The Nina, the Pinta and the my wild imagination.

In Fourteen hundred and Ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...
in some REALLY dinky boats.

Betcha didn't know that part did ya?

Well, if you did, pat yourself on the back. because I, for one, did not.
For all of the talk about Columbus, I just supposed he'd have been
the type to stand on the deck of a massive, imposing Spanish war ship,
the wind whipping him the face as he clung to the helm! Admittedly,
that sounds a bit more like Jack Sparrow than Columbus, but you get my drift.

Turns out, Columbus, like most men, craved speed.
And big, massive war ships of his age, weren't big on speed,
but small agile ships like the Nina and Pinta WERE.
(The Santa Maria was the largest of the trio and was a cargo ship.
A big, heavy, slow cargo ship.
No suprise that Columbus always hated her.)
And to even further debunk my Columbus preconceptions,
there were no helms. Just a giant rudder type thingy t
hat the crew would have to maneuver to keep the ship on track!

For all of my initial shock-and-awe,
I can't deny that our homemade field trip was so incredibly fun!
Knoxville graced us with blue skies and cool breezes,
and naturally, Kellie and her kids were the best company!

Two of my sailors:
(Brooke did not want to wear a hat. Imagine that!)

The entire crew: Brooke, Dominick, Memphis, Samantha & Diana
Brooke and Dominick listening to me rattle on about Columbus.
Don't let their expressions fool you, they were captivated!
Diana and Samanta on board the Pinta.

Brooke watching the ducks swim past. (shudder...)

Ropes, Riggings & Other cool stuff:

The kids in front of the Pinta:
After our tour of the ships, the kids played in the waterfalls:


Brooke standing on the Volunteer Landing tile:

We ended our field trip with a picnic right on the water.
And of course, because we were in Knoxville, Kellie and I took full advantage
of the great shopping and bribed the kids into submission with some good ol' Krispy Kreme: