Out and About.....the USS North Carolina Battleship

By now, the storm had passed. The heat and humidity had dissipated to the point were we could now enjoy being outdoors...

Most of us love reading and discussing history. For those of us who don't, they enjoy being out and about....moving and going, so this was a wonderful stop for our family.

We are always prepared with a knowledgeable tour guide for history sites and Barry gave much enlightenment to this one as well.
I loved how each room had a sign talking about what transpired in the room and then gave personal accounts of various sailors who lived aboard the ship during it's tours of duty during World War II. This ship fought in the pacific theatre and was involved in many engagements.

There were guns and massively large tank like guns. (16 inch diameter ammunition was fired from these super guns.)

We all went up into the turret or control room ,it was quite small and very hot. I can't imagine that would be a fun space to spend hours upon hours in for your job. Yet, quite fascinating about how it all works.

We explored above and below the decks. The steps to go between each deck were extremely steep. At one point Liam missed a step and fell, scraping his back quite a bit in the process. Three weeks later, he still has a scar from it.

Below was like a maze, I'm sure it would take me months to get my bearings and know where I was if I had to live on the ship. We saw many of the places the sailors worked at and lived. Kitchens, mess hall, barbershop, engine room, post office, sleeping quarters and so forth. Many times, where the people were stationed is where you slept. For example the tailor's bed was hanging above him in the room he worked in day after day.

Space saving at it's best. I should get one of these, put the kids all together in one room and have 2 extra rooms for me....hum, the possibilities. :)

Back on deck Ryan found another gun to play with.

We had a great day, hot and tiring, but fun none the less. We considered leaving Brianne with Granny and Papa for the day, thinking the many activities would be to much for her, but I really wanted her to come with us. As it turned out, she didn't give us a moment of unhappiness...I really can't say that about the others. Way to go Brianne, what a trooper. (The others weren't bad, just got cranky and fussy, due to heat, I'm sure! Right?)

Cailin's Thoughts: First of all, I didn't like the battle ship but I didn't hate the ship, either. I was put on that giant ship, thirsty, hot, tired, and bored. Did I forget to say that I was soaked and my elbow hurt from Ryan pushing me against the van door? I thought so. Anyway, I didn't really want to go there at the time, but now I'm kinda glad I went--emphasis on KINDA. So there I was, on a really old battle ship that stank to me like rotten eggs, but I don't know if that was the ship or Brianne. You really can never tell. One thing about the stairs--they were so ridiculously steep, I even had trouble getting up and down them without breaking my skull open, and that's saying something. Now I have to say what Mom wants me to. How wonderfully educational and historical the battle ship was and how hard it must have been for all of those war people on that claustrophobic ship. So, thank you vetrans. I mean, I really am thankful. You did a great job keeping the freedom that we've fought so many wars for. You did a good job putting up with that horrible ship. I only had to put up with it for the afternoon. And thanks for sleeping in disgusting beds while I get to sleep in my clean one. Now I'm done.

Well, there you have it, the truth! From the mouth of one whose not so fond of history--where have we gone wrong? :)