We stayed at an RV park, for two weeks, near the entrance to the Jacksonville harbor. This was a nice break from all our travels before heading down to the Keys. The best part, besides the wonderful weather, was the daily ship traffic we got to watch coming in and out of the harbor. The Mayport Naval Air Station is right at the entrance so we got to see many Navy ships as well. Here's some of them:
 |
| Container Ship arriving |
 |
| Navy destroyer heading out |
 |
| Cruise ship on the way to the Bahamas |
A couple of these were at Ro-Ro Ships. (Ro-ro is an acronym for Roll-on/roll-off. Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels that are used to carry wheeled cargo. The ro-ro ship is different from lo-lo (lift on-lift off) ship that uses a crane to load the cargo. The vehicles in the ship are loaded and unloaded by means of built-in ramps. Normally these ramps are made towards the stern (backside) of the ship. In some ships, they are also found on the bow side (front) as well as the sides. The vessel can be of both military and civilian types.)
 |
| Ro-Ro Ship |
 |
| Ro-Ro Ship...auto transport |
 |
| USN New York arriving |
 |
| What an unusual configuration |
 |
| Used for personnel transportation |
 |
| Canadian submarine arriving |
 |
| Canadian sub conning tower |
 |
| U.S. Navy submarine arriving |
 |
| U.S. Navy conning tower |
One of the most spectacular arrivals was the U.S. Naval Hospital Ship, COMFORT. All of her crew were on deck the entire time they arrived in the channel, got turned around by tugs, and pushed into dock! Over and hour!
 |
| In she comes...accompanied by three tugs |
 |
| The entire crew is on deck |
 |
| Right by us |
 |
| The DockMaster at work |
 |
| Captain of the ship |
 |
| As soon as they were released from Parade Rest, the hopped on their cell phones to call loved ones. |
 |
| At the dock....finally. |
Now for some other photos of our visit and location....
 |
| Nattie in her favorite location |
 |
| Our "Front Yard" |
 |
| I leave for a moment to take a photo and what happens to my beer !!?? |
 |
| Our front yard view |
 |
| Went to visit the Atlantic Ocean |
 |
| My Sweetie |
 |
| From "the patio" |
 |
| Out in the morning in my robe relaxing |
 |
| Took some photos on a morning run |
 |
| Took some photos on a morning run, Atlantic Ocean |
|
 |
| Took some photos on a morning run, sunrise |
|
