Battleship North Carolina

Last week (or maybe it was two by now...bad blogger) Ryan and I decided to both take leave and recreate our lost Labor Day Weekend. We had so many plans of local things we wanted to do before Ryan started his SDA (Secondary Duty Assignment) and a regular weekend just was not going to cut it. So we took off Thursday and Friday as well as a normal weekend. Thursday we used to clean the house, do laundry, and any other chores we normally do on a weekend. Thursday the guys in Ryan's shop also decided to throw him his going away dinner so it was nice to go to that as well.

 

 

So Friday we slept in a little bit and then drove down to Wilmington to see the USS Battleship North Carolina. All I have to say is thank goodness we went on a random Friday. There were still some people touring the boat, but it wasn't packed. We managed to see the entire boat, top to bottom, in about two and a half hours and explore every nook and cranny that we wanted to. If we had been here Labor Day Weekend I am sure it would have been packed and not as enjoyable, especially since Ryan is not too fond of crowds in small places. Can't blame him for that! So a blessing in disguise for sure.

 

Looking out to aim the guns

 

It was harder than I thought to align the scope!

 

 

As you can see from the pictures, it is pretty empty! It almost looks like we have the ship entirely to ourselves. When we went through the Engine Rooms we actually didn't even run into anyone else, but it could have been since it was close to closing.

 

 

After we explored the Battleship we crossed the bridge to have dinner in downtown Wilmington. We hit the timing just right because we got a prime parking spot and managed to get seats at a restaurant that we always failed to get seated at previously. We even got balcony tables with a view of the Battleship! Score!

 

 

The food was delicious... Arancini (rice balls that we first tried in Sicily), an avocado caprese salad, spinach ravioli (for me) and fish and chips (for Ryan)... oh yum.

 

Our table was the balcony right above the red awning on the side of the building.

 

 

We then got to watch a gorgeous sunset behind the Battleship over the river as we enjoyed some ice cream. The smell of ice cream cones hit you square in the face as soon as you turned on to the street, so it was nearly impossible to say no regardless of how full we were.

 

All in all, a wonderful day.