Photos: Wilmington Cracker Barrel

Photos: Wilmington Railroad Museum

I have more photos on my travel blog, but these were my favorite of the day (which isn’t saying very much).

Photos: Cape Fear Museum – Natural History

Photos: Cape Fear Museum – FIRE

Not so fun in the sun

I arrived in North Carolina yesterday afternoon, and spent this morning at the Wilmington Railroad Museum, and the afternoon cruising the Cape Fear River. So, I should be having “fun,” right?

Um, no. I was so focused on getting usable photos for this blog (this is an AUTISM blog, it’s a slam dunk) that I wasn’t paying attention to the museum itself. I was so involved in doing a Facebook LIVE of the “World’s largest model railroad” that I forgot to take in its details until I realized I wasn’t recording and just decided to switch to my camera.

Of course, the museum itself only had four rooms – the entry/gift shop, the museum gallery, the Children’s Room, and the Model Train Room. There are some larger pieces outside – mainly a locomotive and a caboose. That’s it. It’s small, dated (and not in a historic way) and unimpressive. Seriously, how is the Anthracite Model Railroad in Shamokin TWICE the size of the “world’s largest layout?” Heck, my dad had a more impressive display in our basement (yes, he’s the main reason I visited today)!

Next up, I decided to walk down the Riverwalk towards downtown. Unfortunately, it was blocked off along with the adjoining Water Street due to construction. I considered strolling through Cape Fear Community College Bookstore, but I have no reason to, so I walked around to a coffee shop at the Cotton Exchange on Front Street (which was ALSO under construction, but the sidewalk was still mostly open).

As I approach Bijou Park (barely passable due to the aforementioned construction work), a woman stops me in the bottleneck. I can’t really understand what she’s saying not sure if because of her accent or my Auditory Processing Disorder, but she’s giving my puppy dog eyes and not letting me pass her until she gets what she wants. The cynic in me says it’s money as it’s literally impossible for me to leave my apartment in Baltimore without someone stopping me dead in my tracks and insisting I give them money.

Thankfully, Wilmington isn’t Balt- Oh, she DOES want money. The reason she’s so insistent is because I’m still holding the half-finished coffee from Java Dog. Yep, as my mom would say, “what did you expect” and then say I “brought this on myself.” According to her, I create intentional accidental drama. That doesn’t mean I gave her anything, but it does mean she caught me lying so my 2-star review on Facebook stands.

Anyway, once that was over, I tucked into a gift store selling UNCW and One Tree Hill T-shirts (plus some pro-Biden shirts near the back because, hey, it’s a college town). Nothing for CFCC, this is the how it was with Gateway College when I was in New Haven last month, so they’re in good company.

I come out of the store (empty-handed) and find myself on Market Street, so I wander around for several minutes trying to find lunch. There’s plenty of good restaurants in the immediate area, but I’m not interested in either table service or window service, so my options are somewhat limited off the bat. But I make it work, and finish with over an hour to kill before my river tour.

I eventually find out, said cruise is from the Chandler Wharf dock, so I take a water taxi to that stop (as there’s only three of them – Market St, USS North Carolina, and Chandler Wharf – the one at the Convention Center/Railroad Museum is apparently discontinued (even though it’s their only route listed on Google Maps). The best part is, since the water taxi and the sightseeing cruise are run by the same company, I was able to pay for both trips at once.

The cruise itself was mildly interesting. The scenery wasn’t all that impressive – at least from the water. I’m sure if I was seeing it in-person it would be different, which is an option they offer… just not on the trip I was on. And every time the program got mildly interesting, they turned around and went in the opposite direction as “this is only a 50-minute cruise.” And when I got off, the same water taxi was sitting in the dock and offered me a ride to back to the “main dock,” but I turned them down because I was determined to see the “Country’s Best Riverwalk,” and less then two blocks later, I was back at Market Street.

I approach the slate blue public restrooms when an older in a white tank top cuts me off with his bike blocking the path. “You seen my wife,” he said, determined to keep eye contact with me.

“Um, no. I haven’t seen anybody along this path except for a few joggers.”

“She’s trying to get sum’tin to EAT.”

“Okay, I just said ‘I haven’t seen her.’”

“I’m HOMELESS,” he said frustratedly. “I need you to give me MONEY so I can get my wife sum’tin to EAT! Damn fool.”

“Bless your heart,” I said trying not to look irritated (because insulting me is not going to make me open my wallet), and he shot off into the distance looking for his next vic- the White woman who cut me off near Bijou Park. How did I not think of that before now? *Facepalm*

Anyway, I find a stool along the water and open my Uber app (as, like Sarasota, Lyft isn’t really viable option in this area) and 30 minutes later, I was back at my hotel. My day of “fun” was over, and it wasn’t even 4pm yet…

Photos: Train Display at Wilmington Railroad Museum