Travel America: Ships ahoy: touring famous vessels provides a glimpse into America's rich maritime h

Put me on a boat on any body of water and I'm a contented woman. At one time I even entertained thoughts of joining the Navy, if for no other reason than I'd be on a ship. So, visiting ships is a natural for me, but even landlubbers can enjoy the many historic vessels that have been renovated, restored, and opened to the public.

A number of World War II-era battleships have been retired to the state for which they were named. Touring these floating museums gives a real feel for what it must have been like to spend weeks, or even months, at sea. I remember being awed by the size of the mixing bowls in the U.S.S. North Carolina's galley and the cramped quarters used by crew members.

Battleships aren't the only vessels on display, however. There are also ocean liners, tugs, square-rigged sailing ships, paddlewheelers, and freighters waiting to wow wide-eyed visitors.

Vintage Vessels

Across the country there are all sorts of ships on display. Most are open to the public for tours only, but on a few you can spend the night, enjoy a meal, and even take a cruise.

ALABAMA

U.S.S. Alabama, U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, 2703 Battleship Parkway, Mobile; (800) GANGWAY; www.ussalabama.com. The Alabama earned nine battle stars during its years as a battleship and played a dominant role in the occupation of the Yokosuka-Tokyo area at the close of World War II. Decommissioned in 1947, it was in Washington State until 1965 when the residents of Alabama raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to have it towed 5,600 miles back to Mobile. Today it is a floating shrine where visitors can check out the battleship's decks, turrets, mess, berth compartments, bridge, wardroom, and captain's cabin.

CALIFORNIA

Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach; (562) 435-3511; www.queen mary.com. In its heyday the Queen Mary transported the rich and famous. Clark Gable and Fred Astaire sailed on her, and Winston Churchill used the ship as his seaborne headquarters. One of the largest passenger ships ever built, she embarked on her maiden voyage in 1936. During World War II the Queen Mary was converted into a troop ship, carrying as many as 16,000 people. Since 1967 she has been permanently berthed in Long Beach Harbor, where she serves as a hotel and conference center. A night spent in one of the cabins, restored to their original Art Deco elegance, is like a step back in time.

Delta King, 1000 Front St., Old Sacramento; (800) 825-5464; www.deltaking. com. Christened in 1927, the Delta King is a 285-foot riverboat that made daily runs between San Francisco and Sacramento. The 10 1/2-hour trip included Prohibition-era drinking, jazz bands, gambling, and fine dining, with staterooms being available for $3.50. In World War II the Delta King was used by the U.S. Navy as a floating barracks and hospital ship. In 1984, after being sunk for 18 months, it was towed to Sacramento, renovated, and turned into a hotel and restaurant at the foot of the city's old town.

U.S.S. Hornet, Pier 3, Alameda Point, Alameda; (510) 521-8448; www.uss-hornet. org. A much decorated aircraft carrier in World War II, this ship not only saw battle in Korea and Vietnam, but was used for the recovery of the Apollo 11 and 12 space capsules. Saved from being scrapped in 1995, it was opened as a museum in 1998. Four acres of ship are open to public exploration, including the glassed-in control room--nerve center for takeoffs and landings--crew quarters, and the area below the hangar deck where the carrier's two 16ton anchors are stored.

CONNECTICUT

Mystic Seaport Museum, 75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic; (888) 9 SEAPORT; www.mysticseaport.org. At this 17-acre, 19th century village museum are a number of historic vessels, ranging from an island steamer, the Sabino, to an oyster sloop, the Nellie. Perhaps most famous is the Charles W. Morgan, the last of America's wooden whaling ships. Built in 1841, the 105-footlong ship was home to more than 30 crew members who spent as long as five years on whaling voyages. Other ships include the Joseph Conrad, built in 1882 as a training ship, and the L.A. Dunton, a New England fishing schooner.

FLORIDA

Schooner Western Union, 202 William St., Key West; (305) 292-9830; www.schoonerwesternunion. com. Built and home ported in Key West, the Western Union was launched in 1939 as a working schooner for Western Union Company. The ship spent 35 years and logged over 30,000 miles in the Caribbean and South Atlantic maintaining communication cables in shallow Gulf waters. The vessel, the last of the world's sailing cable ships, is now available for dockside tours, day sails, and special charters.

HAWAII

U.S.S. Missouri, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu; (877) MIGHTYMO; www. ussmissouri.com. This 45,000-ton battleship was launched in 1944 and saw action in conflicts from World War II to the Gulf War. It opened as a museum attraction in 1999. Tours include visits to the wardroom, where officers once dined, and their staterooms as well as the Surrender Deck where Gen. Douglas MacArthur received the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

LOUISIANA

Delta Queen, Delta Queen Steamboat Company, Robin Street Wharf, 1380 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans; (800) 543-1949; www.deltaqueen.com. Sister ship to Sacramento's Delta King, the Delta Queen was also launched in 1927 to run trips from Sacramento to San Francisco. However, after World War II it was bought by Greene Line Steamers and crated and towed to New Orleans. After extensive renovations, the ship began running luxury cruises. Today passengers are wined and dined in elegant surroundings as they cruise the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

MARYLAND

U.S.S. Constellation, 301 East Pratt St., Baltimore; (410)539-1797; www.constellation.org. The U.S.S. Constellation was launched in 1854 and is the only surviving Civil War-era naval vessel and the last all-sail war ship built by the U.S. Navy. After a $9-million overhaul, the ship was returned to Baltimore's Inner Harbor in June of 1999. Three decks are open to the public, with one of the highlights being firing the ship's new cannon, a replica of the actual armament that would have been onboard during the Civil War.

MASSACHUSETTS

U.S.S. Constitution, Charleston Navy Yard, Pier 1, Boston; (617) 242-5670; www.uss constitution.navy.mil. Launched in 1797, the U.S.S. Constitution was made from some 1,500 trees felled from Maine to Georgia. Its ability to deflect endless cannon shots during the War of 1812 gained it the nickname Old Ironsides. The 54-gun frigate's top two decks are open to the public.

MISSISSIPPI

U.S.S. Cairo, Vicksburg National Military Park, 3201 Clay St., Vicksburg; (601) 636-0583; www.nps.gov/vicldcairo. The U.S.S. Cairo was one of the first of the ironclads, so called because they were sheathed in iron. Built by the U.S. Navy, it plied the Mississippi River during the Civil War. Believed to be the first vessel sunk by an electronically detonated mine, the U.S.S. Cairo was sunk in the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg in 1862, where it remained until it was salvaged in 1964. Today visitors can walk around the ship's perimeter, check out the engines and boilers, and look up into the pilot house.

NORTH CAROLINA

U.S.S. North Carolina, Cape Fear River, Wilmington; (910) 251-5797; www.battle shipnc.com Commissioned in 1941 and known as "The Showboat," the U.S.S. North Carolina was considered to be the United States' greatest sea weapon. During World War II it participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific, earning 15 battle stars. Visitors can tour nine decks of the battleship and get a real feeling for life during wartime by visiting the galley, sick bay, mess hall, and crew's quarters.

OHIO

William G. Mather, 1001 E. Ninth St. Pier, Cleveland; (216) 574-6262; www.wgmath er.nhlink.net. A floating maritime museum is housed in this restored 1925 Great Lakes freighter. Visitors can explore the four-story cargo holds, engine room, upscale passenger staterooms, dining rooms, galley, and brass-and-oak pilothouse of this 618-foot ship.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Yorktown, Clamagore, Laffey and Cutter Ingham, Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, 40 Patriots Point Road, Mt. Pleasant; (843) 884-2727; www.patriotspoint.org. Among the ships at this maritime museum, the U.S.S. Yorktown serves as the centerpiece. This heavily decorated aircraft carrier served in World War II and Vietnam, and was later used as the location for the film The Fighting Lady. The Savannah was a nuclear merchant ship. The Clamagore was a World War II-era submarine that was used as an experimental alternative to oil-burning cargo ships. The Laffey participated in the D-Day landings of Allied troops at Normandy. The Coast Guard Cutter Ingham sank a U-boat in World War II.

TEXAS

U.S.S. Lexington, U.S.S. Lexington Museum on the Bay, 2914 N. Shoreline Blvd., Corpus Christi; (800) 523-9539; www.usslexington.com. This aircraft carrier served longer and set more records than any other carrier in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Because the ship was navy blue and sunk no less than four times during the war only to reappear, it was nicknamed the "Blue Ghost" by the Japanese. Tours of the 910-foot vessel include views of the flight deck, bridge, sick bay, captain's quarters, and hangar deck. Elissa, Pier 21, 22nd Street, Galveston; (409) 763-1877; www.tsm-elissa.org. This square-rigged, 400-ton, iron sailing vessel was built in Scotland in 1877. With a mast that towers 103 feet above the water, the ship still occasionally sets sail. Most of the time however, it serves as a museum of 19th century maritime technology.

WASHINGTON

Northwest Seaport, 1002 Valley St., Seattle; (206) 447-9800; www.nwsea port.org. This boat restoration center and museum is home to four historic vessels. The Wawona is a lumber and cod fishing schooner built in 1897. The Swiftsure, launched in 1904, was used on lightship duty for 56 years. The Arthur Foss is a historic tugboat built in 1889. The Foss operated during the Alaska Gold Rush and World War II and was the star of Tugboat Annie. Currently, Northwest Seaport is restoring a 1933 salmon troller, the Twilight.