Gavin's 9th Birthday

   How does a nine year old spend his birthday, besides doing school?  How about on the U.S.S. North Carolina, a huge battleship used in WWII.  We were a little tentative about visiting the ship because reviews were all positive but not very descriptive, also, the price seemed a little high.  Nevertheless, we packed a lunch and headed out and... Had a really really great time!   All of the kids loved exploring the ship's decks, the engines, the mess halls, the bunk bed rooms, the gun turrets, and all the nooks and crannies on a ship big enough to hold over 2,000 men.  The ship is outfitted just like it would have been when it was in service, with signs explaining the different room's uses, the different machinery, and then giving personal accounts from the men who lived on board.  The younger kids enjoyed being able to climb the ladders, run around, and explore the seemingly endless maze.  Because space is in short supply on a boat, the ceilings were all low and the stairs steep in some places- just like a kid's fort.  The gun turrets were especially tight- it's hard to imagine all the men crowded together in them.  The older kids loved reading about the history, reading all the stories,  looking at the cartoons that were made onboard by the sailors and by the newspapers, and imagining living on the boat.  Mom definitely loved the kitchens; a bakery that provided all the bread, rolls, pies, and creme puffs, the onboard butcher shop (get on the good side of the butcher and he'd make you a steak), the potato room (with a huge mechanical potato peeler), and the kitchen itself, that collected all the meat and bread from the other rooms and cooked soup, etc., and fed it to everyone onboard.  Everyone on ship got the same food, although the food was souped up for the captain.  There was also a barbershop for the six onboard barbers.  Apperantly the barbers were only allowed to give one type of haircut, but bribery was pretty common from the lowest to the highest ranks.  The ship also had its own icecream maker and three men who ran the movie projector every night.  We stayed for about two hours, which was the limit the younger kids could stay anywhere for one time.  The little kids didn't cry or whine once, and even Braden stayed in his carrier and didn't cry. We'll post pictures of our adventure soon.