Vacation post 7: Day Late, Dollar Short

I'm kind of amazed that almost half a week has gone by, and I've failed to mention the trip we took to Fort Fisher and the NC Aquarium. Someone does NOT get vacation points for that little oversight!

Anyhow, the other day me and mum and lit sis decided to take the ferry from Southport to Fort Fisher to do some sightseeing in that area. The ferry itself was pretty cool. Having lived most of my life in a relatively land-locked area, ferries are something new to me, except as transits at particularly quirky theme parks and other tourist sites. Therefore, they're small-ish boats, usually with standing capacity for 20-30 people (if that), that make voyages of 5-10 minutes. This was a SERIOUS ferry, however. The entryway was gated, and there was a $5 toll to go through. Instead of parking, we were told to wait in line and then DRIVE onto the ferry when it docked and we were given direction to do so. There were probably 50 or so cars on board when the ferry was completely loaded. Once the ferry embarked, we were allowed to leave our cars, and there was a passenger lounge and a few observation decks on the second level of the boat. No cheesy decorations, no "fun" music, just a half-dozen state employees in tan uniforms (like park rangers), each with some form of facial hair (I know that I personally saw moustache - thin, moustache - thick, goatee, and...I'm not sure what it's called, but the style of beard that is shaved thin so that it only follows the jawline. There was a photo of the ferry operators at the station on the other side, though, and the other men I don't remember seeing were also bearded and/or moustached), and a no-nonsense attitude.

After right around a half hour, we got to Fort Fisher. Fort Fisher is an old earthenworks fort that was built by the Confederacy during the Civil War. When Union troops were blockading southern ports to cut their supply lines and try to bring them down faster, places like Fort Fisher were built as impromptu lines of defense because more permanent structures were impractical, both because of the time and cost of building more permanent fortifications, and (this is my own speculation, but it seems very reasonable) because the heavy storms that often hit the North Carolina coast during hurricane season could be just as damaging to the fortifications as enemy fire. Anyhow, Fort Fisher was built as one of the last lines of defense for the city of Wilmington, an important Confederate port. The small number of troops stationed there put up a valiant display of soldiery against overwhelming odds (I may be mis-remembering the information I read so please excuse me if I got this wrong, but I believe the fort's defenders were facing 8 battalions of Union soldiers and heavy fire from around 50 Union warships). They were disadvantaged in nearly every way, and over the course of a long day of vicious fighting they were driven back and driven back and each line of defense was eventually overwhelmed, until, with only a single gun battery (called Buchanan's Battery) under their control, the Confederate soldiers surrendered to the Union troops. History is damn exciting when you learn about these parts of it, and the story behind Fort Fisher was extremely inspirational. Now, I'll admit that having lived the majorty of my life in the Southest United States, and having a tendency to root for the underdog anyway, I have a strong sympathy for the Confederacy. I don't mean to imply that I in ANY way support old ideas toward slavery or Civil War-era race relations...but the fact that an entity so obviously out-classed, out-resourced, and out-manned by their opposition, but led by inspired leaders and soldiered by men who were willing to devote themselves entirely to a cause (even if it wasn't fully understood) makes the Civil War an incredible story of hope and faith in the midst of chaos and turmoil. The Union's drive to re-unite this country and provide a greater level of freedom for all men, however, is equally inspiring. Since many Southern sources of history paint the Union as "bad guys" (I've even heard people jokingly (and some people completely seriously) refer to the Civil War as "the War of Northern Aggression), and even sources that attempt to be un-biased often portray the Union troops to appear as aggressors or instigators, it's harder to establish the same sort of rapport and sympathy toward the Union, even though their higher ideals were ultimately more just.

Anyway, Fort Fisher was really cool! Although over the decades since the end of the Civil War Fort Fisher hasn't received the care and preservation it probably ought to have gotten, a good portion of the earthenwork fortifications are still standing, and the public is allowed limited access to explore them. It was a hellaciously hot day when we went, but even in spite of that climbing all over the fort and taking pictures was tons of fun! According to mum, there used to be an entry point that allowed you to go inside the earthenworks and see some of the "cells" the soldiers would sleep in, or use as storage rooms, but the only entryway we were able to find into the fort was blocked off. Either that doorway no longer exists, or it's been closed to the public. That was very disappointing to find out! When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time on retreat at Fort Caswell with the church I went to in Greensboro, and one of my greatest pleasures was putting on a good pair of shoes and exploring all the different fortifications at the site. If I'm remembering my history right (which I may not be; I haven't been to Caswell in several years now), Fort Caswell was first erected around the time of the Revolutionary War, and remained in operation (although to differing degrees) through the end of World War II. Now it serves as a Baptist retreat center, however. An interesting retirement for a military installation, no doubt. ( ;

So, while the fort-exploring part of my inner child wasn't entirely satisfied, I got all that I could out of walking on and around Fort Fisher, and then we went too the aquarium. I love aquariums. I don't like them QUITE as much as I like zoos, but aquariums (aquaria?) do have one feature that most zoos will never be able to compete with them on: AIR CONDITIONING!! Even though I'm an "adult" and I "know everything", I always find out something new when I visit an aquarium, zoo, or museum...even if it's an inconsequential bit of knowledge that I will never use except perhaps to show off my mastery of trivia at a party or something. I had no idea before this week just how many types of shark there were that lived in North Carolina waters! In my mind, sharks have always been sort of warm water predators, and while I know we're close to the Gulf of Mexico, I'd always assumed we were north of the massive warm-water current that flows north and east across the Atlantic Ocean (it's reall cool, it is! I found out a year or two ago that this current does some serious work to warm the temperatures of the Northern Atlantic, and accounts for a lot of the reason why the British Isles have a climate more comparable to that of Maryland or Pennsylvania, instead of Newfoundland (which is is much closer to in latitude). Either I'm wrong (which is possible), or sharks are a lot tougher than I thought (which is also highly likely), because I'm pretty sure the exhibit I saw listed over a dozen sharks native to waters off the coast of NC!

One of the coolest and most unexpected things I saw, though, was in the "wetlands" exhibit at the aquarium. The NC Aquarium is the home to an albino alligator! Albinism is caused by a genetic mutation that causes the skin not to produce melanin (it's either that or melatonin. I get those two mixed up all the time...although I'm PRETTY sure melanin is correct in this case), a chemical that causes pigmentation in the skin. Because albino creatures have no coloration, they are extremely susceptible to sunburn (something I can tell you all about, even though no one could mistake me for albino because I'm freckled), the exhibit the gator was housed in (which was in a greenhouse-like wing that had been modeled to resemble a wetlands environment) had been constructed with UV-blocking glass. Apparently albino gators are very rare. I read a little information while I was there, and only about 50 are known to exist in the world, and most of them have been raised by one breeder. This man had one breeding pair of gators that both possessed the recessive genes for albinism, and so a percentage of the eggs they produced hatched into albinos. Most of these glorious freaks of nature (because let's face it...that's what mutated creatures really are! ^_~ ) are either sold or leased to museums, zoos, and aquariums across the world. However, when hurricane Katrina hit a few years ago, the breeding pair that produced albino eggs got separated, and no known albino alligators have been hatched since that time. I have a few photos from the aquarium, but not too many. My camera is and old and fairly unsophisticated digital camera; it doesn't take pictures well at all in dark environments, and for some reason every aquarium I've ever been to has always had very muted lighting!

There's a possibility we might leave this afternoon, instead of tomorrow. It would cut our vacation "short" a day, but also give us some time to re-adjust to our natural habitat and have Sunday as a day of rest before having to get up and tackle the week ahead. I think mum might already be starting to feel anxious about the amount of work that's piled up for her this week, lil sis is preparing to move into the dorm, and my classes start week as well. We've all got a LOT on our plates, but at least I know I've got a paycheck (albeit a meager one!) waiting for me at home. Whether we do leave tomorrow, or later today, I guess it is time to try to get back into the frame of mind of the "real world". I've got textbooks to buy, jobs to apply for, and while I'm waiting to receive my rejection letters (I know, I know...I shouldn't have such a negative attitude about job hunting), I've got a restaurant to work at so that I can afford gas and tuition. I can't tell you how much I'll miss this, though. It's been amazing to be able to come downstairs every morning, take a seat at the kitchen table, and just write. And being able to look 6 inches above the screen of my laptop and have a clear view of the ocean above the dunes...that's been wonderful. I've felt inspired. I've felt calmer. Although I don't feel like I feel different, I know that I do - I was a stressed out wreck when we left, but now, even though the stress is still there, I feel better capable of dealing with it. Maybe time is a factor - a week ago I was days and days away from any significant landmarks, and I hate waiting (the single hardest part for me about applying for college, applying for grad school, and now applying for jobs is having to wait for an answer. I remember my last girlfriend just about drove me crazy with that as well; on the night I asked her out, she asked for a couple days to think about it. When I tentatively brought it up again a few days later, I was a complete nervous wreck, but I remember she told me "I knew I was going to say yes. I just like to take some time to think through decisions."). Now, when I get back home, I'll have things to jump directly into without having to worry about second-guessing myself, or overthinking the problems that may arise. If given too much time to think, I'm a horrible worry-wort. If given just enough time to plan and act, I think I'd be perfectly content.

It's been a good week.