It was still very early when we left the beach, just around noon. We wanted to see the Historic Wilmington and especially Battle Ship North Carolina. And so we drove on, closely avoiding a traffic ticket for passing a state trooper on the right on a very wide shoulder (Chris was driving, but in his defense, the tropper wasn't in the clear either, attempting to turn left in the no-turn zone plus the shoulder turned into a right lane just 10 yards ahead of us).
We took the Market St to the riverfront. At first it wasn't too interesting at all, typical coastal sprawl. Then it got fun. Are we the only ones getting amused by simple things such as a Sticky Fingers BBQ right next door to Hooters? Dunno, it just looked very funny, but maybe it was all that sun and ocean air. Then it got really beautiful as we drove by some historic homes.
Finally, we were on the riverfront. M woke up and seemed to be very excited to go see a "big boat". We took a water taxi to the battleship, which was fun except that M wanted to stand on the benches and apparently it wasn't allowed.
The battleship was very interesting. First, there were lots and lots of very steep ladders to climb up and down. Wait, that's the "not so fun" part. The interesting part was, of course, being on a real battleship and seeing how sailors lived on it. Sure, I've been on much bigger vessels, including ROROs and LOLOs. But those are nothing but floating parking garages and container yards. And a battleship is a battleship!
But going up and down the ladders wasn't fun at all. Especially since they were to steep and slippery and M refused to walk them by himself. I had to carry him! Chris carried M's stroller which we so foolishly took with us. But we still had fun, especially since very door had a big wheel on it (I'm sure there's a proper name for it) and there were all those wheels and gauges in the engine room and not one, but two kitchens. And huge blenders and soup kettles and bread-baking equipment. And that's just below deck.
On the deck there were lots of guns and a seaplane. And then there was the captain's bridge and admiral's quarters and much much more. Most of it we didn't get to see though 'cause we had to catch a water taxi back plus we ran out of water plus my legs were turning to jello from carrying M up and down the stairs.
Back on the riverfront we walked into a Chocolate and Ice Cream shop for some... ice-cream. That was a mistake on my part. I gulped down a rootbeer float (yum!) and about did myself in! Haven't felt sicker in a while. But since M and Chris were ok after their treats, we pressed on, walking around a bit. Finally, we stopped for late lunch (yeah, things are backwards with us) at a Dock St Oyster Bar.
Great place, if only I didn't feel so sick. Unbelievably, I ordered boiled shrimp which were fantastic, but only managed to eat a couple. Thankfully, Chris agreed to finish them off for me. Beer helped a bit, but I felt that it was time to go home. Which we did right after our Oyster Bar lunch.
So, next time we go, hopefully very-very soon, we'll spend even more time at the beach and then, I'll skip ice-cream and will make up for uneaten shrimp by getting shrimp and oysters.
No comments:
Post a Comment