Before I left Yankeeland I figured I’d be down in Florida in about ten days. When I was still north of Wilmington, NC and only had about five days left according to plan with at least five days of things to see and two days of driving I gave up on plans entirely. But not before I attempted to make up some time by running a crash course of the Pamlico Sound area.
First I backtracked to Bath. First town in NC and a beautiful, quiet little backwater of a place. Took a nifty walking tour and saw some of the most beautiful scenery I had seen so far on the trip. But that’s about all there is to do so it’s on to the next stop.
Ran over to New Bern. Big Civil War town and the birthplace of Pepsi. I didn’t have time for anything more than having a Pepsi in the pharmacy in which it was invented and a short walk of about two blocks through town. Worth returning to, however.
Stopped by the Havelock, NC tourist center which has a pretty nifty display of Marine Aviation courtesy of Cherry Point MCAS, then headed out to the islands again.
Drove over to Fort Macon – another third system fort – for a quick tour and then thought I’d drive through Beaufort, NC before making the long haul to Wilmington. Traffic, however, disagreed with a monstrous backup onto and almost over the bridge between Beaufort and Morehead City. So much for that idea. I’d have liked to see Beaufort but not enough to sit in traffic for God knows how long when I’m on a tight schedule.
So it’s on south. With a quick stop at the Beirut Memorial outside Camp Lejeune I finally made it to Wilmington by seven PM after a very long day.