Cruising Aboard The American Victory Ship

A little over a week ago we were privileged to be able to sail on one, of only four, fully operational Victory ships in the country.  My cousin, Barbara, and her husband, Johnny, are volunteers on this ship which served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam before being retired.

She presented quite an impressive sight - even from the stern.

She was berthed nose to nose with this Carnival cruise ship.  Our cruise would be quite different than theirs!

The crew set up plastic chairs on  deck for the passengers' comfort.

The ship still needs a lot of work to be done to fully restore it, so Hubby decided he better check out the lifeboats.

The ship was built in just 55 days, completed May 24, 1945, and served as a cargo ship supplying troops all over the world.

To bring back the feeling of the '40s some of the volunteers dressed in era appropriate clothes.

While we were waiting to set sail we explored below decks.

My cousin, Barb, has done a lot of cooking for the volunteer crew in this galley.

Before too long, a tugboat arrived to help move us away from the dock.

Hubby watched the maneuvers with great interest.

A few Navy boats remained by our side the whole time we were out in Tampa Bay.

Meanwhile, on board, the party was getting underway with a D.J. and '40s era singers.

We took the opportunity to send messages to our grandsons in Arizona via Morse Code from the ship's radio room.

All too soon our cruise was over, but we enjoyed every minute of it!

Another successful voyage for The American Victory Ship.  If you'd like to learn more about the ship, or take your own tour or cruise, check out their website at www.americanvictory.org.

I won't be blogging for a while because I'm flying off to Arizona to spend a long Easter weekend with our kids and grand kids.  I hope you have a blessed Resurrection Sunday with your own family.