Next up on our Outer Banks day trip? The Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo.
But first?
Some rocks…
You’re welcome.
From Nags Head to Manteo?
Scenery.
Scenery from a bridge.
More scenery.
How’s that for detailed description?
The Gardens were recommended to us as a must stop… so we did. Even though it was off season and very little was blooming.
Gardens without flowers? Let’s go!
It was a pretty spot… with lots of different areas to explore.
They were in the middle of their annual Christmas light show….
So of course we went in the middle of the day when the sun was shining.
There was an impressive set of gates.
Neatly trimmed boxwoods…
And Queen Elizabeth I.
There were paths with balls…
And paths with statues.
And some extremely large butterflies.
Funky Christmas lights were everywhere.
And I’m sure it would have been quite pretty….
Had we been there at night.
Okaaaay.
Not sure what that was all about, but I don’t like peas either….. so, huzzah!
There was a lonely ruin of something.
And a man shivering in the cold wind.
Oh, wait. That’s the husband…. I didn’t recognize him from the front.
There were fountains.
And ass ends of statues.
Surrounded by tightly trimmed bushes.
Stop snickering…. I know where your mind went.
There were creepy garden gnomes.
And an indoor butterfly garden…
With no butterflies.
But plenty of fluffy gnomes.
Garden path U turns…
And yay!
Finally something was blooming.
There were also the type of Christmas decorations you only see down south.
Wouldn’t be much point of laying these on the ground up my way.
But there was an impressive old tree.
And yes, I do mean old.
Now that’s a senior citizen!
More paths…
More decorations….
A courtyard….
A gift shop….
And a fellow with a wilder hairdo than me after the windy pier.
By this time we’d looped back around to the beginning.
But not before we learned a few things…
About bees.
In case you’re wondering, Maine’s state insect is also the honeybee. Although we designated it as such in 1975.
Long live the bee!
And plagiarism apparently.
River's world..... 
We only visited Manteo once… for a German restaurant…
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I didn’t see any of those. But then again I wasn’t looking ….
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Bettie Kellogg, remembered but criticized into the great beyond. Wonderful sign. Nice garden, too.
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And it was just….. there. In the middle of the garden. No others, just Bettie. Someone really hated peas.
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Obviously. And had a passive-aggressive streak in them.
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Who knew peas were so emotionally damaging?
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😂
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What a beauty of a garden there River, oh and thanks for the shot of the rocks. I was beginning to go through withdraws, lol. Peas aren’t that bad, seriously I’d eat an entire crate of peas before I touched one, just one sprig of cilantro, yuck!
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I dislike Cilantro as well. Makes it hard eating Mexican as they stick in everything up here….. blech!
And yes, I try to slip a rock in when I can.
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Ugh, how do I even begin to explain my hatred of cilantro. But, for me it’s kind of a taboo type thing since, 1) I’m Hispanic, 2) I live on the border in a predominantly Mexican/Hispanic culture-population, 3) when I ask for restaurants NOT to include cilantro in my food, they always seem to ask. “are you serious?” So I agree with you, bleh!
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I know. I ask the same thing and they take it as sacrilege.
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Don’t sell yourself short, your hair is much wilder than that plant dude. 🙂
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Thank you…
I try.
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Christmas stuff? But it’s Valentine’s Day! And I can almost smell the roses I’m not gonna get!
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These things take time.
I told you it would take most of March to finish this trip saga…..
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I’ll be wearing GREEN before you are done!! lol
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What’s your point…?
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St patty’s day, green beer and here in WI? Another 17″ of snow!!
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Green beer is just wrong. And I just got finished shoveling the driveway… again.
🙄
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We have up to 8″ due here again by Wednesday….
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Thankfully we’re on the coast and are only due for rain. Up north they’re going to get a foot.
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If you can’t copy the good insects, some state’s going to end up with the cockroach. Did you ask hubs to turn around so you could verify his identity?
Thanks for bringing us along,.
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I think my home of New Jersey might have dibs on the cockroach, though I lived down south for years and saw more down there. Oh, excuse me… I meant the Palmetto bug.
*cough,cough*
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Ha ha – a rose by any other name…
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Bettie was some fancy pants socialite in the area. Probably left money to the gardens and her son, clearly not left enough money to his own, what with being a Kellogg and all, has erected this mother-shaming sign in her honor.
Anyway, that is lovely and I did not see that and I want to see that and if I’m there in the winter, I want to go at night to see the twinkly lights and otherwise, I think July would be good again.
Indiana’s state insect is the firefly, which we call lightning bugs. This is very recent, by the by, as we did not have a state insect when I was in school, nor when I taught school.
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To be honest, I was unaware anyone ever had a state insect…..
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I love how the statue’s ass is bathed in sunlight! Perfect!
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A happy coincidence…
😉
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