We just arrived back home after a long weekend at Kure Beach and a 300-mile expedition through eastern North Carolina to take Katie Rose to camp.
The beach weekend was nice, but I felt a little claustrophobic trapped in a beach house that slept 9 with 11 people, including our family of four, Debbie’s parents, and Debbie’s sister’s family and their 3 kids. Since I’m still on crutches, I couldn’t get out and ride my bike or take a walk down on the beach if I wanted some quiet time. Still, the family got to enjoy the beach, and Debbie got her big, 40th birthday celebration with her family.
When we asked Pete what his favorite parts of the weekend were, he cited going to and playing in the ocean–so going to the beach was worthwhile. For me, I enjoyed taking the ferry last night from Fort Fisher (at the southern tip of the Wilmington peninsula) to Southport (on the Cape Fear River and just north of SC), where we ate fresh seafood in a dining room looking out over the river, with two lighthouses in the distance.
After we packed up to leave today, Pete went with his cousins to an aquarium and then rode back with them to Durham while we took Katie Rose to her Girl Scout camp. She is going to Camp Hardee, near Washington, NC, where the Pamlico Sound narrows into the (still-wide) Pamlico River. Thus, we drove about 150 miles from Wilmington to Washington–mostly on US 17 North–then 140 miles back to Chapel Hill.
Highlights:
- Passed by Camp Lejeune and Jacksonville, NC, from which Debbie sees lots of patients at her job at the VA Hospital in Durham.
- Went through New Bern and passed near Oriental, NC, where our first pastor in Durham had served before he came to Durham.
- Washington, NC is a lovely little town on the wide Pamlico River. Debbie and I liked the old houses, the riverfront architecture, and we even stopped to take pictures of the beautiful First United Methodist Church.
- Our restaurant in Southport had nothing on the dining room at the Girl Scouts’ Camp Hardee, which had big windows looking out over the river, which there more resembles a lake. My scallops in Southport are probably unrivalled by the camp food (though most camp food I’ve had is pretty good), but Katie Rose will probably be louder and have more fun in the Camp Hardee dining hall.
- We passed through Greenville, NC, where our first pastor in Durham served after he left Durham.
- We passed through Wilson, where our pastor in Chapel Hill is moving this week.
- We stopped at Bill Ellis Barbecue in Wilson for a 4pm Sunday dinner. The barbecue was very moist and tender and seasoned well; the slaw, green beans, and sweet tea were good; and the banana pudding was great. I’ll definitely pay a return visit next time I find an excuse to be near Wilson.
- We avoided a 2-mile backup on US 264 by swinging down on 264 Bus. through Zebulon and Wendell. A little out of our way, but nice enough towns–especially the pre-Raleigh-suburb downtowns–but I still can’t believe people commute from there through Raleigh to RTP and back.
Ultimately, a large chunk of the day was spent away from limited-access highways and passing through small towns. Debbie and I both find the small towns, country roads, and flat terrain comforting since it resembles where we grew up in SC, with the exception of more hardwoods mixed in with the pine trees. Mix in nice weather and plenty of time to be unhurried, and the long odyssey turned into a very relaxing day.