USS North Carolina

On our way to Myrtle Beach this past August, we stopped in Wilmington to see the USS North Carolina.  For years Brad has wondered what it was about, so we decided to head down a bit early to explore.  (We still got to the beach before everyone else because Clay and Jessica's car's transmission decided to conk out!)

 This is on the main deck of the ship.  This plane was so small compared to the huge ship.  And to think there were likely multiple planes on the deck while this ship was in use.

 The Big Guns!

Not the boys, but the actual big guns.  They were amazing!

 Each of the boys wanted a chance to "shoot" the individual guns along the side of the deck of the ship.  Travis was a bit small to reach the shoulder rests though.

 Halfway through our tour in the bottom of the ship, Wyatt had to go to the bathroom.  So Jacob got to take him off the ship and back to the visitor's center.  So the other 2 and I checked out other parts of the ship.  This is again on the deck.  There are multiple seats to man these guns.

I can't imagine sitting in the open and shooting at other ships as I'm being shot at!  It must have been terrifying!

I like the sign to the right of the boys.  "Alligators Are Dangerous".  I guess they put that there in case there were any idiots out there that didn't already know that fact!

It was hotter than blue blazes the day we stopped to see the ship.  And down in the living quarters it was even hotter.  It was quite enjoyable though.  We learned some interesting facts...  Did you know that the only deaths on this ship were from natural causes???  Interesting!  Ghost Hunters did an investigation on this ship.  But the activity they captured were from men that had served many years on the ship but had died in other locations.  Apparently a spirit can haunt a place that they frequented through their life.

I don't remember how many years this ship was in commission, but I'm sure we could look it up in the history books.  It is quite an interesting tour and our family recommends it to anyone in the Wilmington area.