Today is the 141st anniversary of the day after the Battle of Hampton Roads and boy am I tired.

Let’s see – after working 10 hours each day on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this past week, I then got the pleasure of working 15 hours on Friday, 16 hours on Saturday, and a mere 7 on Sunday.

I took today off. I hope you’re not surprised.

But you know – I didn’t really mind. The symposium was incredible, hundreds of people were extremely happy, and I really feel as though I accomplished something important.

Of course – I can’t take the credit for the weekend. Though it may have been my concept initially, it quickly grew to a team effort of Herculean proportions. My staff were totally incredible (and cute as all get out in their Silly War costumes and other finery) and so was everyone else at Ye Olde Boat Museum. I hope I’ll have pictures soon. I didn’t have time to take many – but other folks did.

There were so many cool things about the weekend that I couldn’t possibly remember them all. The main highlights for me were talking with Eric Worden on his show Friday morning, and then having him at the event on Saturday, David Mindell‘s lecture on life on board the USS Monitor (and by the way – he’s so very nice that you should go out right now and buy his book), the debate I got to moderate between John Quarstein and Joe Gutierrez (two of my favourite people in the museum world)on which ship won the battle on March 9th (Joe won for the Monitor which is actually surprising since we’re in the South), and Bob Zentz‘s new song that I asked him to write about the Battle.

I also got to see Barbara Architzel and her husband at the dinner Friday night. I hadn’t seen her for about four years – we used to work together at the Moses Myers House – and so it was nice to catch up and find out where all of the good places to eat in Iceland are (her husband was in command of the Iceland Defense Force).

After the whole event was over, Rhonda, Anne Marie and I went and had frosty beverages at the nearby Mexican restaurant, then finally home where Jim was waiting with homemade fish and chips. Yum!

It’s once more into the breach tomorrow – but I think I’ll be OK. I did very little today – and thus feel a bit ready to face the week – a day late.