As some of you know, we have decided to wait out Tropical Storm Bonnie 2016 that is slowly headed for Georgia and the Carolinas.  So we traveled well up Cape Fear River to Wilmington North Carolina where we are quite far from the Atlantic and the impending storm.  It has been raining for the last few days and winds have been brisk, but so far no more than about 25 mph.  When the sun comes out, it is a quite humid 85 degrees.

This picture shows the storm track (red line) as of Monday morning.  It is expected to be at Wilmington North Carolina on Tuesday May 31.  Although winds are only 30 mph, gusts will be higher.  So we remain here till probably Wednesday after it passes.

 

 

From our anchorage near the mouth of Cape Fear Inlet we headed up to Wilmington.  During our cruise from the inlet we passed numerous ferries shuttling people and vehicles from/to the mainland to/from the barrier islands.

 

 

And of course the ever present crab potters.

 

 

Just prior to turning into our Brunswick River anchorage, we noticed the bustling Wilmington Port unloading containers from a ship.  This port is just a mile or so down river of Wilmington.

 

 

Later that evening, as we sat on the deck, I noticed some rabbits playing on the shore.  Closer inspection, after zooming in, showed them to be deer grazing in the grass.. LOL  They were so far away, my eyes were deceiving me.

 

 

Fearing the worst, but praying for the best, we decided to fill up the boat with diesel before the storm hit.  We made one run earlier in the day and Bryce made a run early the next day.

 

 

Later the second day, we took a run into Wilmington and disposed of the trash and did some exploring.

 

 

On the way up to Wilmington, we noticed another ship had replaced the ship from the previous day.  Amazing how fast they load/unload these container ships. I wonder how many fall off?

 

 

We passed one of these quite popular Southern double houses on the Cape Fear River. These homes were often characterized by a front porch stair on each side of the front door and mirror image design around the centerline of the house.   Notice identical chimneys, windows and architectural features on each side.   We saw a number of these homes in Charleston South Carolina.

 

 

On the south/west side of the river was the USS North Carolina Battleship.

 

 

May 28th was Bryce’s birthday, so we explored the Train Museum.  Here he is standing in front of a 4-6-0 steam locomotive..

 

 

All aboard.. I am buying tickets to the next train out..  Got my luggage packed and getting it weighed in..

 

 

This Museum has the distinction of creating the largest model train according to the Guinness Book of World Records.  It has on display this huge re-creation of Wilmington during the era of Trains.  This is a picture of a very small portion of the total model railway.

 

 

Bryce was intrigued by this very large “Wheel Lathe”.  It was used to turn the largest Steam Locomotive drive wheels.  It was built in 1892.

 

 

Lastly, we explored the Caboose.

 

 

The Conductor and Flagman sat in these two raised seats on each side of the caboose copula to look for problems with the train such as “hot” axles.  Typically, hot axles indicated lack of lubricant.

 

 

The caboose had all the amenities of life such as ice box, stove, toilet and beds.

 

 

Bryce was insistent on explaining how the brakes and suspension worked on trains.. triple valves, air tanks, brake pads and such…

 

 

I preferred looking at the designer luggage that was on display..

 

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