On A LOT Bigger Boat

A ship, really.  Durwood suggested that we visit the USS North Carolina which is permanently aground beside the river here in Wilmington, so we did.  We only explored the deck which still took us over an hour but it was awesome.  You can go inside and clamber up and down all nine decks but we decided to stay out in the sun and breeze.  Good choice.  The part that struck me most was that the deck was teak, long wide planks of wood with thick caulking around to keep it watertight.  Imagine the constant upkeep needed.  We were up high enough to enjoy a view of the city and the steeples too, and there was a tree near the entrance that had the most lovely Spanish moss draped in it.

After that we drove through parts of the city to see old homes and the museum where Aunt B volunteers, then we found Yarns of Wilmington which was the tiniest yarn shop I've ever seen.  We were determined to go there because there's one comment about it on Google that says "the owner was unhelpful and unfriendly and cranky and rude..." so we HAD to go.  She wasn't.  Neither of the women in there working were anything but nice; it was a tad disappointing.  And there was a dog for Durwood to pet while we shopped.  I bought a few skeins of merino/cashmere yarn for five bucks a skein--twenty bucks for cashmere--woohoo!

We dropped Durwood off back at Aunt B's for a nap and she and I went to Uptown Market which is an upscale-er resale shop where I found a very colorful angelfish Christmas ornament as a souvenir and, even though we no longer smoke, an ashtray with a horse and sulky on it that I had to have because we had so much fun at the races with DD.  And it was half price--a buck fifty--you'd have bought it too.

For supper we brought home Smithfield's barbecue sandwiches, hush puppies, Brunswick stew, and baked beans, with banana pudding for dessert.  Yum.  We made most of it go away.

October 15--Japan, Shaffron.  The silhouette made her breath stop in her throat.  The room was dark and in the open door stood a backlit figure of a man.  At least she thought it was a man wearing some sort of headdress because it had long, pointed horns.  Lila squinted through her lashes at him, at it, and heard its heavy breaths, slow and grunting as if it had climbed a long stairs.  She waited to see what it wanted before she moved from her corner.  She had made herself as small as she could when she heard the footsteps approaching.  The way the head moved side to side made her think it couldn't see her in the pitch dark room.

Okay, that was odd.  Today we press on to Roanoke, VA for one night, not that we'll see much or experience anything of Roanoke but it's a good distance for a day's drive, and it'll add a state to my "states I've seen" list.  Woohoo.  Time for breakfast.  Seeyabye.  Oh, I might not blog until Saturday, probably won't as motel wi-fi isn't usually very reliable and we're just hopscotching home, although we will be supping with ancient relatives in Indy the night before we get home.  Anyway, hasta la vista, babies.  (I had to sign off in Spanish because Aunt B's Hispanic landscapers just arrived, maybe I need sensitivity training since I've taken to calling them Chico and the Men.  I know, I'm a bad person)

--Barbara Sue