Two little kids and one big kid (at heart) continued on our Cape Fear/Wilmington North Carolina adventure.
Old # 250 greeted us as we pulled into the parking lot of the Wilmington Railroad Museum. Self confessed rail fanatic, Ian, was beside himself. His red hair flew as his head swiveled around the abundance of rail exhibits inside. First stop was the model railroad by the gift shop. Not as rail enthused as her younger brother, Skyler nonetheless gamely became the expedition’s photographer and participated in the two scavenger hunts offered to older children.
Soon she was able to locate items like a semaphore and a 1942’s calendar.
The bustling Children’s Area provided a crawl through Lionel caboose, five model trains, enough play time activities like train tracks, rail books and on-going Thomas the Tank Engine videos to please all ages.
While the museum is still under construction after its recent move, outside #250 provides a real facsimile of train travel. Recorded sounds, hobos and a working pull bell (bring your muscles) made us all feel the romance of train travel.
From trains to battleships we continued.
The USS North Carolina, moored in Wilmington, provided 728’5/8” of exploration. From every deck to every gun turret we scrambled (ok I slightly plodded on occasion) from deck to deck along bow to stern and port to starboard.
We realized living aboard ship was like living in a floating city complete with a laundry, post office, medical facilities, a church and an ice cream parlor, which was unfortunately closed, and our sandwiches’ substance long gone. We marveled at the colorful battle stars, although explaining war to children is difficult. And we realized the power of pride and nickels and dimes. Over 700,000 school children donated their coins in 1961 to save the ship from the scrap yard.
46 years later we appreciated their efforts.
The blog's beginning.
