A Day Trip to a Battleship

We have been trying to take some trips every second weekend. Some of our trips have been longer (Durham, Charleston) and some have been quick trips.  Everything is a lot closer on the east coast so we're trying to take advantage of it.

PJ and I were both history majors during our undergrad.  We both focused on World War Two history.  So, needless to say, when we found out there was a nearby WW2 battleship, the USS North Carolina, in Wilmington, it was a when versus an if we would visit it.

We drove to Wilmington which was an hour and a half drive.  I napped.  We listened to a podcast.  A pretty typical trip for us.  And of course, like with all of our road trips, we stopped at a Five Guys.  The Wilmington Five Guys had exceptionally good fries.  And I started wanting malt vinegar on my fries (PJ-style).

We got to the battleship and PJ was slightly disappointed by my initial reaction.  Truth be told, I was a little underwhelmed by the size.  I was used to seeing big, modern day aircraft carriers in movies and this was not that.  However, once we got on the ship, I was rightfully impressed by the size and what they fit on that boat.

It was a like a small city was on board that ship!  They had a mailbox, a barber, a laundry room, a cobbler, a kitchen, a bakery, a butcher shop:

It was pretty cool to see how the men lived on that ship.  The bathrooms for most men looked horrible.  I don't know if I would've been able to use it.  I would've had to make it to officer because they had a bit more privacy.  And they had no bathtubs?!  Just showers (with no privacy - they even had signs up telling the men that they lost their right to privacy when they enlisted).  There was a note that said the men who worked in the laundry room would fill us the washer with hot water to simulate a bath...sometimes someone would turn the machine on while you were in there!  And the beds!  They looked pretty uncomfortable - they were hanging from the ceiling with a chain and would be four beds high

PJ turned into a bit of a little boy on this ship.  He knew a lot about all the different types of guns and wanted pictures with all of them (I happily obliged!  ...okay, somewhat a bit begrudgingly when he wanted me to centre him a better than I had and made me retake photos!).

It was a pretty fun day.  I am so thankful for all the sacrifices that military men make for us and touring the USS North Carolina helps remind me of all the men gave us to protect our freedom.  We spent about three hours touring the ship and it was incredibly cool.  I highly recommend it for anyone who comes to visit us.  I know there is a WW2 aircraft carrier in Charleston that is just waiting for us to explore it!