Wandering Wilmington

I first saw this monument to Confederate soldiers while speeding by in a car. Later I had a chance to cross the street lickety-split and snap this picture.

620,000 soldiers died from combat, accident, starvation, and disease during the Civil War, 258,000 from the South.

During my travels I have seen enormous National battlefields. Recently I was in  Fredericksburg, Virginia where 15,000 mostly Union soldiers are buried, only 20% of them identified. Both Union and Confederate soldiers felt they were fighting for a worthy cause. All of these soldiers deserve recognition for their sacrifice.

 

Spring goes crazy in Wilmington.

During the Azalea Festival on the riverfront, this acapella group from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, entertained everyone, with screams from the teenage girls around us. These singers were accomplished and enthusiastic.

USS North Carolina Battleship, active in the Pacific during WW II welcomes visitors to walk her decks. We had a little boat ride around the river and I took this photo. Loved the flags.

Tryon Palace is a modern reconstruction of the historical colonial royal governors' palace of the Province of North Carolina.  It was constructed in the 1950s across the original mansion site located in the city of New Bern, North Carolina. Today it is a State Historic Site.

We had a day trip to Tryon Palace from our new location in Morehead City, N.C.

Chatting with the kitchen cook.

The formal gardens at Tryon Palace. This was not actually a Palace, but the North Carolinians were taxed especially to pay for this house of the Royal Governor, and they weren't happy about it and sarcastically called it a palace.

Yes, more photos of the wonderful formal gardens.

After finishing up our visit there, we all came back to Morehead City for a cocktail party, as you see below.