The fireworks were to start at 9:00 close to where we staying, and we didn't dare move the car for fear we'd lose our parking space. So we decided to stay in historic downtown Wilmington. Except all the history - museums, old houses - were closed. That picture of me (in my new Australian hat, mate!) is in front of the Bellamy Mansion. That's the closest we got to it.
But we found two ways to explore downtown nonetheless. The first was by trolley. Our tour guide was a tall old African-American southern gentleman who prefaced each sentence with, "If you please would guide your attention to..." I thought sure by the time he said this,we'd have passed the attraction. But Wilmington has plenty of old architecture of all different styles, interesting steeples, solid warehouses, and plenty of porches.
After lunch, our second expedition was by boat. The Henrietta Three, modelled after a steamboat, carried us on a 1.5 hour trip down the Cape Fear River (I expected Robert DeNiro to appear on the deck - alas, no.) The captain told stories of the old docks, the ferry that used to shuttle carriages across the Cape Fear, and the ship repair yards. My favorite was a story of the vertical lift bridge,and how two cars got trapped on its middle span as it lifted for a passing ship. One car had a woman in it who allegedly screamed the entire time (this was actually proven untrue - the woman corrected it saying she couldn't get a sound out). The other car had a man who jumped off the span onto the fixed part of the bridge, watched his car go up, then fall off the span into the Cape Fear ... with his golf cubs in the trunk. He was not happy about that. Anyway, we got a great view of the modern docks, where ships come 15 miles from the ocean up the Cape Fear to leave their wares.
After a refreshing swim in the hotel pool, we did dinner at Circa 1922. We shared some wine and tapas - the duck pastrami in particular was fantastic. Amy had grouper, and Pam had steak, which they reported to be fine. Liza had a huge dish of English pea risotto, which everyone judged as the finest meal of the table. The dill and herbs made it really shine. Brad had a Asian platter, and the waiter joked it was supposed to be for "hefty men", but he finished it off with gusto. (He didn't get the meal free - it's not that kind of resturant!) I had the Southern classic Shrimp and Grits. But yeah, the grits had melted cheese, and were the most awesome part. Better than the grits of the previous night, even. Brad remarked, "I need to taste your grits," and I said, "Not on the first date."
Coming out of dinner, Amy and I felt a little goofy. We decided to fake a head butt. (How did we ever think this would be a good idea? I dunno.) Only we were totally off in our judgment, and suddenly that head butt turned dangerously real. Bonk! The next few moments were unclear, due to brain trama. The next thing I remember is we were laughing on the sidewalk. Nothing celebrates America more appropriately than a good ol' head butt!
We returned to our table at the swimming pool to find our places all saved and intact. I was amazed. At 9:00 we watched the fireworks, which were fired from behind the USS North Carolina. They were pretty awesome! Exploding shapes are this year's rage in fireworks - hearts, diamonds, stars, etc. And our viewing angle was incredibly good, but we were pelted with what Amy called "Fireworks Junk". Little pieces of ash and cardboard rained in our eyes, our hair, and our drinks. None of it was burning. That's always a plus.
Amy and I ended our day with a vanilla ice cream cone at the local Granola-eaters-coffee-shop-and-internet cafe. It's like a little Ithaca follows us wherever we go.
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