So we pull up a map and say hmm....whats around on the trip home? There is the USS Carolina Battleship Memorial in Wilmington..That's only an hour and a half from here....Hey, I have a friend in Greenville, I haven't see since high school, maybe we can meet her for dinner- that's only 2 hours from there. Maybe we can visit the Outer Bank-I've never been there- seeing light houses would be cool.
So there set our trip in motion. We left about 8:30 am, all packed from our week in Garden City and headed up to Wilmington. USS North Carolina was a straight shot up 17. Cost was 12 adult, 6 kid 5-11.Daddy was in the Navy- so kids got a kick out of seeing what a ship looks like. You could climb the ammunition turret, sit in the machine gun chair and walk through the galley, bridge and engine room. We spent about 2 hours there. It was a great way to start our Memorial Day weekend!
It was a lot of walking, and a lot of stairs. Steep stairs. It's a boat after all! Not wheelchair friendly- but Megan could maneuver OK. Often Dad would pick her up and carry her down the stairs, of have to unhinge her from a place she had climbed to.
Once we finished there, it struck us that the National Weather Service reports from Wilmington, hey- why don't we check that out? I looked it up on my Yellow Pages App and found it to be located at the airport, 5 miles from the Battleship. So we hop over- just a small building with a couple satellite dishes, not what I'd expect. Looked like people were there, so we knocked. Jim stayed in the car with the 2 little ones since it had begun to rain. A young guy let us in and I told him we were studing weather in Science and were interested in asking them some questions. Was hoping they might let us see their computers-but no. :o( So big kids asked a couple questions, he gave us some cloud charts and we learned that the NWS in our area reports from Wilmington, OH. DUH! I just assumed it was THE Wilmington! But he was very nice and humored us. So we moved on.
Peanut Butter sandwiches in the van as we headed to our next location.
When I do these things, I like to inquire with the great and ever knowing Facebook community. From my post, I learned that the birthplace of Pepsi was in New Bern, NC. On our route to Greenville. So we got back on the road for another hour or so - next stop - Pepsi!
Pepsi was located in what used to be a pharmacy. The pharmacy where Caleb Bradham invited the cola in 1898. A quaint little shop, one side is a gift shop, the other a soda fountain. The employees were super friendly and knowledgeable! Price was $1 for a large fountain drink- also available were bottles and water. Parking was free in the little shop area. Plenty of shopping, horse drawn carriages roam the streets. Very interesting little town. We spent a total of $6 on refreshing Pepsi's and we sat the the little shop talking the lady at the counter about the timeline of Pepsi. Though small, the shop was roomy and easily maneuvered by Megan.
Spent about 45 minutes there- then back in the car to head to Greenville. My friend was available and it's a good place to hold up for the night!
Only about 45 minutes this leg- checked into our Marriott (did not disappoint as usual!), showered and meet up for Pizza. Wonderful night reconnecting, a good friend makes it feel like 17 years apart was no different than a weekend! We were in no hurry the next morning. Checked out around noon and started off for our 2.5 hour drive to the Outer Banks.
I found this image with locations of the lighthouse in OBX. We opted to head down to Cape Hatteras first. We got to the Bodie Island light house, but due to rain and impending tropical storm, opted to not go any further south. The light house was great. Not maneuverable by Megan, we opted to keep little ones at the car eating the standard peanut butter sandwich! I took the big kids into the welcome center where very nice and knowledgeable rangers talked to them about conch's the light house renovations and the lighthouse itself. This was free. Unfortunately, due to renovations, we were unable to go in the light house- but the kids still found it awesome just to look at.
Next stop Kitty Hawk and the First Flight Museum. Because every vacation is a learning experience! It was just a short drive up from Bodie Island. Along the way we say this amazing sand dune. It was the biggest one I've ever seen. People were flying kites-it looked like a desert! So we stopped. It was called Jockey Ridge. Again, free. It was walking through sand- so it was hot and not overly easy for Megy to get through. But since I am not in the best of shape either, we hung together! :o) It was really a sight to see these massive dune, people were sledding like it was snow. Kids were jumping and rolling in it. We only stayed for about 20 minutes, most of which was spent walking to the top of one.
Upon retuning to the van, my sneakers and socks were filled with sand! But the kids had a great time and at that price-totally worth it!
Back on up to Kitty Hawk, we got to their. Cost was $4 adult (payable at park entrance). There was a nice museum with working replicas of the glider and airplane. Outside there was camp set up to show how they lived while working their trails in Kitty Hawk. There was a larger boulder marking the spot where the plane began its take off and a marker for each of the 4 attempts to remain airborne. Also, there was a monument on the hill where they launched the glider. It was very informational and again, the rangers we very knowledgeable and friendly. It was very spacious and most of it outside, so it was very easy to get around with Megan. I highly recommend all these attractions.
Since we had gone over lots of bridges, at it was only 5 o'clock, we though, "Hey Virginia Beach is only an hour from here, we could head up there and go over the Chesapeake Bridge-Tunnel, have dinner and head home from there" Sounds like a plan!
North bound out of OBX, we head up to the Norfolk area. $6 toll on the Chesapeake Expressway we were not expecting.
Jim was stationed here during A School, so its a little nostalgic for him. We get to the bridge and realize there is a toll! yikes- no $$! so we got off on Shore St. fortunately there was a Kroger there- we restocked for the trip home and got some cash. Warning! Toll is $12 one way and $5 to return within 24 hours. Holy moly! $20 to go over a bridge. But yeah- it goes under water. We enter the Bridge and it is something like 15 miles long. There are cruise ships, freight ships, boats. The kids are loving it. Then the first tunnel, under water we go! Awesome. Did you know there is a restaurant in the middle of that bridge? We could not resist eating on a bridge. It was called the Chesapeake Grill. A small place, but the food was good and reasonably priced. $5 kid meals. $8-11 sandwiches. We watched the sunset from the waterview windows. It was delightful. What we did not realize was there is a U-Turn on the bridge! We could have used that to come back over...but no-we missed it, costing us the extra $5. And of course toll booth lady might as well of been toll troll lady. :o(
O'Well - hopefully you can take advantage of our lesson learned! Back over the bridge. It has 2 underground tunnels and it's really cool to look out and just see the bridge end in the middle of the water. A Cruise ship drove over us while we were in one of those tunnels!
Well, that about wrapped up our excursion. Time to head home. 2 Days, logged about 260 miles at a cost of less than $300, including gas and lodging, food.
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