 Over the course of the following months, she visited numerous ports along the east coast of the United States before returning to Philadelphia on 10 September for repairs that lasted into 1909.On 16 January 1909, "Mississippi" left Philadelphia, bound for Key West, Florida by way of Hampton Roads.There, she met the battleship and the two ships proceeded south to Havana, Cuba on 25 January, where they represented the United States at the inauguration ceremony for President José Miguel Gómez.