Boo Y'All - Battleship Hitchhiker Traditional Geocache
fraygirls: We agree, time to archive. Thank you to all who have been spooked here over the years!
Boo Y'All - Battleship Hitchhiker
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Welcome to Wilmington - a quaint, historic port city tucked along
the Cape Fear coast. As you stroll along the streets of downtown
Wilmington enjoying the views of the river, the gnarled live oaks,
and the significant old homes, you must brace yourself and face one
inescapable truth: Wilmington is full of history, and such history
is usually accompanied by ghosts. If you stay alert, you may spot a
cache…and a few lost souls who still call Wilmington home.
This installment of the BOO Y’ALL series brings us to the USS
Battleship North Carolina. The North Carolina was commissioned in
April 1941 and, at that time was considered to be one of the
world’s premier sea weapons. During World War II the North Carolina
participated in many offensives in the Pacific arena and earned 15
battle stars. The North Carolina survived many near misses with
catastrophe (including torpedo impact to her hull) and lost ten men
in action. Decommissioned in 1947, the North Carolina was nearly
condemned to scrap in 1958 but was saved by a statewide campaign to
bring her back to her namesake state. She arrived in Wilmington in
1961 and was dedicated as the state’s memorial to its World War II
veterans in 1962.
But let’s focus once again on the 10 men that were lost during
battle. It is said that a few still remain on the ship. A night
watchman for the battleship has written a book which describes the
many encounters he’s had with their spirits on the ship. Hatches
and doors are known to slam unexpectedly, shouting can be heard in
the eerie passageways, air temperatures plummet for no reason, and
the diaphanous form of a blond man has been spotted more than
once.
Our favorite story involves a lady friend of the night watchman.
One evening, she stopped by the battleship with a picnic dinner for
them to enjoy together. As she approached the ship, she saw someone
peeking out from one of the portholes on the side of the ship. When
the night watchman came out to greet her, she inquired about the
other visitor whom she had seen. The night watchman told her that
there was no one else aboard the ship. At that point the lady
friend was a little too creeped-out to enjoy the picnic, so she
left the food with the watchman, apologized, and drove back to
town. As she was crossing the bridge, there was an outbreak of
commotion in the back of her van. Stuff was flying everywhere for
no reason – the windows and doors were closed, and the ride was
fairly smooth. The friend noticed that the tumult seemed to become
more violent as she gained distance from the battleship. Completely
shaken, she turned around and went back over the bridge to the
battleship. Once in the parking lot, she stopped and threw open the
back doors of the van. The little tornado which was taking place in
the back of the van suddenly stopped. She closed the doors and
quickly left the area and, this time, made it home without
incident. To this day, both she and the night watchman believe that
one of the restless spirits of the battleship tried to hitch a ride
in the van!
We want everybody to know that we have purposefully made this
cache an easy one for you to find. We don’t want you to hang around
any longer than you have to, because you never know who might climb
into your vehicle. Good Luck and Have Fun!
FTF Honors Go To Our Friends Stites1 and
SanityEndsHere!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)