Day Sixteen - Sanford, North Carolina

About ten minutes after I gave up on uploading pictures and fell asleep last night (1:10) Bryce called. :) It was a quick phone call, maybe three minutes, but it helped me sleep the rest of the night. Not that there was much left; the alarms went off an 5:30 and it was time to pack back up and drive down the the coast to watch the sunrise. We made it to a beach barely before 7:20 (the time that the sun was supposed to rise) only to realize that the lovely cloud cover had only increased in thinkness. So while we were at the Atlantic during the sunrise, we did not actually see the sun until after we reached North Carolina.

Frustrated, sleepy and hungry, we saw a sign for Cracker Barrel. Finally (after DC), we were back in Cracker Barral country. As always, everyone inside was superbly friendly. The bacon was a little disappointing, but I will give them another chance in a few days. :) The store was (also as always) fun to poke around in.

Then it was off to Fort Eustis, Virginia, where my dad had been stationed when he was in the Army. We made it on to the base and headed towards the Exchange and military clothing store to check out what they had. We then made it to the post office, where we could finally mail some of the stuff we had bought back home. From there, we headed towards the museum on base. My dad had mentioned it and it did not disappoint! The woman at the front desk was helpful and social, she was also a former Washingtonian, with family in the Chelan / Wenatchee area.

The museum was dedicated to the Army Transportation Corps and followed the history of military transportation. It covered the conflicts that I was familar with (I can't judge the other ones), in what I thought was better detail than the museum in Washington DC. I was particularly impressed with the model/manniquins, as they were all posed and had the facial expressions of real people. Outside of the museums were trains and other forms of transportation, including a hovercraft.

OPSEC poster...

Unfortunately, the museum did not include a LCU (Landing Craft Utility - I believe). And the roads to the port where more were docked were closed due to construction. We had also planned on seeing the Ghost Fleet, a group of retired ships moored together on the St. James River, but since 9/11 that area has apparently been under increased security.

By this time it was almost noon, and we hit the road heading to Sanford, North Carolina to stay with my cousin Steve, his wife Charlotte and their kids Marie and Matt. We passed over the longest bridge ever (or what seemed like it). The drive seemed longer than it was, probably because we were constantly switching highways. But either way, I was exhausted from the lack of sleep and definitely not in a mood to drive. Jess' foot still hurts so she is temporarily suspended from driving duty.

We made it to Sanford, caught up with Marie and Charlotte and headed to Marie's high school to watch her play in a powerpuff football game (for homecoming week). They won the first game, but lost the second in overtime. Since it was spirit week, some of the boys had dressed up in cheerleading uniforms, complete with stuffed bras, make-up and wigs. They had learned a few cheers and dances and were very confident and entertaining to watch. Also, the school had an impressive percussion band that kept us entertained during breaks in the game.

Then we met up with Matt, who had just arrived back at the school from an away soccer game, and headed back to the house. Steve is out of town working for a few days, so unfortuntely it looks like we'll just miss him. Tomorrow is a day to recuperate and do laundry, and I am definitely looking forward to the former.