road trip - charlotte day 1

12 March, 2001
Day 2 of big fun on the road. We started off with a trip to Discovery Place. It's one of those hands-on science and nature museums. There are three categories of animals - dead animals, live animals and fake animals. There is also an omnimax theater. Beckie got to see about half of the movie - she is susceptible to motion sickness. The movie was about a climb to the top of Everest.
We left Charlotte after lunch and stopped in Historic Camden on the way home. Lots of the Revolutionary War happened there. I'm sure the whole thing was a lot more exciting when the war was going on.

Beckie in front of a big brown bear. He's in the dead animal category. big-ass bear

at the core A big model showing the layers of the Earth. Jack's head is near the core.

Jack and I inside a three sided mirror thing. mirrors

mindless eating machines Nurse sharks - live animal category.

A giant eyeball which you could wander around inside of. It showed all the actual parts and whatnot. the eye

octopussy I'm pretty sure this one fell into the category of fake animals.

Tripp was either making an important point or posing for a statue. posing

rope off the area We saw this on the way to Discovery Place beside a fountain. This was either the scene of a gruesome crime or somebody ate/drank something really red and barfed.

Some sort of a lift thing that was supposed to demonstrate some scientific principle. I didn't ride in it. blast-off

jack rising Jack did.

So did Beckie. going up

timone or pumba? i can't keep those guys straight A warthog - definitely in the dead animal category.

It really was a lot of fun and Beckie was not bored. open wide

presto change-o The elusive cuttle fish. Definitely alive and lots of fun to startle him and make him change colors.

A scene from the omnimax - some guys in a tent. pass the barf bag

simpal cindy The phoniest animal in the building. Sort of a retarded animatronics doll thing that made small, spastic gestures and frightened people. She really was pretty disturbing.

The fearsome T-Rex. Definitely not the one they used in Jurassic Park. must go faster

15% Another dinosaur who didn't star in anything.

We stopped at this historic-type park on the way home. the british are coming

boom sign Artifactual explanation.

The artifact itself. boom

sign Here's where you read about it.

Here it is. Like I said at the top, probably more exciting when they were actually fighting the war here. another artifact

Beckie in front of a big brown bear. He's in the dead animal category.
	A big model showing the layers of the Earth. Jack's head is near the core.
Jack and I inside a three sided mirror thing.
	Nurse sharks - live animal category.
A giant eyeball which you could wander around inside of. It showed all the actual parts and whatnot.
	I'm pretty sure this one fell into the category of fake animals.
Tripp was either making an important point or posing for a statue.
	We saw this on the way to Discovery Place beside a fountain. This was either the scene of a gruesome crime or somebody ate/drank something really red and barfed.
Some sort of a lift thing that was supposed to demonstrate some scientific principle. I didn't ride in it.
	Jack did.
So did Beckie.
	A warthog - definitely in the dead animal category.
It really was a lot of fun and Beckie was not bored.
	The elusive cuttle fish. Definitely alive and lots of fun to startle him and make him change colors.
A scene from the omnimax - some guys in a tent.
	The phoniest animal in the building. Sort of a retarded animatronics doll thing that made small, spastic gestures and frightened people. She really was pretty disturbing.
The fearsome T-Rex. Definitely not the one they used in Jurassic Park.
	Another dinosaur who didn't star in anything.
We stopped at this historic-type park on the way home.
	Artifactual explanation.
The artifact itself.
	Here's where you read about it.
Here it is. Like I said at the top, probably more exciting when they were actually fighting the war here.