Monday, July 28th

We decided to spend most of our day on Roanoke Island (about 15 miles from our hotel.)  Our first stop was the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.  Archeologists have discovered the bases for the Lost Colony earthworks and they have restored some of these earthworks.

 

This is the site where John Smith brought 116 men and women to the American coastline to establish an English colony.  Due to shortage of supplies, John Smith went back to England to obtain additional supplies and returned 3 years later.  The people of the colony had disappeared including his granddaughter, Virginia Dare, who was the first child of English ancestry born in America.  The fate of the colony is unknown although there are a lot of speculations.  There was a very good, historically correct, movie at the welcome center and it really made you think about the fate of the English and the treatment of the Indians by the English.   We left there going to the island farm but it was closed so we went to Roanoke Island Festival Park.  They had an Indian Village where James got his picture with a wooden pole that was part of a dancing circle!

 

We boarded a replica of the ship that brought settlers to the Americas.

 

I think we know history but to actually be on a ship this size and learn it had 12 sailors for each 12 hour shift just to sail the ship and then to add the settlers (usually 30 to 45 per ship) was a real eye-opener.  Talk about close quarters!  The guide answered questions about food and water supplies for the long trip and we learned that they started with water for about 30 days and then, knowing the water would mold, drank a beer that was less than 5% alcohol.  The alcohol prevented mold and mildew.  They ate meat that was cured with salt for preservation and caught rain water when it rained.  The ship had a pump to remove the water that would seep into the lower deck since the ship was wood – now that is something to think about – get on a ship that you know is leaking!! There was also a blacksmith shop manned by men in period costumes.  The blacksmith, with an English accent, manufactured a nail with a “rose” head and gave it to me.

 

Across the way a carpenter was putting the kids in “stocks” and giving the ultimate punishment (tickling them with straws!)

 

Leaving there we found a nice picnic area and stopped for lunch.  We were both tired and it felt good to sit for a while.  After lunch we headed to STARBUCKS!  It was back on the Outer Banks and was 13 miles up the beach.  On the way we saw the sign for the Wright Brothers National Memorial, another National Park.

 

 

We decided to go there rather than to wait until tomorrow to tour it.  Again this was marvelous.  There were excellent descriptions of the efforts and attempts by the Wright Brothers to prove that motorized flight was possible.  There was a replica of the non-motorized glider that they started with and a replica of the final product – a motorized glider.

 

 

The original is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.  There were portraits of people who were important in aviation history, including the founders of Northrup and Southwest Air.  There were portraits of John Glen, Neil Armstrong, Amelia Earhart, Chuck Yeager, Charles Lindberg and many others.  We saw the actual spots where the Kitty Hawk was launched and replicas of the cabins built to house the glider and the men while they were working on the invention.  Finally there was a huge monument at the top of a very high hill.

 The walkway wound around the hill but still was very steep.  I didn’t try it but James did!  I made a picture (he is the tiny dot at the top in a dark shirt.)  He will be sore tomorrow!  The picture of him waving was made with a zoom lens.  

 

 

From there it was finally to STARBUCKS!  Then back to the hotel.  After making a few pictures on the beach, James noticed that his shoes didn’t match – after wearing them all day, he finally noticed!  When I told DeLyn she said that people had said all day, “That poor old man doesn’t even know his shoes match – and his wife is so senile that she hasn’t noticed either.” 

 DeLyn is SOOOOO loving! 

 

 With a banana split for supper, we are calling it a night.  Heading north tomorrow.  Don’t know where we will land but that is ok – that is part of the trip.

 

Sunday, July 27th

We got up EARLY – 6:00 a.m.  We packed everything, ate breakfast, and left for the ferry at Cedar Point.  We had to be there at 9:30 and we were a few minutes early.  The ferry ride was very SMOOTH and I actually got a short nap. 

 

It was a 26 mile trip and took 2 hours and 15 minutes.  We saw lots of deep sea fishing boats and the black fins of two sharks.  While we were at the welcome center we learned that we missed the island that has the wild ponies.  It was near Atlantic Beach area and is controlled by the National Park Service.  The ranger told us that the Park Service had a ferry to the island but they only took a very small number of people each day.  I was disappointed but not bad enough to take the ferry back, drive 50 mile to MAYBE get a ferry to that island, drive back to POSSIBLY catch another ferry back to Ocracoke.  I’ll just enjoy the story of the wild ponies.  Upon arrival at Ocracoke Island we stopped at the welcome center which is the site of the first weather station on the Outer Banks.  Afterwards we went to see the Ocracoke lighthouse and then drove the 12 miles to board the ferry to Cape Hatteras. 

Alone the way we stopped for a picnic lunch.  Again the sand dunes completely block the view of the ocean.  Certainly not like the Gulf but it is a lot like St. Augustine Beach.  We only waited about 30 minutes to board the ferry to Cape Hatteras and the ride was very smooth and a lot shorter.  I worked on the blog and James slept! 

Arriving at Cape Hatteras we went to see the lighthouse.  This is the most famous of all the lighthouses on the Outer Banks.  It is also a marvel to modern engineering.  A few years ago the lighthouse had to be moved due to shore erosion.  They were able to move this lighthouse totally intact in a matter of 23 days.  To look at the lighthouse and realize it is BRICK it is just unthinkable that they were able to do that. 

As we headed toward Nags Head we stopped again to view the Bodie Island lighthouse and finally arrived at our hotel about 6:30. 

Even though we are tired we went to eat SEAFOOD for the first time on this trip and then came back and did laundry.  Ready for bed!

Saturday July 26

After a late breakfast we decided to drive over to the island south of Morehead City.  According to the map there were several beaches including Emerald Isle Beach, Atlantic Beach and Pine Knoll Beach.  We were disappointed with the view.  There was no where you could see the ocean.  Not only were the dunes extremely high, the beach was covered with houses and there was very minimal public beach.  We drove to the north end of the beach and got out at Fort Macon. This fort was started prior to the Revolutionary War and was used in both the War Between the States and World War II.  We learned that German U boats attacked this fort and were not successful in taking it over.  We took the self-guided tour and it began to RAIN!  Even though we got wet we continued the tour which was very interesting.  It is unreal the situations that soldiers have been in while standing up for freedom. 

 

 

 

 

By the way - the toy dog is "Buddy" and he goes where we go.  We usually try to get his picture a few times each trip.  Don't think we have reverted to playing with stuffed animals - YET!  We left that island and went back through Morehead City to Havelock.  The boardwalk was interesting and one of the most interesting things was the fact that the railroad ran downtown BETWEEN the lanes of traffic. 

Starbucks was again a lifesaver.  Since we had a late picnic lunch we decided on just the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday.  That was a good choice.  Knowing we had to get up early on Sunday to catch the ferry, we turned in a little earlier than the previous night. 

Friday, July 25th

Sleeping late (8 o’clock) was great.  The general manager went out of her way to be able to extend our reservations here since they were sold out due to a baseball tournament.  We headed to Morehead City which is a huge harbor and sea port. This is the beginning of the Crystal Coast.   Not only were there several oil tankers in the harbor, there were lots of yachts!  This town didn’t have a lot to offer so we drove to Beaufort which is the 3^rd oldest town in North Carolina.  We thoroughly enjoyed this little town.  They have a monument to Captain John Smith who was born in Beaufort and was a NASA astronaut on the Challenger.  They also had one of the U.S. flags when we were only 13 states – this was on display in their welcome center. 

I just had to make a photo of the JAMES Café – especially since he CANNOT COOK! 

Leaving Beaufort we drove to Cedar Island ferry to determine how far the drive would be Sunday morning.  It is at least 1 hour and 15 minutes and we have to be there at 9:30 a.m. to catch the ferry.  That means we must get up early!!  There was a hotel by the ferry but after looking it over we decided the drive wouldn’t be so bad.  One end of the hotel had fallen in, the rooms were 1930’s style without telephones, and the room numbers were even falling off the doors.  NO WAY! 

On the way back to our hotel we drove by Cherry Point Marine Corps base.  That explained the emphasis on the military all over town and the airplanes in the front yard of our hotel.  This was a really good day.  The town of Beaufort is really neat – in addition to the historical part there are lots of unusual shops on the boardwalk by the harbor. 

Thursday, July 24th

Still raining but we went back to Replacements, LTD.  UNBELIEVABLE!  This place is HUGE.  It started in 1980s when Mr. Bob Parker started looking for china pieces that he liked at garage sales.  Shortly his friends and relatives asked him to watch for pieces that they needed and he eventually quit his day job and got serious about the business.  It grew to over $100,000 in the first few years and last year Replacements did a business in excess of $100 MILLION dollars.  I was able to get some pieces for my Christmas china that I thought I might be needing as our grandsons (Justin and Riley) are dating some very nice young women.  I also got their list for the Depression glass china that I have recently started collecting.  Since the order was over $99 they didn’t charge shipping and they are holding it until September 8^th which should allow us to be on the way back home.  We spent over 2 hours in this place and James loved every minute of it.  That is what makes our life so great – I enjoyed the knife store yesterday and he enjoyed the china store today.  I’m including a few picture but just notice the shoes that have WEDGEWOOD HEELS!  That was part of his “museum.”  By the way – their new warehouse is the size of 8 football fields and houses their “most often used” items.  If you are ever in this area the stop is well worth it and they have a really good 30 minute tour.

 

 
 

 
We passed up some really good scenic places because we thought we were going to need to get to the Outer Banks by Friday.  That turned out to be a mistake.  There were 4 major schools in a ‘cluster” – Duke, North Carolina State, Wake Forest and North Carolina.  DeLyn had told us how beautiful the Duke campus was and, in retrospect, I wish we had taken time to see it.  When we got to our hotel in Havelock, we were surprised to find a jet fighter in their front yard and two more behind the motel at a welcome center.  Turns out this town is the home of Cherry Point Marine Corps base! 

Before bedtime I began trying to get reservations on the outer banks only to find the only room available for the weekend was at Comfort Inn for $439 a night!  SHOCK!!  Turns out the weekend rates are ridiculously expensive.  That is when we decided to stay in this area until Sunday and then go to the Outer Banks at less than $150 a night.  Looks like there is plenty to do in this area and, besides, being able to sleep a little later for a day or 2 sounds pretty good.

Wed, 23 July, in North Carolina

Wednesday, July 23, 2014, it is raining.  We decided to go to the Knife store just off I40.  James collects the “cowboy knives” and we had been told they would have them.  That place is unbelievable!  They have the world’s largest indoor waterfall. 

We finally found the “cowboy knives” and they only had 5 of the type he collects and he already had 4 of them.  But the stop was worth it.  Then on toward Ashville, N.C. in the rain!  When we got to Ashville we sent to the Biltmore information center.  We plan to go there with DeLyn the week before Thanksgiving and wanted to be sure that the estate would be decorated for Christmas.  Not only will it be completely decorated, the candle light tours are that week.  GREAT LUCK!  We are looking forward to coming back.  We also drove by Grove Park Inn which is just absolutely fabulous.  Our main stop was in historic downtown Ashville where we sat outside and drank STARBUCKS!!  Leaving Ashville we headed toward Winston-Salem when I spotted the RIDGECREST sign.  I have heard about Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center since I was in high school and never had the opportunity to visit.  We drove up, were given a map at the gate and toured the facility as best we could in the rain.  It is significantly larger than Shocco, but, like Shocco all the sidewalks go uphill! 

 

 

Back on the road – we passed up Winston-Salem because of the fact that the majority of hotels were sold out for some reason.  We decided to go to Burlington – only about 15 miles further where we found a room at the Holiday Inn Express.  About 5 miles before the hotel I saw the sign for Replacements, Unlimited.  It is a great place to get pieces of china and crystal for patterns that are discontinued.  Shipping has gotten so expensive that I haven’t ordered recently but James agreed that we would “back-track” there tomorrow.  When we got to the hotel, we took a short walk and called it a day.  Sure am glad to see the sun after all the rain today.

Beginning trip to Canadian East Coast

Monday - July 21, 2014 - It seems this trip took more planning time than usual although we didn’t decide the initial route until we were leaving.  One thing we did do was schedule the car pickup for Monday, knowing we were not leaving until Tuesday.  We were not surprised that they did not have the mid-size SUV that we reserved- but they did upgrade to a minivan at no additional cost (that was really what we had wanted but the price was over $1000 more than the mid-size SUV.  That part worked out; however, when I got the car home (and started loading it), I realized the tag expired in MARCH!  They were unable to find the updated tag so they had to swap it for another one.  This is very typical and is the very reason we got the car a day early. 

Tuesday July 22 -

We left home Tuesday at noon and stopped at STARBUCKS before we got out of town.  Other than that we only had one rest stop and arrived north of Knoxville about 6 o’clock Eastern Time.  No interesting stops but we did walk through the Bass Pro Shop and James had his picture taken with a new friend (soon to be moving to Decatur???) 

Sorry but I have tried to rotate this and nothing happens.  Just turn your head!

We walked about a mile to limber up, ate dinner at the Chop House and then called it a night.  We have decided to drive across North Carolina and go to the Outer Banks.