Summer in New Bern
July 14, 2012
Occasionally we have bought things and later wondered why we bought that item. That has not been the case with the air conditioning we had installed last year. Every day we bask in the cool and give thanks to the inventor of air conditioning.
We are back from a wonderful trip visiting family and friends, but there is no place like home, even when that home moves. As always there is never enough time to see everyone, but we packed in annual doctor and dentist visits, a trip to LA for Francie and two trips to Michigan for Mike.
We have become very fond of New Bern. Francie has made good use of the exercise room in the hotel. Since the laundry is near the exercise room, she feels that she is multitasking. Every day on Mike’s morning bicycle ride he passes a farm stand and picks up fresh fruit and veggies. Every Saturday there is a large farmers’ market with fresh bakery, fruits and veggies. Our favorite vender has shrimp right off the boat from the day before the market.
Occasionally we have bought things and later wondered why we bought that item. That has not been the case with the air conditioning we had installed last year. Every day we bask in the cool and give thanks to the inventor of air conditioning.
We are back from a wonderful trip visiting family and friends, but there is no place like home, even when that home moves. As always there is never enough time to see everyone, but we packed in annual doctor and dentist visits, a trip to LA for Francie and two trips to Michigan for Mike.
We have become very fond of New Bern. Francie has made good use of the exercise room in the hotel. Since the laundry is near the exercise room, she feels that she is multitasking. Every day on Mike’s morning bicycle ride he passes a farm stand and picks up fresh fruit and veggies. Every Saturday there is a large farmers’ market with fresh bakery, fruits and veggies. Our favorite vender has shrimp right off the boat from the day before the market.
New Bern is named after the Swiss Capital, Bern. The name is from the German word for bear.
Weather this summer seems to be unusual all over the country. We have had a multitude of violent thunder storms; it seems to happen several times a week. Unlike the drought in many parts of the country, the crops here must be doing well because we certainly have had plenty of rain.
Friends from Chicago visited New Bern for several days, and we toured the Tryon Palace, the original Governor’s mansion when New Bern was the capital of North Carolina. The building was rebuilt on the original site after the Palace burned. Tryon is known for its gardens as well as the authentic recreation of the buildings. We also had a chance to tour Wilmington, Beaufort and Moores Creek Revolutionary War battlefield as well.
We plan to rent a car for a week and go to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate. We also are going to explore the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mike had been through there on the motorcycle and said it was beautiful, even though it rained most of the time in the mountains. It will be fun to get off the coast and see some of the interior of the state.
Friends from Chicago visited New Bern for several days, and we toured the Tryon Palace, the original Governor’s mansion when New Bern was the capital of North Carolina. The building was rebuilt on the original site after the Palace burned. Tryon is known for its gardens as well as the authentic recreation of the buildings. We also had a chance to tour Wilmington, Beaufort and Moores Creek Revolutionary War battlefield as well.
We plan to rent a car for a week and go to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate. We also are going to explore the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mike had been through there on the motorcycle and said it was beautiful, even though it rained most of the time in the mountains. It will be fun to get off the coast and see some of the interior of the state.
August 8, 2012
This week we returned from our six day road trip to the North Carolina Mountains. Our first destination was Asheville. Exploring the city brought one surprise after another. There is a large counter culture population that can be seen at night with street musicians and its large artist community.
Asheville became a popular destination in the 1880’s due to the completion of the railroad and increase in manufacturing. This prosperity brought many people including George Vanderbilt, grandson of the railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. George used his family inheritance to create Biltmore Estates. The construction of the house, designed by Richard Morris Hunt, began in 1889 and was completed in 1895. The mansion sits on 11 square miles of land. The landscape architect was Fredrick Law Olmstead; he also designed Riverside, Illinois (a town bordering the “residence formally known as home” in Brookfield).
The first morning of our stay, we arrived at the Biltmore as they opened the gates. The first view of the mansion was over the football field sized lawn and it was breath taking. The interior of the mansion and its furnishings have been immaculately restored. We wandered from room to room (not all 250 rooms are open to the public) with an audio tour. The docent in each major area of the house answered questions, and enthusiastically greeted us making feel as if we were being invited into their home.
After several hours of touring the mansion, we ventured out to the gardens. The grounds were as vast and stunning as the mansion. We walked for several hours and viewed just a portion of the gardens.
This week we returned from our six day road trip to the North Carolina Mountains. Our first destination was Asheville. Exploring the city brought one surprise after another. There is a large counter culture population that can be seen at night with street musicians and its large artist community.
Asheville became a popular destination in the 1880’s due to the completion of the railroad and increase in manufacturing. This prosperity brought many people including George Vanderbilt, grandson of the railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. George used his family inheritance to create Biltmore Estates. The construction of the house, designed by Richard Morris Hunt, began in 1889 and was completed in 1895. The mansion sits on 11 square miles of land. The landscape architect was Fredrick Law Olmstead; he also designed Riverside, Illinois (a town bordering the “residence formally known as home” in Brookfield).
The first morning of our stay, we arrived at the Biltmore as they opened the gates. The first view of the mansion was over the football field sized lawn and it was breath taking. The interior of the mansion and its furnishings have been immaculately restored. We wandered from room to room (not all 250 rooms are open to the public) with an audio tour. The docent in each major area of the house answered questions, and enthusiastically greeted us making feel as if we were being invited into their home.
After several hours of touring the mansion, we ventured out to the gardens. The grounds were as vast and stunning as the mansion. We walked for several hours and viewed just a portion of the gardens.
Exhausted, we went back to the motel and prepared for our next day. We headed south on the Blue Ridge Parkway enjoying the scenery and looking for a good hiking trail. Our daily exercise didn’t prepare us for the “moderate to strenuous” trail we hiked to the top of Mt. Pisgah. After hiking for about 20 minutes I thought,” If this is strenuous, the trail was going to be easy;” then it began its steep ascent to the top. Twenty minutes later huffing and puffing, we arrived at the summit. The view made the climb worth every drop of sweat.
Once again we returned to the hotel exhausted but pleased with the day. The next morning our destination was north on the Parkway toward Boone, a small college town nestled in the mountains. Our first stop on the way was Mount Mitchell, the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi. Our second stop was Linville Falls where we hiked to 3 different views of the waterfalls. We were relieved that the hike was a lot easier than the climb up Mt. Pisgah.
When we arrived at the hotel, we discovered that this was the weekend the college students were moving back to school. There is nothing that makes one feel older than being surrounded by college students. Downtown was crowded because it was the “First Friday Art Crawl.” The stores were serving snacks and wine. After visiting numerous stores, it could easily become a crawl. The evening was topped off with a free blue grass concert.
Once again we returned to the hotel exhausted but pleased with the day. The next morning our destination was north on the Parkway toward Boone, a small college town nestled in the mountains. Our first stop on the way was Mount Mitchell, the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi. Our second stop was Linville Falls where we hiked to 3 different views of the waterfalls. We were relieved that the hike was a lot easier than the climb up Mt. Pisgah.
When we arrived at the hotel, we discovered that this was the weekend the college students were moving back to school. There is nothing that makes one feel older than being surrounded by college students. Downtown was crowded because it was the “First Friday Art Crawl.” The stores were serving snacks and wine. After visiting numerous stores, it could easily become a crawl. The evening was topped off with a free blue grass concert.
Mt. Airy and the Earle Theater
Our next stop was Mt. Airy, the home of Andy Griffith and model for the town Mayberry RFD, made famous in his TV series. We were drawn to the town because of the “Merry-Go-Round,” an old time music show broadcast live from the Earle Theater. The following is a description from North Carolina Public Radio reporter Jessica Jones: “Here's one good old broadcast tradition that's still going on. Every Saturday morning, musicians in Mount Airy, North Carolina, gather at a historic downtown theater. They've been doing it since 1948 when AM radio station WPAQ began airing a live show called the "Merry-Go-Round.” The program features regional old-time and bluegrass music. And today, the "Merry-Go-Round" is one of the last shows of its kind on the airwaves.” For more information about the show: http://www.surrycountymusic.com/top-10/merry-go-round.html
Wandering Mt. Airy is like taking a step back in time to Mayberry RFD. Tourists can visit Floyd’s barber, dine at Snappy Lunch and Blue Bird Diner, or watch three Ford Galaxie police cars, painted to resemble those used on the show, give rides to tourists. The town is also at the heart of “old time music” so many musicians gather and play on street corners just for fun!
Worn and ready, we started our return trip to New Bern and the boat. Francie, the navigator, made sure we passed through Raleigh because no return trip is complete without a stop at Costco.
Wandering Mt. Airy is like taking a step back in time to Mayberry RFD. Tourists can visit Floyd’s barber, dine at Snappy Lunch and Blue Bird Diner, or watch three Ford Galaxie police cars, painted to resemble those used on the show, give rides to tourists. The town is also at the heart of “old time music” so many musicians gather and play on street corners just for fun!
Worn and ready, we started our return trip to New Bern and the boat. Francie, the navigator, made sure we passed through Raleigh because no return trip is complete without a stop at Costco.
August 8, 2012
It’s good to be home, but we are getting antsy to move on. Where to next??? We have no idea. We quit making plans because they always change. We will decide later. If we want, we can stay here until September. We would like to see the Outer Banks and maybe spend a month in Myrtle Beach.
As many of you know, we name our dinghies after their demise or retirement. (We fondly remember Accordion, Crash & Slash.) We have never paid more than a few hundred dollars for our little boats thus they are usually on their way to the big pond in the sky even when they are new to us. Our latest dinghy, affectionately known as “Incontinent” because it needed to be pumped up daily, has retired. We are pleased that it has found a higher station in life. It is still losing air as it sits majestically on the upper deck of a trawler.
“Incontinent” has been replaced with a new dinghy. When Mike retired, the teachers contributed money toward the purchase of a little boat. That money was set aside along with Francie’s retirement gifts until now. It is a treat to have a dinghy which is dependable. It feels like a momentous event in our boating life, and may it always remain “nameless.”
It’s good to be home, but we are getting antsy to move on. Where to next??? We have no idea. We quit making plans because they always change. We will decide later. If we want, we can stay here until September. We would like to see the Outer Banks and maybe spend a month in Myrtle Beach.
As many of you know, we name our dinghies after their demise or retirement. (We fondly remember Accordion, Crash & Slash.) We have never paid more than a few hundred dollars for our little boats thus they are usually on their way to the big pond in the sky even when they are new to us. Our latest dinghy, affectionately known as “Incontinent” because it needed to be pumped up daily, has retired. We are pleased that it has found a higher station in life. It is still losing air as it sits majestically on the upper deck of a trawler.
“Incontinent” has been replaced with a new dinghy. When Mike retired, the teachers contributed money toward the purchase of a little boat. That money was set aside along with Francie’s retirement gifts until now. It is a treat to have a dinghy which is dependable. It feels like a momentous event in our boating life, and may it always remain “nameless.”
