Tag Alongs

This past week David was scheduled to be in Wilmington for several days in a row for some depos (itions). 

With soccer camps just finishing up Finley and I jumped at the chance to "tag along"!

Finley was ecstatic to be staying in a hotel. I remember having these same feelings as a kid. For some reason it is always such a treat to stay in a hotel! 

Of course, when choosing a hotel it had to meet several of our families requirements:  free Internet, free breakfast, a pool, and a work out facility. We found a great place that even had a suite style so David and I could watch movies in the "living room" after Finley went to bed. 

With David working during the day that left Finley and I to our own devices. 

Our first excursion was to the US North Carolina Battleship. 

Finley was so excited to get on the boat, but a little confused as to why there was a plane on there too. 

We went first thing in the morning, but it was still pretty hot. 

I must say I was super impressed with how Finley did on our "self guided" tour. It was hot, a lot of walking, and a lot of climbing up very steep stairs/ladders. He was a champ and didn't complain once!

Of course every wheel we found had to be turned. And at every wheel Finley turned he proudly declared that he was driving the ship. 

Finley really enjoyed pretending that he was a member of the crew on the ship. 

He didn't even mind the bunk beds stacked 5 high!

What is this you ask? No clue. Each time Finley asked me what something was that wasn't labeled I just told him it helped make the ship work. 

I started to get really claustrophobic while we were below deck.

So we explored more up on top of the deck. 

Check out these huge chains. 

And this huge anchor!

We finally found the real steering wheel of the ship. 

And tried out the comfy captain's chair. 

One of the best parts of the ship was this awesome gun that you could move up and down. Finley kept asking me what all the guns were used for. I had a hard time explaining to him about war and the workers trying to protect our country. Finley kept asking "from the bad guys?", um sure. 

The rest of our first day was spent lounging pool side at our hotel and the eating at a local joint called P.T.'s Grill recommended by our friend Toni who is from Wilmington. It was fabulous! 

Our second day we ventured a little further south to check out the NC Aquarium. One bonus of going there was that our NC Zoo membership got us in free! Score! 

One of our first stops was watching an employee distract three very large alligators while two scuba divers cleaned the other end of their tank. How would you like either of those jobs? 

A little proof I was actually there :). It is hard being the one in charge of taking all the pictures. 

This aquarium had some awesome touch and feel tanks. Finley got to touch a horse shoe crab 

and a star fish! And it was even his favorite color: purple!

Look at these mythical creatures! Ha ha ha.  David once told me he thought sea horses were made up creatures and not real. 

We spent a lot of time in front of the huge tank. 

Check out these ginormous puffer fish!

And this stingray!

Can you spot the shark? 

We were lucky enough to be there during the dive show. Finley got to high five one of the divers. 

This might be my favorite picture from our trip. 

How cool are jellyfish? 

And check out this amazing shark's mouth! 

Of course Finley was extremely excited to find Nemo. 

One of the coolest parts of this aquarium is the fact that you can touch real sharks. Yes! Touch real sharks! These are bamboo sharks whose mouths are so small they cannot bite you. 

But I am pretty sure this guy could. 

After our morning at the aquarium we headed over to the beach for a few hours. 

The weather was perfect and the water refreshing. 

If only I could have gotten Finley to go in deeper than his ankles. 

But he had a fun time playing in the tidal pools. 

Our final day in Wilmington, Finley and I vegged out at the hotel before having to check out. Then we killed time at a local outdoor mall until it was time to drive back home. We were sad that David had to work so much and couldn't enjoy Wilmington as much as we did. But it sounds like we might be making a few more trips there over the next several months, so hopefully he will get to enjoy being at the beach too.