Traveling Through North Carolina

After the travails of the RV and the driveshaft and seeing the sights of eastern Virginia, we traveled south, excited to head into true Southern Living.

The landscape was similar, with a lot of greenery and trees, but there was SO much water! Oh my gosh! Everything was saturated. Not having been here before we didn’t know this was NOT normal. The Carolinas have been inundated with rain, almost 100 inches of rain since August, almost double their normal amount. Water, water everywhere….. But it does keep everything very green….

Our first taste of the true south came while traveling along Hwy 17 through Windsor, NC. We had just been discussing how different North Carolina BBQ is when we came across Bunn’s BBQ right on Hwy 17. Without realizing it, we had stumbled upon a famous (for locals anyway) BBQ joint that has been a favorite since 1938. It was a converted 30’s gas station that has been flooded and rebuilt several times. It was packed with people with more coming in, (which is a good sign of good food) so we thought we’d just get a bite to-go.

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But the friendly ladies behind the counter brought us to another room and graciously had us sit for lunch. The food was SOOOOO good! The BBQ pork was excellent and was made in the traditional southern style using a vinegar-based sauce.

The cornbread was so different than what I’m used to, but was really tasty. It was thinner, more like flat bread with good structure (enough to hold the BBQ pork in a sandwich), not very sweet at all and the best part, a bit crunchy. Yum! We can’t wait to try making this style of cornbread ourselves. The coleslaw was also different, finely shredded with more vinegar and much less creamy and sweet than other slaws I’ve tasted. Eric loved it and vowed to make some for us.

Back on the road, we continued down the country-like Hwy 17 and found a small RV park right on the water of the intercoastal waterways at Surf City, NC near Wilmington.

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It had been raining earlier in the day, but clouds began to break as we arrived to our site just in time for the most gorgeous sunset. I had to snap a few photos and take time to enjoy the beauty and a glass of wine.

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One of the best parts about heading south? Not having to skirt the RV to avoid freezing the pipes and tanks. Yes! We are so happy to be in warmer weather… This particular RV spot was so nice we opted to stay for two nights, plus there was plenty to do and see.

The next day, we headed to the small strip of land between the intercoastal waterways and the Atlantic to enjoy some sand and sea with the pups; then we headed for Wilmington, a historic Southern town with beautiful homes and a wonderful, well-maintained waterfront walkway.

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There were many preserved, civil war era homes so pristine and beautiful. It was obviously a town of wealthy people; merchants, shipping companies and import/exporters. Wilmington sits right on the Cape Fear river, so it had/has easy access to the ocean and the many ports.

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One of the highlights of the afternoon was finding a French Cafe, Le Catalan, serving Croque Monsieur, a delicious French dish, similar to a ham and cheese sandwich but covered in mornay cream sauce and gruyere cheese; we paired it with a glass of French Rose and sat outside with the pups, enjoying the warm sunshine and lovely view of the river. Delightful!

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After lunch, we walked through the town, taking in the beautiful homes and buildings and imagining what it could have been like 150 years ago. We stopped by the ‘Bellamy House’, a restored antebellum house, complete with slave quarters which is very rare to see still intact. We spent some time wandering the grounds and inside the slave quarters.

It was somewhat surreal to see where they lived and to try to imagine their conditions and way of living. And these were living quarters for the urban slaves, who probably had better conditions than their counterparts who worked the plantations. I cannot imagine the squalor they had to endure.

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We spent our second night at the Lanier’s Campground RV park, enjoying the sunset and the water.

We continued to travel south, though South Carolina and on to Florida. I was so excited to check out Charleston and the history there. Stay tuned for our post on our Charleston excursion and more of our southern travels.

As always, thanks for reading and remember ‘Someday is ….today’!