as it was a weekday relatively quiet.

At least if I can get my creditcard working again (stupid ***** at Amtrak).

Today I have been to the Bowfin and the Missouri. That ship is HUGE!!! In many ways it is too big to make decent pictures of it. The Bowfin is a great contrast....

Just wondering... probably in late June I'll go to the Batavia yard... there they have the reconstruction of the Batavia (East India merchantman of 1628) and are building a reconstruction of a mid 17th century men of war. Any interest in pictures?

Cheers,

Harm

Just one more question...

for the US Naval Academy museum, is it worth a visit? And how accessible is it by public transport?

Thanks in advance,

Harm

Hi again Harm!

It's good to see that you're enjoying the sites, mate! There's alot out there to see! To answer your question of the US Naval Academy Museum, I personally would say yes, it's worth a visit, but maybe you should check out the listing of programs and exhibits going on, right
HERE, Mate!
Either way you decide, there's plenty to see and do in the DC area, have fun!
~Gunny

The Navy Museum in DC is not the same as the US Naval Academy Museum.

Here's link for Naval Academy Museum:
http://www.nadn.navy.mil/Museum/

Both are worth the visit.

If you can catch a day trip up into Boston you can see the USS Constituion (Old Ironsides) somewhre in the vicinity is the USS Masachusettes. The US History museum branch of the Smithasonian has a lot of spendid stuff in it. I spent 4 hours there once and literally ran the whole time to see everything I could (I had a 5 hour plane lay-over). Try to eat some good food here. There are probably great restaurants that make really great foodthat you can easily find. We aren't just a nation of fast food junkies Too bad you are out of season for fresh crab in San Fran. As a kid I remember many a day going down to the wharf getting a small loaf of sourdough and a fresh crab and just sitting there on a bench and eating it with a buddy. (I was born and raised there.way back when). There is a strong Italian contigent in the area so grat Italian food can be had. Of course the world famous Chinatown aera too. You can also find some decent Steak houses there as well as Chicago. Haight -Ashbury is long goe, just stay away from the Castroville area

Hey, Harm!

I'm really sorry I didn't read this post sooner. If you are checking this forum while you're on your trip, send me a Private Message if you'd be interested in catching a ride to any or all of the DC-area sites mentioned above. I live in Manassas, Virginia, and I have to go up to Aberdeen anyway to look up some manuals on Naval gun mounts for my D-Day project. I've also got a load of navy questions for the Museum staff wherever I wind up going.

Let me know. I'd be happy to help you out!

John A.