Tag Archives: vacation

When in Manteo…..

February 14, 2020 Rivergirl 33 Comments

Granted, it’s not Rome.

But Manteo, North Carolina has an interesting history all it’s own.

Manteo is located on Roanoke Island, site of the famous Lost Colony.

A very brief history is here.

Living in North Carolina you encounter cities, towns, streets, schools, sports teams, forests, streams, hospitals etc. etc. with the names Raleigh, Virginia Dare and Croatan. Do we know for certain what happened to those early colonists?

No, we do not.

But after visiting this National Park, reading the history and having one extremely long conversation with a Park Ranger…. I wondered why it was a mystery at all.

We stood at the exact site of that early fort.

Granted, there wasn’t much to see.

A few humpa humpas and a sign.

There was also a squirrel with a very large nut, but I’m guessing he wasn’t an original 16th century squirrel.

Walking around the park we did find a theater where they hold seasonal plays.

Weird diving board not withstanding…

It didn’t hold our attention for long…..

Even with the interesting tree branches….

And lovely old live oaks.

Back at the visitor center I learned the whole story and basically, it goes like this.

The first English settlers arrived in 1585. They were a military group sent by Sir Walter Raleigh to colonize the New World. They built a fort, the effort failed, they returned to England.

The second group of settlers landed in 1587. This consisted of approx 120 men, women and children. They figured they would fish for food…. but none of them were fishermen. Great plan!They met friendly Indians who totally supported and fed them for 2 years until a drought in the 3rd year left the Indians barely enough to feed themselves. The English were ticked off that the gravy train had run out, so they slaughtered the chief and stole his food. Thus ending the friendly relationship with the native population.

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Disease, famine, and a harsh winter all took their toll. When Governor John White sailed back to England for supplies, he had no idea a war with Spain was about to start…. and didn’t make it back for 3 years. When he returned, the colony was deserted. The only clue? The word Cro scratched into a tree and Croatan scratched into a post.

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Did the Indians kill all the colonists? Maybe… but I doubt it.

The Croatan were a local tribe with a history of assimilating other peoples into their society. Later English settlers spoke of meeting blue eyed Indians.

Where’s the mystery? Sick and starving, the remaining colonists set out to find the friendly Indians and scratched Croatan as a message to those who followed.

Blue eyed natives?

What do you think they were doing for those 3 years.

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See? There are memes about it…

It must be true.

Anyway…. the visitor center had some interesting items.

And I adore old maps. This way there be monsters….

Liz was there.

As was Walt….

But how about that ceiling?

Made my neck hurt just thinking about painting it.

And the walls?

Were not just any old walls.

Yes, I’m really blogging about walls.

Just go with it.

A pineapple…

And a flying fish (painted by none other than Governor John White, the only unlost member of the Lost Colony) later…..

We left Roanoke.

Drove back through the Outer Banks…

Just in time for me to try and snap some sunset pics at 85mph.

That didn’t work well.

But the sun was perfectly poised on the horizon…

As we went over the bridge…

And headed back to the mainland.

Two hours into the 3 hour trip back we stopped at Cracker Barrel for a quick dinner. You’ve all been there, no pictures required.

But country fried turkey? Definitely reminded me we were in the south.

They’ll fry anything!

Last photo of the day is that weirdo building in Virginia I asked about previously.

Although this time it was quite colorful as we went by.

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Elizabethan Gardens… Manteo, Outer Banks North Carolina

February 13, 2020 Rivergirl 28 Comments

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.

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Jennette’s Pier Part 2…. and some fish whispering.

February 12, 2020 Rivergirl 25 Comments

By the time we reached the end of the pier and turned around? We were walking icicles from the frigid wind…

And I think the husband was starting to rethink this whole marriage thing.

I kept telling him it was a beautiful, brisk, clear day….

And he kept stifling his impulse to heave me over the side.

Yes, like that.

Heading back to the building we followed red memorial fish…

Agreed wholeheartedly with a turtle….

And discovered there was a miniature aquarium inside.

Fish are wonderful.

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And sometimes wonderfully strange.

I always wonder what the heck they’re thinking.

Here’s my husband, the Fish Whisperer, having a moment.

It’s odd. He sidles up next to a tank and they flock to him….

Which allows me to get some fun shots.

Is it me…

Or is that an awfully small head for such a large body?

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Interspecies communing over, I thought about trying to get the husband to walk the beach with me…

But I was envisioning another wife with a bad idea buried under that mound of sand and called it good.

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Jennette’s Pier, Nags Head North Carolina…. cold wind, cursing, birds and the death of a hairdo.

February 11, 2020 Rivergirl 28 Comments

Continuing farther down the coast of the Outer Banks, I wanted to stop and walk out on a pier.

(Have I mentioned that I have a knack for picking the coldest, windiest, most frigid days to do this? Seriously… it’s a gift. If there’s one bitter cold day on an otherwise delightfully warm 2 week vacation? That’s the one I’ll choose to walk out on a pier.)

There’s the husband, bracing himself against the wind and giving me (and my phone) the evil eye.

And there’s the entrance to Jennette’s Pier, the biggest and best in Nags Head.

Gladly.

This type… and the other. It was too damn cold for either of them.

Approaching the entrance…. you don’t follow a yellow brick road.

But a line of memorial blue fish.

I love this idea!

A quick peek at the beach…

The map…

And me mumbling ‘Holy Crap it’s freezing! Can you read the pier history a little faster please?’

A quick peek at the beach on the other side.

Through the gate…

Past the turtle.

And finally, the door…

Where the husband had to hold on to his hat so it didn’t fly off.

It was that windy.

A brief warm respite inside to pay the $2 ticket price and out we went.

As piers go?

It rocked.

Even the birds agreed.

These guys were everywhere.

Fighting the wind just like us.

Hairdo?

Not so much.

So we walked….

Shivering in the arctic blast…. with the husband cursing me under his breath.

Good times.

Every now and then there would be a wind break where we’d huddle to catch our breath.

And then finally, we reached the end.

Where the husband realized we had to walk back, into the wind…. and started cursing me under his breath all over again.

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Day 6…. The Outer Banks, Jerky, and Dirty Dicks.

February 10, 2020 Rivergirl 20 Comments

During the 17 years we lived in North Carolina, we never managed to make it to the Outer Banks… though not for lack of trying on my part. So on Day 6 of this vacation? A three hour road trip.

Past the Lamberts Point Coal Terminal in Hampton Roads…

The largest coal exporting port in the country.

And if you think it’s pretty? Just imagine how nice it smells….

Yes. Kind of like that.

Over and through the Hampton Bay Bridge Tunnel…

And past some tempting tourist attractions.

Is it shocking we didn’t stop?

jerky

No.

It is not.

One more very long bridge later….

And we were there.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The Graveyard of the Atlantic.

200 miles of beach.

Where the wind was so fierce it was blowing said beach right across the road when we got there.

It had been a mild 48 degrees in Williamsburg, but here?

It felt like minus 12.

Beachfront condos and rentals were everywhere.

And in every color you can imagine.

Neighbor’s roof blocking your view?

No worries, just build a deck on yours.

It never ceases to amaze me how little property they can build on these days. Our town has a 3 acre minimum….

At the Outer Banks? It must be 3 inches.

And though we were getting hungry for lunch…

Awful Arthur’s was closed.

Damn… and I really wanted to see how awful it was.

But since we have a good friend named Richard, who is sometimes called Dick?

We had to.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.

I got my crabs from Dirty Dicks.

My She Crab soup that is….

And my hushpuppies….

And my Ocean Blue Margarita in a disappointing plastic cup as they had run out of funny bar glasses…. or so we thought.

I’m not a Bloody Mary fan…. but that looks like a meal in itself.

The husband had mussels and lamented over not getting a glass for his collection.

(Oh, did I tell you? Along with all the other ~~ridiculous pieces of crap~~ things he collects… he has now decided to acquire a glass from every fun bar or restaurant we visit.)

Did this place qualify as fun?

I don’t know….

But with fried potato salad on the menu it definitely qualified as southern.

Finished eating, the husband asked the waitress to rinse out the plastic cups so he could bring them home to our friend as a joke…. which is when she pointed to us to their entire store of Dirty Dick merchandise.

We should have known.

But it was too good to pass up and we bought him a hat, a t shirt and a bumper sticker for Christmas.

(P.S… He loved them)

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Day 5… a trip to Virginia Beach, a long lunch and a lot of alcohol.

February 9, 2020 Rivergirl 42 Comments

Our 5th day had us meeting the ex wife of an old Marine Corps buddy. There’s a long sordid story that goes along with this statement, but suffice it to say you never really know anyone. Honestly, you don’t.

The man we’d been friends with for over 35 years? The one we thought was honest, trustworthy and stable? Is now on his third wife, estranged from his children, drowning in debt, filing bankruptcy for the second time (while working as an accountant for the Federal Government) and being sued by his own lawyer for fraud. Did I mention he lies like a rug and told wife #2 that wife #1 accused him of having an affair with me?

I mean come on.

I know I like to drink…. but I think I would have remembered that!!

Needless to say it was a verrrrry long lunch.

But I’d never been to Virginia Beach before so we took a little scenic drive before heading to the restaurant.

My first impression?

Busy and crowded.

With the typical big city high rise hotels lining the road near the ocean.

Complete with all that ticky tacky crap I hate, designed to suck your wallet dry.

In other words, it’s similar to Atlantic City, Myrtle Beach and numerous other places we’ve visited along the Florida coast.

No thanks. You’ve seen one you’ve seen ’em all.

Even this gang of tropical fish escaping the surf and heading for the highway didn’t make it more appealing.

aaa

We drove down a few side streets to check out the houses near the shore…

Which was nerve wracking in that behemoth of a vehicle the husband had rented.

Seriously, it took up the entire street.

We found a few pretty spots, but overall? Being jammed right up next to your neighbor is not where I want to live…. waterfront or not.

So, lunch.

Was at a place called Rockafeller’s right on the water.

We got there early.

Okay, really early.

But at least we didn’t have to wait for a table with a view.

I have to admit I got a kick out of the illustrated cocktail menu.

I’m guessing this is for when you’ve had too many and can no longer enunciate properly.

If you can smile and point?

You’re not too drunk to serve.

This is the Mojito, which shouldn’t have been yellow but was tasty all the same.

One drink in, we spotted some fishermen bringing in their catch.

It doesn’t get much fresher than that.

Two drinks in, our friend arrived and we talked, and talked, and talked.

Or rather, she talked and we did a lot of listening.

And drinking.

Did I mention there were multiple pages of cocktail lists?

Maybe Virginia Beach isn’t so bad after all.

3 hours in we figured we’d better eat.

Crab and shrimp hushpuppies sounded like a good way to start…

They were huge, not at all like hush puppies and absolutely horrible.

Flavorless wads of fried dough. If there was shrimp or crab? I never found it. The husband had an equally bad platter of steamed shrimp. Which is hard to screw up, but they did, so I went the safe route…

And ordered a chicken Caesar salad…. which turned out to be practically chickenless.

I imagine even the mosiac Santa dolphin out front would have tasted better. But it was a good time and nice to see our friend.

So we left Virginia Beach…

And headed back to Williamsburg…

Wondering who Willoughby was and why he was spitting.

First stop? A decent place for dinner.

And proof that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Tucked in the back of a very ordinary looking strip mall was a wonderful little Italian place…. that I can’t remember the name of to save my life.

But the garlic knots were to die for… light as air.

And my cheese tortellini alfredo with chicken, broccoli and sun dried tomatoes?

Ooh la la! So rich I had to take half back to the resort.

(I hope this quiets you food screamers. Two meals in one post. Now hush!)

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Mariners’ Museum 5…. toys, a submarine, weapons, an Enigma and a 3D coral reef.

February 8, 2020 Rivergirl 25 Comments

I realize this is the 5th post of our trip to the museum, but fear not…. it will also be the last.

Oh, stop being so dramatic and admit you learned something. Even if it was just how to use seashell toilet paper.

We’d spent all day roaming these halls and closing time was approaching before we were even a quarter of the way through.

So we literally trotted from exhibit to exhibit.

Vintage naval toys?

Check!

The hull of the Oracle that won the 33rd America’s Cup in 2010?

A ginormous check!

Submarine cutout?

Got it.

WWII memorabilia?

Yup. Tons…

They even had an Enigma!

How cool is that?

If you haven’t seen The Imitation Game about the life of Alan Turing, the man who broke the unbreakable code and then tragically took his own life… with an apple?

You should.

Teddy Roosevelt was there…

As was this precious little sword wielding cherub.

Because yeah…. what could go wrong with that?

There was too much to see…

And too little time.

Look… interesting, not to mention decorative, ways to kill people!

And I didn’t have a chance to read all the details.

And that.

What was that?

I don’t know!

Because the husband was bound and determined to watch the 3D movie about the coral reef before they closed. So we ran to the theater, put on our plastic glasses and found a good spot to watch and take pictures.

Until this woman moved seats and put her head in front of my lens.

Rude. Very rude.

The Great Barrier coral reef?

Beautiful.

The Great Barrier coral reef in 3D after I moved away from the back of that woman’s head?

Stunning.

It looked like all these little things were reaching out for you….

And I swear the husband jumped a foot when he thought this fellow was right beside him.

Beautiful. No two ways about it.

So that was it.

We spent 8 full hours in the museum that day….

And were too tired to go out to eat.

Oh, stop screaming.

We got Chinese take out and went back to the condo.

The absolute worst Chinese takeout I think I’ve ever had… but there.

Still a food picture.

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Mariners’ Museum 4…. in miniature.

February 7, 2020 Rivergirl 17 Comments

The next section of the museum was fascinating if you’ve ever been a fan of model ships.

Growing up I had a friend whose father had a passion for it, and while his were lovely….

There were nothing like the ones on display here.

Case after case of fabulous ships.

Even the most famous ship of all.

Complete with icebergs…

There was even a model of a ……

Yeah, I had no clue what it was either.

Anyway you look at it, they were all impressive. But when the docent asked us if we’d been in the masterclass room yet…

I realized there was a whole other level of craftsmanship.

These models?

Were simply works of art.

The detail was almost unbelievable.

I’d never heard of Mr. Crabtree….

But my proverbial hat was off to him.

I can’t even imagine the patience it took to create these beauties.

They were exquisite.

And if that doesn’t knock your socks off?

Oh, come on.

That’s crazy!

Bravo August.

You certainly did that…

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Mariners’ Museum 3…. some sweetness and a little toilet humor.

February 6, 2020 Rivergirl 28 Comments

Yes, we’re still at the museum. But this post should make everyone smile.

Done with the Civil War Ironclad section….

Oh, stop. You learned something… and that’s never a bad thing.

We saw a large board filled with children’s drawings.

Every child that visits is encouraged to add one and some of them were wonderful.

We saw it too, and yes…. it was.

This one melted my heart for obvious reasons.

And this one made me laugh. They love the water, but have a ship marked with a big red X so the circling sharks can find them.

Nicely done little Peter Benchley.

And then, because I teased it on yesterday’s post…. some toilet humor.

Since we’d spent half the day exploring the museum, I had need of the ladies room where I found this on the inside of my stall door.

How great is this?

Not the latrine duty, that had to suck… but reading historic toilet facts while you’re on the toilet? Pretty great.

You don’t often find that kind of symmetry in life.

It must be celebrated when you do.

So you know I had to go stall to stall and photograph them all.

(Apologies to the woman in the last stall. I wasn’t stalking you… really. I just needed a picture.)

Ouch indeed.

Now that’s historical trivia at it’s best. Impress your friends the next time you play Jeopardy.

You’re welcome.

There you have it.

Proof positive museums can be fun.

Or at the very least, museum restrooms can.

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Mariners’ Museum 2… the movies, the Monitor and the turret.

February 5, 2020 Rivergirl 18 Comments

So class, yesterday we learned about the CSS Virginia and how most people call her by the incorrect name of…..?

The Merrimack.

Sure you do… you just haven’t realized it yet.

It’s okay. I’ll wait.

Today, we’re going to the movies.

In a surround sound theater that promised an ‘edge of your seat exciting’ depiction of the Ironclad battle.

“You’ll feel like you’re right there!” exclaimed the docent.

Yeah.

About that…

It was a cartoon.

An informative cartoon, I grant you…

But a cartoon all the same. And even with the rolling smoke that issued from the walls and floor…. I didn’t feel any more there than I did watching Bugs Bunny as a child.

Oh well, there were better things ahead.

Like the USS Monitor… famous for her spinning gun turret.

Is it me, or does that thing look like a drunken owl?

She was built in 100 days, which was an amazing accomplishment for the time.

And the museum faithfully recreated what the officer’s quarters looked like upon completion.

Not too shabby.

If a wee bit small.

There were lots of interesting artifacts to examine.

As well as photos of the men who served aboard her.

Of course, being me…. you know I had to find some reference to alcoholic refreshment.

And then, in the next section of the museum….

A replica of the recovered Monitor’s turret.

The original is currently on site and being slowly and painstakingly preserved. Read about it’s discovery and journey to Newport News here.

This was basically what it looked like on the ocean floor.

All that rusty metal! You know my other half was thrilled….

But one of the most impressive aspects of this museum’s exhibit?

A life size USS Monitor right outside.

Of course it was raining and they advised you not to walk on her slippery deck….

So that’s exactly what we did.

Stand on the bow of an Ironclad?

Uh… yes. I will!

Husband even rung the turret’s bell for good measure.

Cool beans!

And if that wasn’t awesome enough? Back inside and down a flight stairs….

Took you inside the turret.

And literally inside the ship itself.

Admittedly the engines and engineering diagrams were above my pay grade.

But the display really gave you a feel for the ship.

And my inner history nerd was sighing with satisfaction.

We did climb up to the observation landing to peer into the lab where the original pieces of the ship are being restored, but it was just giant vats of seawater with electrical current running through them.

Not very photo worthy, so I’ll spare you the shots.