NYE in New Bern

Oh boy did I get up early today. Luckily I slept better but 5am came and my body was done resting. A hot shower in silence and some coffee brewed then allowed me to take in the slow sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.

These shots were taken just thirty minutes apart and you can see how much light floods into the space. A lot can change in thirty minutes; a good lesson in life and how things never stay the same.

Another busy morning with breakfast for the crew in our oceanfront condo. This place is amazing and I’d gladly come back in the summer…although I’m willing to bet that the crowds here in the summer might make it a less enjoyable stay. 

We hit the road, Katie with her anti-nausea wristbands, unfortunately for her, she is prone to motion sickness like me and my grandma. These wristbands seem to help! We stopped at Bodie Lighthouse before leaving the island and snapped a few photos in the chilly wind.

Our next stop was Tina and Tim’s house in Grifton, NC. They have just over ten acres, a bunch of fruit trees, chickens, a garden, and cute little homestead growing! We lunched on mozzarella sticks and chatted about making homemade tomato sauce, vanilla, and even growing loofahs which my sister has been doing!

After lunch, snacks, and jumping around in the farmland, we took off for New Bern which is our Airbnb for the next two nights. It’s a quaint little two bedroom cottage with some very sweet personal touches. We are currently comfy and doing some laundry before heading out for NYE.

And after a little chilling on the couch, some disc golf watching on YouTube, and eventually a Survivorman episode, we decided our tummies were hungry and we needed grub. We knew that the downtown area of New Bern was having a little New Year’s Eve bash tonight so we picked out a swanky upscale restaurant to ring in the new year and drove the one mile into town. It took quite a long time to get there because there seems to be a train transfer station right along the main road. We watched numerous cars go around the train arms that were clearly down while we watched the train conductor switch things around and flip the tracks. It was thoroughly entertaining but with our tummies growling we were getting a bit impatient. 

Eventually traffic got moving and we made it to my preselected restaurant that I spent time researching reviews and checking availability. I didn’t make a reservation though…and they were booked until 8pm. 

So off we went to walk around and see if we could find anything more desirable than a one and a half hour wait, and we stumbled upon a place called Harry’s Blind Tiger. We were seated immediately and ordered some drinks. The menu was shareable so all items were brought out when ready and we picked off of each others plates. Guys! It was amazing! We are so glad that the original dinner spot didn’t work out and we were able to have such tasty eats. Todd picked out the meatballs and polenta. Amazing. Katie got the rigatoni bolognese and it was determined at the end that it was the best. Em got the zucchini fries. Yummy. Jacob got the lamb ribs and it was good but a little too smokey for his taste. And we also ordered the fried artichokes which were delicious. 

Ugh, and as we neared the end of eating all of that, I read a Yelp review that said the pizza was the best they had ever had. So I ordered the figgy piggy which was six slices of delight for just $19. This was a premium quality Napoli thin crust pizza. We have three slices for leftovers and I’m eyeing them already for tomorrow. 

And dessert, well we ordered the apple fritters and vanilla gelato and shared which was a great idea because it was enough to make three small dessert plates for all of us to split (this was just one of the three plates). 

My goodness. Everything was so delicious and the service was amazing. The chef came out and asked us how the food was. We complimented him and his cooking skills. Apparently this place has only been open for a year and I hope they have a long future ahead of them. 

Afterward we walked the downtown street area in the chilly 40 degree air and checked out the music and energy. It really was a cute family friendly event. 

They even had this cute ball and timer to countdown the evening. How cute for a town that’s not much bigger than 30,000 people. That’s pretty small for a town with this kind of event. Super cool! 

And then we drove home and got stopped with the whole train debacle again. Then we watched a Trevor Noah comedy special and just relaxed. We hope you all had a nice New Year’s Eve!

Sunrise Over the Ocean

I slept poorly and woke early at 7am. And lo and behold, I see the sun just peeking over the ocean from the front of our condo. Sunrise was 7:13am and here it is…

My morning thoughts of travel were reflecting on how many new homes we saw on the drive from Virginia Beach to here in Kitty Hawk. It seemed like each one was 3,000sq ft or larger and all in the farmhouse style. Who is buying these mansions I wondered? Who is paying 600-800k because I checked Zillow and they aren’t cheap. New Yorkers apparently. And I don’t blame them one bit. My mom’s entire family left New York in the early 70’s and came to sunny California. I don’t think that anybody owns the land in any state. We are all just visitors on a journey. To each their own. 

First stop of the day was the aquarium and with our crew of 12. We had 10:30am reservations so after a breakfast of toaster waffles, sausage, and cantaloupe, we headed over ready to check out the fish!

It was a pretty cool aquarium and thankfully it was indoor because it is windy and that wind chill is no joke! We also learned about the USS Monitor which is a sunken ship off the coast of Virginia - it was a Navy Warship built during the Civil War and it seemed ironclad…until a storm toppled it. There is a great quote about how the storm outside isn’t what takes you down, but it’s the storm that gets inside you that can take you down. 

We also learned that this aquarium helps with turtles in the area that are struggling for whatever reason. They rehabilitate them and then release them back into the wild. That was a pretty cool aspect of the learning experience we had. 

Next up was the lost colony of Roanoke Island . If you aren’t familiar with this part of history, 120 people came over in 1587 and the leader of the group John White, left and came back in 1590 and the entire colony was gone with no trace left behind. It’s a mystery what happened to them but John White’s daughter had a baby while here and that baby is known as the first English born child in North America. Was Virginia Dare the first “American”? 🤔 

We missed the play which is from all accounts an awesome performance in the summer, but alas the winter months have things that are shut down. We also learned about how the north had won one of the first battles with the south on this island and they freed the people who were previously enslaved by the south. This gave other enslaved people the idea that if they could make it across the river, they’d be freed. 

We were hungry after all of the history lessons so we mapped out a great sandwich shop which did not disappoint. As soon as we arrived at Poor Richard’s we could tell it was popular since the line was nearly out the door. We waited patiently in line and ordered a plethora of different choices including a BLT, a hot Italian sub, a grilled cheese, and New England clam chowder. Everything was tasty but the BLT with avocado was the best in my opinion. All fresh and super yummy. 

Next was a stop by the grocery store for more coffee for the morning and maybe some snacks. I am really missing my illy coffee back home, which if you haven’t bought it before, they are amazing!!  Then a return to the condo for relaxing and hanging out. Card games, goofing around, and maybe a hot bath for the littlest one.

Many chats and card games later, some leftovers were eaten and a few pizzas ordered. Lots of fun and loud excitement over ice cream sandwiches from the freezer.  

Basketball was watched, NFL football started at 8pm…

BBQ and The OBX

Today we cleaned up and moved out of Virginia Beach. We packed up the Chrysler Pacifica rental van and headed thirty minutes south to Munden Point Park where they have 18 holes of disc golf waiting for us. This park had great reviews and we were blessed with a sunny day (our first on this trip). We had an interesting Amish crew in front of us playing through which was a sight you don’t see every day. And we met a few other players who agreed that this was a good course for us to check out on our travels. Todd got to use his Sidewinder which he got for his birthday  

I’ll attach the scorecard below so you can check out how the crew did. With my bum shoulder, I just watch and occasionally video for the youngest who have Instagram pages dedicated to their love of the sport. Recently Emily has even gotten a sponsorship from one company so she’s trying to produce more action packed vids for the gram 😜 

And after all of that exercise, our crew was in search of a late lunch (seems to be the norm for this vaca). While Sonic was about 30 minutes south, I figured that we could do that back home so I set my eyes on a well reviewed place called Pass the Salt. 

So of course I find the place on Yelp and while reading the reviews, I come across the meaning behind the name of their establishment. Guys, this spoke to me. Ignore the religious stuff if you need to but this spoke to me. We are all a different seasoning that the world needs. We are all a little different flavor and the earth needs that flavor to season it. It’s just such a great euphemism for how each of us is important, and different, and how each of us should be loved for just being who we are. 💕 

And guess what, it was closed. We drove to the front and saw the sign that said their family run place was closed until January 3rd and while I don’t blame them at all, I was really bummed that I didn’t get to meet these people. 

So back to the phone we went, how on earth did we travel without these amazing inventions, and while someone tried to convince me that McDonalds would suffice, I pushed on and found a BBQ joint called Currituck BBQ Company 8 minutes down the road. Guys, another hit!

We have been hitting the lottery with these eateries. It had 338 reviews and 4.5 stars so we hit them up and we didn’t regret it. I only wish I had seen the 5% off for checking in on Yelp before we paid the bill. Ah, my coupon saving self missed one!

So everything we ate was great. We can say that we came and tasted some Carolina BBQ, and we can also say we opted for the “normal” BBQ sauce. LOL. 

It doesn’t look fancy, and it wasn’t, but it was all delicious and was all eaten. Pulled pork, pulled chicken, brisket, and even some hush puppies  yum, yum, and yum. Todd also had everyone taste his green beans which were delicious.

Our next drive was mapped to Kill Devil Hills (odd name for a town might I add) to check out the Wright Brothers National Monument. As a mom, I see this as the epitome of what happens when siblings put their heads together to work on something. Whether it’s a plan to sneak out, a puzzle, or the perplexing curiosity of how to fly like a bird, when two heads are put together, they can figure stuff out! And boy did they! We enjoyed learning about how these brothers from Ohio came all the way down here to try out their flying machine. Not once or twice, but a few more hundred times until they figured it out. It’s really a monument to hard work and practice. 

There is a one mile round trip walk up the monument that was erected in 1932 to commemorate their hard work and success, a cool museum, and a store which always has an ornament for our Christmas tree.

And finally, the Airbnb where we met up with my sister and some of her crew for the next two days. We checked in and unpacked for a bit before heading out to see the ocean. Our place is oceanfront for the next two days so we will be enjoying this view for a bit.

Just over the sand dunes is the OBX (Outer Banks) ocean. And on the ocean is where we snapped a few family photos as the sun was just setting behind us. We saw them all in July but after being in the same state for most of our lives, living on opposite coasts has been an adjustment.

And lastly, as if this day needed more activity, the kids hung out in the living room and played card games while the adults went shopping for provisions. A delightful dinner of spaghetti and meatballs was made with delicious garlic bread. 

Cucumber and tomatoes were added in by Tina’s friend Dasha who is visiting from South Dakota. And they were a delicious addition as we do need to eat veggies on vacation. 

A shared bottle of wine and lots of lovely discussion on an array of topics rounded out the evening. Then half scored off to their condo while we showered and decompressed after traveling and exploring all day. Today was a good good day.

Norfolk Museum Day 4

After watching the Spaceforce tv show last night, Todd found an air and space museum up in Norfolk for us to check out. Before heading out a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and cinnamon raisin toast was devoured by our hungry crew. 

A short drive to Hampton led us to the nearly empty Air and Space Museum. We were able to see one of the Apollos that made it to the moon and returned. There was a large exhibit dedicated to the women that the movie Hidden Figures was based on. All of them lived in Hampton and did their mathematical research at Langsley Research Center. 

There were lots of cool planes and information about their development and improvements over the years. We ended our tour with a 40 minute IMAX film about caves and essentially we all learned that water caves are not for us but super cool to watch other people risk their lives for science. Essentially they were trying to study the water that is in these caves because it was from the ice age. Pretty interesting, but no takers from our group!

I thought this display was interesting about the rise of nose art with airplanes  

Afterward we had worked up an appetite and Yelp steered us to an Italian place called Mama Rosa’s Italian Family Restaurant. It was a find! Em got a calzone, Jacob had Philly Cheesesteak, Todd had Greek salad, Katie had a lunch special with two slices of pizza and fries, and I got the bruschetta. Everything was delicious and the bruschetta was some of the best I’ve had. Fresh and delicious! We were stuffed after eating and recapping the morning spent at the museum. 

Next up was an art museum called the Chrysler Museum of Art. It’s a free art museum and our art major Katie was impressed with the extensive exhibits and a few pretty well known artists. 

These are some that I found interesting. 

And this was in the glass art exhibit which was exquisite  the detail on these chess pieces was intricate and seemed to tell the story of the Catholic pope against the Jewish faith. If you look closely you’ll see the pope’s crown and the Jewish menorah. Emily is the one who deciphered this.  

And after all of that, some of us started sitting on benches because we were starting to wind down the energy bars. A quiet drive back to the condo commenced and in no time we were back on the couch watching a Netflix animated film called Leo..Something with Adam Sandler as the main character. It was pretty cute and was about class pets. 

I dozed off quite a bit during the film so I can’t tell you all of the plot, but it seemed cute. A dinner of cereal, toast, and snacks finished off the evening for some of us. We are still tired and looking forward to sleeping tonight. Why is traveling so exhausting?

And we wrapped up the evening with a full game of Five Crowns where Todd won. And then we played an online version of the board game Catan, which we received for Christmas and are already hooked. And again, Todd won. :/ Only after he stole a tree and stole longest road from me. Ugh. However, if your family is looking for some new games, we highly recommend both!

We did a late night run to Rite Aid for an Amazon locker delivery. This is a pretty cool service if you’re traveling. You just scan the code and get your package. Very cool! What were we picking up? A new duffle bag for Em since the strap on hers broke. Until tomorrow!

Drizzle, Discs, and Dining

Well we slept last night y’all. Boy did we sleep! I woke up at 9:07am which is unbelievable. I will say that I was the first one up and we were all exhausted from the long day of travels yesterday. 

After some showers, coffee with no sugar, (we will need to solve that issue later), and cereal, we checked the weather and although it said rain…we made the executive decision to try our luck with the weather and head out to a disc golf course. 

We were all excited to get out in nature and walk around. One of the beautiful things about disc golf is that it’s essentially hiking in the woods so you’re bathing in nature if you’ve ever heard of that concept. 

Disc golf is like ball golf with 18 holes. Jacob shot even par, Todd shot 9 up, Emily was 10 over, and Katie plays for fun 😉 but did par two holes! It only drizzled a bit and we all brought rain coats so all was well.

After our round of golf we drove to a lunch spot called Noodleman that has been voted best restaurant so we checked it out. Crowded! Always a good sign, right? Oh my. The wait was only about ten minutes and they have windows into the kitchen so you can see the guy “pulling” the noodles by hand. Super cool and entertaining. 

We ate everything we ordered and loved it all. No leftovers at all. 

With full tummies and big smiles, we mapped it to downtown Norfolk since we weren’t far from a cool spot Katie wanted to check out. A downtown square with a Taiwanese Pagoda. We noted that that the tall houses nearby looked pretty cool with three stories and probably about 2,400sq ft of space. I might have Zillowed them. About $635k. 

Anyway, the Pagoda was gifted to the city of Norfolk by Taiwan. 🇹🇼 

We had a nice walk around and enjoyed the riverfront area for a bit before heading east and checking out a park called Mount Trashmore. It’s a previous landfill with a park now built upon the huge mountains of trash. There is a sister park in Japan so I guess we aren’t the only ones with these bright ideas. And I have to say, I chuckled with this on the gps  

We literally saw a massive staircase and decided that our legs had already hiked enough for one day. 

We trekked back to the Airbnb for some Phase 10 and some relaxation. We watched two episodes of Spaceforce with Steve Carrell. Gotta say, pretty funny stuff. 

And since it was 6:30pm and some tummies were thinking about the distance to breakfast, Katie and I drove to a Chick-fil-A and grabbed a nugget tray with fries, along with some other provisions from a local grocery store and dinner was complete. 

And that’s it. We are cuddled on the couch watching an array of shows, currently Blown Away a show about glass blowing…we shall see how this ends. 

Foggy in Virginia Beach

We landed in Raleigh, NC around 8:15am today. I barely slept on the plane but a few small power naps gave me enough energy to get the rental van and map directions to a Panera for breakfast. I must say, I prefer my Starbucks coffee, but their breakfast sandwiches are quite tasty. 

After sitting down and feasting for a bit, we set out with our gps set on Virginia Beach, Virginia. So yes, we’ve been in three states just today!

I drove and listened to my new book for a while before I made the wise decision to let Todd drive and take a much needed nap. I was able to crash for a bit while he drove us into Virginia Beach. Luckily our AirBnb allowed us to check in early and we gladly did!

After dropping our bags and getting a lay of the place, we opened our phones and looked for a pizza joint. Virginia Beach is clearly in the dead season right now. We’ve been to Florida during the warmer months and it’s crowded and busy. This is not that. But it’s also nice to be able to find parking and not have so much traffic. 

However, the downside is that this beach area seems to have a lot of restaurants that are closed. We did find a pizza joint that is probably packed in the summer and dreading of the great Yelp reviews. We, however, didn’t find the need to write home about that pizza except for the fact that the slices were huge!

We took a little walk down to the beach and found ourselves blanketed in fog. We are hoping that the weather clears up later during our three day stay here so we can enjoy a bit of the beach. 

Our next stop was a Walmart pick up order for provisions and a little walk around Walmart to find anything else we might fancy. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the couch watching Puss n Boots and me dosing off periodically. Eventually we switched to a few episodes of Arrested Development since a few in the party hadn’t seen it before. And before we knew it, some tummies were growling and Yelp pointed us to a Mexican Place away from the waterfront and back toward Walmart…which seemed like a good bet since the reviews were great. 

And boy was it great! We were all excited for the table made guacamole and delicious meals. We even have a few leftovers for another day. Our tummies were completely full as we headed out and drove the 8 minutes back to our place. 

But wait, a pit stop! We noticed some lights along the boardwalk earlier and now that it was dark out, we decided to check them out. This turned out to be a road from 1st to 30th street so it took a good 45 minutes to drive through it. It cost $25 but was well worth it for the long drive and we were so lucky the dog had rolled out. The lights kept changing and getting more intricate. It was a cool find! Yelp reviews are pretty sketchy but it was worth the $25  

And that’s it for day 1! We are showering, digesting food, and looking forward to our pillows and a good nights rest.