Wednesday, August 18, 2010

You Sunk My Battleship!


Saw my first battleship the other day, so time to check that off the bucket list.  I love checking things off any kind of list, so here goes -- battleship, check!  Man, I never quite realized how mammoth those things are, like a couple of floating football fields supported by tons and tons of armor, iron, and steel.  How in the world does that thing actually float?!  Then again I never was very good at Physics...



We were on the way back from Wrightsville Beach, NC, and it was right there in Wilmington- the USS North Carolina, the most decorated battleship of World War II with 15 stars.  With a five-year-old boy in the back seat, how could I just drive on by?  





Actually Sam couldn't have cared less at the time -- until he got onto it and exclaimed, "Look at those GUNS!"  Ah, gender stereotypes have evolved for a very good reason.  He was mighty impressed all right for good reason.  In fact, the real live alligator alongside the ship in the river got no reaction whatsoever, barely a glance.  Something tells me we'll be back to pay homage to this fierce lady again sometime soon!  In the meantime, USS Carolina, enjoy your well-deserved rest.  Hope the alligators treat you with some respect and don't be afraid to break out the big guns and show 'em who's boss.





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