Today, we spent our first day of vacation touring this battleship. It was in active duty from 1941 to 1947 and participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific area. The ship now sits on the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, NC and you can take self-guided tours. The ship was home to 2000 men. It is like a small city, with its galley, bakery, butcher shop, soda fountain, ice cream shop, laundry, tailor shop, post office, movie theatre, hospital, newspaper, barber shop, dentist, operating rooms..... We were as high up as where the captain would sit and drive the ship and as far down to the engine room. There are 9 levels and we went up and down many steep, narrow stairwells to see every area of the ship. It is really and amazing piece of equipment. To see it up close, it is just unreal to believe that something that big and intricate could first of all float, but also become just like a mini-city. I would definately recommend that anyone coming to or through Wilmington stop and take this tour. You can find more information about the tour at www.battleshipnc.com The kids were really interested, even Trisha made it through with very little problems. We were there for over 2 hours. The only down side is that it is extremely hot and everyone was dripping with sweat. Taking water to drink is encouraged. After the tour, we walked along the river, had lunch and window shopped in the quaint little shops downtown. Walking down the cobblestone streets and seeing all the old homes with the wrap-around porches and rocking chairs makes me want to take in these lazy days of summer and savor every moment.
2 comments:
We toured a ship when we were in Hawaii. I thought I'd be bored, but it was fascinating. I know if I tell my husband about this, he'll have us all there. He's so into history.
My husband would love this! If we ever take that U.S. road trip we keep talking about, this would definitely be on our itinerary.
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