June 16, 2016
Day 16 Wilmington to Sneads Ferry
Today was a LONG day.
We cycled about 10 miles into downtown Wilmington and left our bikes with the Bizzy Bee water taxi people. Our timing was bad, because we waited almost an hour for the water taxi across the Cape Fear River to the Battleship North Carolina. It was nice sitting by the river and talking to people. The staff at the Bizzy Bee were very friendly and very helpful in arranging for a safe place to leave the bikes.
We spent a couple of hours touring the Battleship North Carolina. We walked the entire tour route and it was more tiring than cycling for two hours. The ship is very interesting to visit. It saw duty from 1941-1946 and the various places on the ship had signs with "Crew Memories" - stories from sailors who served on her during WWII. That made imagining life on the ship seem very real. Team A was so caught up in the experience they were ready for chow!
I most enjoyed seeing the daily life sections - berthing, the heads, the mess, the laundry and, of course, the medical department.
By the time we took the water taxi back across to our bikes, it was almost 1PM. We decided to have lunch before continuing out ride. There was an Indian restaurant on the waterfront that was a great choice. The food was excellent.
After a big lunch, we still had 46 miles to ride to get to our motel in Sneads Ferry. It was a long, hot afternoon and there was a 5 mile stretch of US 17 with four lanes of heavy traffic and no shoulder. But we pushed on and arrived at the motel a little after 6PM. The bridge crossing back across the Intracoastal Waterway at the north end of Topsail Island was very scenic.
We walked over to Food Lion and bought stuff for a big Greek salad and some fruit. We shared that in the company of a few mosquitos out by the pool. By the time we made it back to our rooms, it was 9PM and we were all done for the day.
Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 959 miles (1,543 km)
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