Pawtucket then down the East Coast
/From Richmond, we hightailed it back to Pawtucket. It was almost Christmas and there was much to do. Lin and I are alike in many ways. We are planners, list makers, and coordinators. We planned our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus and all associated activities, then created to-do and shopping lists. We scheduled shared baking and cooking chores and cookie making time with the little ones.
We fit in time for some thrifting and last minute shopping and finally it was time to celebrate. We were so involved in the celebration (and requisite mimosas), no photos were taken. Sigh! And in a flash, Christmas was over and we were heading back to Las Vegas… the slow way… the very slow way.
We’d been rushing, it seemed, since we left Las Vegas or at least moving faster than we liked. It was time to slow down and smell the roses, not to mention make every effort to actively avoid winter weather. We retraced our route through Pennsylvania where cold and sleet greeted us.
There were sights I wanted to see here in Pennsylvania … Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, home of the world famous groundhog, for instance. And the Flight 93 National Memorial was on my list for a stop to pay our respects. Then there was the Jimmy Stewart Museum and the Zippo/Case Museum, and last, but not least, Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium with more than 12,000 elephant collectibles on display, as well as a “massive” PEZ display and a teapot museum within the museum. The weather, however, portended to worsen and we changed our course and headed east and south down to the Carolinas. All of these Pennsylvania wonders would have to wait for another visit. Don’t think for a moment that I’ll forget though.
We spent an unremarkable evening in a nondescript hotel in Delaware and the next morning headed further south. Each degree south brought us a little warmer temperatures and a little more sunshine. We took our first opportunity to stop at a North Carolina visitor center to pick up a state road map and get some local information about places to visit. New Bern sounded like a good place to stop for lunch and proved to be a delightful little town.
Our first stop was Bradham’s Pharmacy, a corner drugstore and the unlikely birthplace of Pepsi-Cola… I kid you not. We checked out the store and beyond all the Pepsi tchotchkes, memorabilia and kitschy souvenirs, there was actually some pretty interesting information including the original Pepsi formula. We had a Pepsi at the soda fountain and continued on our way.
Just in case you want to whip up a big batch of Pepsi some day.
We wandered around New Bern’s attractive downtown streets window shopping and peeking into the festive shops and boutiques, noting as we walked, large art-adorned bear statues on many street corners. We decided to figure out why all the bears. We found our answer at the friendly visitor center. We were told that New Bern was founded in 1710 by folks from Bern, Switzerland, “which was a city named after the first animal a group of hunters came upon… a bear.” On New Bern’s 300th anniversary, the bear was adopted as the city’s mascot…hence the bears on the corners… more than 70 these days. We were provided with a bear location map and tracked down a few… akin to searching out lobsters in Rockland, boots in Cheyenne or mermaids in Norfolk.
We drove on down the coast enjoying snatches of ocean views at Morehead City. We considered heading out to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, but thought better of it and instead continued on into South Carolina and spent the night in Georgetown. A sunny, warm day and a small, coastal Sampit River town beckoned us for a morning stroll.
Along the boardwalk, signs warned of gators.
The visitor center staff was friendly and helpful, suggesting a walk on the Harborwalk and providing a map of the historic homes in town. Founded in 1729 by English settlers, Georgetown flourished with its rice and indigo crops. The town was mostly spared from the ravages of the Civil War and hence, the historic homes prevailed although the grand agrarian lifestyle was greatly altered with the abolition of slavery.
We began our town tour on the Harborwalk, wandering past the marina and remembering nostalgically the times we had spent here with Nine of Cups. Along Front Street we ducked inside Bluebird Vintage, an upscale, nicely displayed furniture consignment shop with an interesting inventory and very reasonable prices. If only we had a truck with us… and needed more furniture. Darn, there’s always something, huh?
The historic houses were majestic, reflecting the prosperity of the times in which they were built. The streets were tree lined and the grounds were gorgeous. We owned an 1862 historic home in Wisconsin once, and though we reckon it was our favorite house ever, we also remembered the issues of upkeep and maintenance and quickly dispelled any notion of owning such a home again. On we walked till finally we had made the full circle and headed back to the car to resume our travels south once more.
So far, we had been lucky, staying ahead of the cold and bad weather. We spent a night in Brunswick, Georgia, the pungent, acrid smell of the paper mills strong in the air, then continued on to Tallahassee where we popped a champagne cork (or two) to welcome in the new year.
Other than a photo of the Florida State Capitol building (above) as we drove by, we did nothing for two days in Tallahassee, but veg out, eat Chinese food and drink champagne. A decadent, but delightful way to welcome 2022.
We still had no inclination to rush home and subsequently hatched a plan to hug the Gulf Coast and head to San Antonio. We found some energy and lots to do along the way. Check in next time for a walk to a haunted bridge and a taste of the Florida trail.