I have seen more forts, beaches and battleships than any one person probably should in one lifetime. And I’m not done yet.
Today was the USS North Carolina. The first ship to be given by the Federal Government to a municipality and preserved as a monument. Beautiful ship. Even had her “dazzle” pattern painted on. It took me the entire day to get through her. When the tour book says allow one hour minimum and the website says an enthusiast might need three hours to do her justice, naturally I’d be wandering around for four and a half hours. I only sped myself up because I was hungry.
I seem to spend a lot of time being hungry on this trip and not nearly enough time drinking heavily. This is the opposite of the desired situation.
But after lunch I managed to visit what was left of Fort Fisher and Battery Buchanan before deciding that taking the ferry to Southport was a superior way to travel vs. driving the hour or more back around and up and over and west to get to the same place via the roads. Good choice. Plus I got to see the remains of Battery Buchanan from the sea, which gives one a slight clue why it took the Federal Army the entire war to shut down the Port of Wilmington. Having seen only a very small piece of Fort Fisher and being intimidated as hell by that ten-percent slice I wouldn’t have wanted to attack any of those fortifications – even if they were manned by starving old men and boys. Scary stuff.
On to Myrtle Beach!