Battleship North Carolina

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The highlight of our stop in Wilmington was our visit to the Battleship North Carolina. This World War II era battleship sits in a small bay just across the Cape Fear River from downtown. It is hard to miss given its size and since it is prominently seen from a couple major highways. We had visited the USS Alabama in Mobile 7 years ago and found it rather fun and interesting. General admission for this boat is $14 per person for adults but they also offer several levels of guided tours starting at $26. We decide to get the full experience and take the Showboat Tour which lasts 3+ hours long.

Posing on the Deck of the Battleship

Entrance Sign

We arrive 15 minutes before our 9 AM tour and look around the area before heading into the building to check in for our tour. There are quite a few displays in the visitor area before our tour starts. We knew our tour group would be limited to 20 people but as we wandered around the museum, we realized there were only a few others in the area.

View Before Boarding

Just before our tour time, one of the volunteers, Jarvis, walked over and introduced himself. Turns out the few other people were here for other guided tour options and we would be getting a private tour! Jarvis starts by taking us thru the museum and explaining some of the history of the battleship we are about to board. Its keel was laid in 1937, launched in 1940 and commissioned in 1941. It spent the majority of its time in the South Pacific. After WWII was over, it was decommissioned in 1947 and arrived in Wilmington in 1961. Walking up the ramp to the deck of the boat makes me realize just how big this thing is. It has nine 16-inch guns, twenty 5-inch guns and sixty 40mm guns. Over its 6 years in operation, the quantity and size of the smaller guns would evolve depending on the mission and available technology.

Coming Aboard

Some BIG Guns

We walk around the deck and get a great description of what we are seeing. Near the stern is a small plane that could be catapulted off the battleship in order to provide scouting operations. When it returned, it landed in the water and was hoisted back on the deck by a crane. We then follow Jarvis up the set of stairs, thru a hatch, into one of the 16 inch gun houses. It is definitely a cramped area with lots of obstacles to climb over while at the same time trying to avoid hitting your head on some low hanging thing. There’s an amazing number of switches, buttons, and gauges along with wires running everywhere.

Inside the 16 Inch Gun House

There are some viewports thru to where the huge shell and 6 large bags of gunpowder would be loaded into the gun. There are cardboard cutouts of men to help get a sense of how the area might look when in use. Each of the three turrets had three 16-inch guns and required a crew of 177 men to handle all the operations of loading and firing the shells. What amazes me is that during combat, they could fire a round every 30 seconds and could hit targets 23 miles away. One of the large displays in the turret helps to show the orientation of the ship in order to help aim the big guns at their target.

The Thin Crew Loads the Powder

Guidance Display

Next we enter the bowels of the ship. There are 9 levels to explore and it seems like a huge maze once we get below deck. There are lots of signs to show which way the self guided tour should head but we only need to follow Jarvis. Our first stop was the crew’s galley and mess deck. There is definitely some massive kitchen appliances on this ship but when you need to feed a crew of between 1800 and 2000 hungry men, this is the scale of equipment required.

Industrial Mixer

Supersized Bread Machine

As we proceed on, there are lots of hatches to crawl thru. Jarvis shows us how some of them have been cut open to make it easier on tour guests to get around. There are also quite a few narrow and steep stairs to use to get between decks.

Enlarged Hatch

Down to the Next Deck

Next stop is the engine room. And I thought the gun turret had lots of controls and gauges! This area is made up of multiple decks because of the size and complexity of the steam turbines. Some of the hatches in the floor have been locked down to prevent visitors from going where they shouldn’t be and possibly getting hurt.

Looking Through Floor in Engine Room

What's This Button Do?

We head back thru the mess deck to get to our next destination but stop for Jarvis to tell us more about feeding the crew and how much food is brought on before heading out on missions. The butcher shop had a big wood chopping block table that was similar to one we used to have in our house other than this one was just a bit larger! We also got to learn about the history of the term “scuttlebutt”. This is what drinking fountains on a ship are called and since the sailors exchanged gossip when gathered at them, the term evolved into meaning gossip or rumors. You learn something new all the time. There was also a ice cream station with all sorts of different flavored syrups.

Jarvis and Chris Discuss Butcher Block Tables

What's the Scuttlebutt

I Scream, You Scream ...

As we head towards the stern of the ship, we pass the Master-at-Arms quarters. They are in charge of discipline of the crew. There are more tight hatches and stairs to negotiate to get to the steering control area. Possibly our favorite simply because it is a rudder that steers the ship! There are some massive hydraulic rams that control the angle of the twin rudders on this battleship. We joke with Jarvis that we are twin Rutters as well.

Master-at-Arms Quarters

Down Another Deck

Rudder Control Rams

As we work our way towards the bow, we pass thru the crew’s quarters and some of the other miscellaneous service areas like a tailor shop, cobbler shop, laundry, photographic darkroom, barber, mailroom and even a theater with a couple of old film projectors. The actual sleeping quarters left something to be desired. There were rows of metal frame bunk beds with 4 stacked on top of one another. They would pivot up to allow for more room when they were not in use. The “head” and showers were far from ideal. The sign outside the shower explained how to take a shower - now known as a Navy shower.

Movie Time

Navy Showers Only

Rough Looking Toilet Paper

There was a lot of space dedicated to workshops. The metal shop had some huge lathes and mills. I suppose when a metal part breaks on a ship and you’re many hundreds of miles away from land, you need to be able to make replacement parts. The old analog computers used to account for the movement of the ship in rough seas and still hit the intended targets is an impressive area. We have a few more cardboard sailors at the controls. The radio communications room a maze of wires with patch panels and switches galore. There was even some old cipher equipment on display.

Metal Working Area

Skinny Sailors at Work

Communications Room

Next we head into gun turret #2. This is the area directly below the gun houses and spans the full depth of the ship. The turret is a massive cylindrical structure, but given the force transmitted when one of the 16 inch guns is fired, I guess it needs to be big and heavy. There are rows of shells ready to be fired as well as metal canisters holding three 90 pound bags of gunpowder - I’ll assume they are all inert replicas. There is an elaborate handling scheme to be able to move the shells and gunpowder from the storage area up to the big guns fast enough to be able to fire every 30 seconds. I guess that is where the 177 crew members per turret come into play.

Shells Lined Up

90 Pound Bag of Powder

Next stop were some of the medical areas. They include general doctors offices as well as an actual operating room. If a crew member needs some sort of drugs they don’t have aboard, the full compounding pharmacy will be able to handle making whatever was required.

Operating Room

Pharmacy at the Ready

We head back out to the main deck and some fresh air and sunshine. Jarvis explains some of the smaller guns as well as the anchor and chain that sits at the bow of the ship. Each link in the chain weighs around 150 pounds.

Forward Facing Big Guns

Small Gun

Anchor and Chain

We are getting close to the end of the tour which has gone on for close to 4 hours. We had one last stop to see some of the upper decks where some of the highest ranking members had their cabins. These rooms might not be 5 star hotel worthy, but they are orders of magnitude better than the majority of the crew had. The bridge was actually less sophisticated that I was expecting. There is a steering wheel, and a throttle lever with a few gauges and other controls but it wasn’t overwhelming complicated looking. I guess the captain simply relays orders to the crew below and they handle all the specifics of have the equipment run properly. Our last stop is back outside. On the side of the ship are a couple dozen Japanese flags representing missions attacking land, other ships or enemy aircraft that were downed during combat. Jarvis asked if we had any other questions and while admittedly there were many other things I would I liked to know about, we were well past the point of information overload. We thanked him for the excellent tour and he wished us well on our travels.

Simple Controls for Such a Large Ship

Wartime Tally

We had brought some snacks but lunch was back in the car so we didn’t spend much more time wandering around the deck mainly to get a few more exterior pictures. I did crawl up into one of the 5 inch guns but it wasn’t nearly as impressive as the big guns. One of the 40 mm anti-aircraft guns on the deck was partially operational. There was no ammunition but it was possible to sit turn the hand wheels that rotated the set of guns and adjusted the angle above the horizon. I’ll admit, we were worn out and hungry. Our passes would allow us to return after lunch but by then we decided we had enough battleship for one day.

Another 16 Inch Gun View

5 Inch Guns

40 mm Gun Station

We headed back to the car, grabbed our cooler and went to one of the picnic areas next to the river for lunch. Looking across the river, we saw the heart of downtown Wilmington. We heard the Riverwalk was a pretty area to explore, so we drove across and parked in the Old Wilmington section of town and walk over to the river. There are all sorts of shops and restaurants along the walk. I suppose if we had planned ahead, we could have found a good place for lunch but since we were winging it, we didn’t time our visit very well.

View of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge

Almost Looks Real

We had a geocache to find in the Cotton Exchange area. It was a neat place with lots of small shops. On the north end of our walk near the convention center were a couple dozen large houseboats tied up to the dock. These things were parked so close together that they likely don’t actually go out on the river and are either condos or some sort of rental units. They actually look rather spacious and nicely built with a small deck on the stern of the boat to sit out and enjoy the views.

Fancy Houseboats

Battleship Across the River

Local Community College Dock

We headed up to Front Street and walked back to the car stopping at a few of the more interesting shops along the way. At the base of Market Street , the city was decorating their Christmas tree. There was also a horse drawn carriage waiting to take tourist around town. We figure we just walked a good chunk of the area so we  just go to the car.

Horse Drawn Carriage

Metal and Glass Venus Flytrap

We had some more daylight left and a county to the north that we had yet to find a geocache in, so off we go. Again our timing was rather poor. We hit rush hour traffic and apparently quite a few locals live where we were heading. It took a couple attempts before we found a cache and headed back home after a very long but entertaining day.

We haven’t done a true hike during our stay in Wilmington so we looked to change that. We noticed Carolina Beach State Park has many miles of hiking trails and also has an Adventure Lab to give us another reason to check it out. It is further south along the barrier islands that have the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Cape Fear River to the west. We head to the parking area near the Flytrap Trail to start our hike. This trail is aptly named given there is a small area where there is a cluster of Venus Flytraps and Pitcher Plants - both carnivorous.

Pitcher Plant

From here, we cut over to the Sugarloaf Trail and head south. The trails here are pretty much all sand. Fortunately the sand isn’t too deep or soft so the footing is fine and we enjoy the walk. There are a couple of “ponds” along the way that we would have completely missed had it not been for the signs. While there does seem to be slight depressions at each one, there is no water to be found. It’s not clear whether there is a time of year when they actually have water but we got to experience dry ponds!

Colorful Oak Leaves

Imaginary Pond?

Sandy Trail Through Sparse Woods

At the intersection with the Sand Live Oak Trail, we take a left and follow this new trail further to the south. It eventually loops around to the north and gets close to the river where we can get some nice views. There is a portion of this trail that has significant fire damage. Based on the lack of leaves and pine needles and very limited new growth, I suspect this area was part of a prescribed burn within the last few weeks.

Very Sandy Section

Old Pier Supports in River

Recent Burn Area

This trail intersects the Sugarloaf Trail a second time very near Sugarloaf Dune. The description we had read made it sound like the view from here was pretty nice so we do the short detour to check it out. It turns out the reviews were correct. The dune here is maybe 20 feet higher than the river so the view is good. Many people were heading down the dune to get to the beach area next to the river. We saw how much trouble they had coming back up the soft sand in this area and we decided to simply sit up top and have the lunch we brought along with us.

View from Sugarloaf Dune

One of the stages of the lab cache required we head down a side trail towards the marina. Admittedly, we were starting to get tired so we only went as far as was needed. The small boardwalk/bridge we crossed was definitely in need of some TLC to repair the significant undulations of the deck boards. We ended up getting in a 4.5 mile hike.

Undulating Bridge

We headed to the visitor center only to find it closed - seems odd for a Friday afternoon even in the off season. On the drive out of the park, we headed up to Snow’s Cut Trail. We only needed to put in another quarter mile to go find a geocache. We had a nice view of the Intercoastal Waterway but could not find the darn cache.

Visitor Center at Carolina Beach SP

Snow's Cut

Since we were this far south, we decided to stop at a place called Fort Fisher. Since we hadn’t done any research ahead of time, we weren’t sure what to expect. We knew there was a geocache hidden near some tanks so we turn in that direction. Signs at the beginning of Riverfront Road made us question whether civilians were even permitted back here, so we proceeded cautiously. We saw the tanks, a helicopter and a couple other military vehicles on display before we saw the sign for the sign for the North Carolina Military History Museum. We decide to head in and ask what the visitation policy was. The volunteer working the museum told us that anybody could be in the complex and there is even a restaurant open to the public back here. We ended up spending 20 minutes or so wandering around the museum. There was an amazing amount of military items on display in such a small building.

Assorted Military Vehicles

World War II Memorabilia

Jeep

We then stood and talked with the guy for another 10 minutes. We told him our story of our travels for the past seven years. He asked if we had been down to Fort Fisher Historic Site. It turns out by not doing a little bit of legwork ahead of time, we assumed we were already visiting Fort Fisher already since we knew it was in this general area and we were in some sort of military area. Turns out the actual historic site is another half mile down the road. He suggested we check it out and should hurry because he thought it might be closing soon. We thanked him, skipped the geocache we had come here to do and hustled down to the true fort.  As luck would have it, the visitor center wasn’t open and may actually have been closed for some sort of renovation.

But the good news was the area around the fort was still open so we headed around the half mile trail and boardwalk that circles the outside of this fort. Turns out Fort Fisher was an old Civil War fort helping to guard the mouth of the Cape Fear River into Wilmington. There were quite a few interpretive signs to help us understand this forts place and importance in history. The current fort is obviously a restored version of the original. From what we can tell, visitors are not permitted inside the palisade fence at any point so we got to see most of what is available.

Old Cannon

Earthen Mounds of Fort Fisher Behind Palisade Fence

Cannon on Mount

Well, the 6 nights we spent in Wilmington went quickly. Our last full day was a rainy one so we didn't get a chance to explore more. We could have extended at the Elks Lodge, but we have reservations for a week at the state park in Myrtle Beach so we will move on.