Our first day in North Carolina was spent in the Outer Banks where we visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk to see the location of the first flight of an airplane in 1903 and the impressive monument commemorating the event. Next, we drove to Roanoke Island and toured the Elizabethan Gardens where the Hydrangea were in full bloom. Right next to the gardens we also stopped at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, which preserves part of the 1584 English settlement which was the first in the New World. After a wonderful dinner of seafood and hush puppies at Dirty Dick’s Crab House, we ended our day by watching the sunset on the beach, playing in the sand, and watching Elizabeth try to outrun the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
At Cape Hatteras National Seashore we visited Bodie Island Lighthouse, which is over 150 years old. Benjamin was able to climb to the top of the lighthouse while Tiffany and Elizabeth explored the grounds, visitor center, and light keeper’s house. We also made a stop at Coquina Beach. Heading inland, we stopped in the town of Plymouth and saw the Roanoke River Lighthouse before driving south to New Bern to see the birthplace of Pepsi Cola (invented by Caleb Bradham in his pharmacy in 1898). We finished the day by driving south and spending the night in Morehead City.
The next day we took the Island Express Ferry to Cape Lookout National Seashore. We saw several wild horses on the Shackleford Banks, as well as Cannonball Jellyfish. Elizabeth’s highlight of the trip was renting an ATV and riding up and down the beaches of Cape Lookout picking up tons of impressive shells. The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is also over 150 years old and was an impressive sight. Even though the day started out dreary, the sun came out and we all had a great time enjoying the seashore.
In the Wilmington area we hiked the History Trail through Moores Creek National Battlefield, then walked the Wilmington Downtown Riverwalk along the Cape Fear River where we saw the large Battleship North Carolina and the Wilmington Railroad Museum which had Atlantic Coast Line steam engine #250 on display. We finished the day with a great dinner at Fat Tony’s Italian Pub.
Our final day in North Carolina we visited family in Raleigh, drove by the North Carolina State Capitol (which was unfortunately under construction), then drove north through Durham and out of the state.
We drove to Charlotte, then headed west to Asheville where we drove the Blue Ridge Parkway to the entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the park, we toured the Mountain Farm Museum, Mingus Mill, and Cliff Branch Falls. We also drove to Clingmans Dome where we hiked to the observation tower, which is also the highest point on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. After the hike, we drove to Newfound Gap and finished visiting the rest of the park.