Wilmington April 7 & 8

April 7
It was bright and sunny but still windy as we left the Outer Banks. We drove east across Roanoke Island stopping at Jamesville to see one of the short lighthouses that they use on the inland waters. New Bern turned out to be a great stop for lunch. We found a restaurant that had won the “best of” for the area and stopped at the farmers market. New Bern was settled in 1710 by the Swiss and Germans. By 1748, it had the colonies first printing press and began printing the state’s first newspaper, the “North Carolina Gazette.” It was the colonial capital beginning in 1766 and then the state capitol in 1776. We walked over to Tryon Palace which was built to be the Governor’s home representing the British crown. It became the capitol building for North Carolina and was considered the finest government building in Colonial America. We talked to a woman at the restaurant and she said there is talk about bringing the capital back here. Being in real estate, I’m sure she is all for that. We were really taken with the town. The old buildings all look great and it sits on a river. The other thing we learned is that Pepsi was invented right here in 1898. As far as I’m concerned anyone that serves Pepsi over Coke has sold their soul to the Pepsi Devil but it is interesting. We are staying in Wilmington for three nights so we will see what’s here. It is warm with bright blue sky and just a tiny breeze. Hope it continues. The campground is showing an outdoor movie tonight with popcorn and soft drinks. The kids are starting to fill up the seats. The movie is “Hop.” We will be enjoying our steak dinner and not partaking in the entertainment. Looks like fun for the kids. They were dying Easter eggs this morning and had a flashlight Easter Egg hunt last night.

April 8
We couldn’t make the drive all the way from the Outer Banks to Charleston so we picked a place on the map to land for a couple of days, Wilmington, NC, not knowing anything about it. It’s another beautiful downtown on the water with lots of history. It was founded in 1739 and sits on the Cape Fear River between Cape Fear and the Atlantic. This deep water port was the scene of the Stamp Act resistance in 1765. The buildings survived the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. The historical downtown covers over 200 blocks. Beautiful homes line the streets. Almost all of them have historical plaques with building dates on them. We took a horse drawn carriage ride with the driver giving a narration at a rapid pace. He had so much to tell us about the neighborhood that he had to speak really fast! The buildings can be changed on the inside but the outside must stay the same when restoration takes place. Any new buildings need to be built with the look of the 1700 or 1800’s. Many of the old buildings are being turned into condos and young professional folks are moving into the downtown area. It is a very busy place. Wilmington was the largest city in North Carolina until the 1920’s!

In 1961, Wilmington brought in the battleship, the North Carolina. It has been refurbished and is open for tours. We took a river tour and then got off at the battleship. What an amazing experience. The ship is set up to do a self guided tour and we went all over the ship seeing it inside and out. This ship was in every Pacific battle during WWII. Only 10 men were lost when it was in service from 1941 to 1947 with only six lost in battle. Of course the ship had to be self sustaining. It had everything from a barber shop, tailor, shoe repair, hospital, post office, amazing kitchen, laundry, movie projector, very unprivate bathrooms, and beds tucked in every nook and cranny with bunks five high. Over 2,000 men were on this ship. We saw the decoding rooms, radio rooms, the engine room, supply offices, officers quarters and everything to do with weapons. I can’t imagine how the sailors knew their way around this nine story ship with all the narrow hallways and stairs leading to all different levels. The information at the various rooms had actual photos and paragraphs with the men telling of their experiences. I had been on an aircraft carrier in San Diego but it was still in use and we couldn’t see much of the ship. I also spent a day on a WWII Liberty ship years ago sailing to Catalina. This was amazing to be able to walk all over the ship and get a little glimpse of life at sea on a battleship during WWII; especially nice to be in dock and not in 30 foot seas with a battle going on.

We had a late lunch outside at a nice restaurant on the waterfront sitting under an umbrella. We found another frozen custard place for desert. Happy Easter!