It’s that time again. The holidays have passed and as winter sets in, Jim and I have the urge to migrate like the birds. We have a great line-up of accommodations that will offer warmer locations to hang our hats for a couple of months and give us the opportunity to see new places, visit family, and spend time in the sunshine.

Note: Now that we’re back home to residual snow, temps in the low 40s, and a whole lot of brown, I can relive the warmth as I work on this series of posts. So let’s get started!

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.

Go with the Flow

After a hotel overnight, our first stop of this road trip was a stay at our friends’ house in North Carolina. They gave us a heads-up that they were both feeling a little icky and long story short, we ordered up two nights in Gatlinburg, TN to give them more time to recuperate. It worked out nicely since MountainLoft is one of our favorite stops in the Smoky Mountains, and near my cousin’s hometown so we could meet up for lunch on our way by.

I became a little obsessed with the view from our balcony when the clouds and mist added an ominous feel to the early morning. We eased into this road trip with some delicious comfort food, a stop at the Beer Wine Liquor Superstore (for research purposes), and a gorgeous sunset to entice us to return again soon.

New Bern: Great Town, Not-So-Great Accommodations

After a wonderful visit with our friends, we arrived in New Bern, NC for our first week-long stay of this roadtrip. Sandcastle Village was dated and tired, and although our unit was huge, it was old and pretty dingy. We tried to stay upbeat, but as much as we enjoyed New Bern, if we return we will not be staying here.

Our location did have one redeeming quality – the pond outside our unit was beautiful and offered awesome reflections on its still water. In the early evening, it was particularly impressive and ducks and geese seemed to enjoy that time of day as much as I did. As hard as I tried, I could not get a good picture of them, since as I slowly moved forward – they slowly moved away. My zoom lens got a good workout and the results were not good on the waterfowl shots.

Out and About in New Bern

After getting settled in, our first evening out was a trip to The Brown Pelican for Mellow Monday with local singer Alisa E. Mike (left), who sang a wide range of songs that spanned at least seven decades!

We had a great time with the bartenders trying to remember who originally sang the songs. Some came to us quickly, while others took a google or two. It didn’t take long to realize that New Bern was a very friendly town and we had a blast! The place ended up with standing room only, and even two local’s dogs were welcome to share in the fun.

Cedar Grove Cemetery

The next day was pretty dreary, but we did a swipe through New Bern to check it out. We made a couple of stops so I could take a few pictures and before long, the wind kicked up. Once the rain kicked up too, we called it quits for the day. We returned on a sunny day so we could explore some more and get some better photos – although the cemetery photos seemed pretty cool in the gloom. Cedar Grove Cemetery was established in 1800 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Union Point Park

What a difference a day makes! The gazebo and waterfront photos were taken at Union Point Park. This six-acre park is located at the confluence of the Neuse (noose) and Trent Rivers, which makes for a beautiful view of the Neuse River Bridge. We ended up on that bridge every time we left our condo, and it was tricky to navigate at first with on- and off-ramps galore. Click on the link to see a great arial view of the bridge.

The gazebo is not only beautiful (and handy during rainstorms), it also serves as a great venue for musical performances, award ceremonies, and other city events. The park has plenty of benches, picnic tables, and grills for a great day in the sunshine.

“Brad’s Drink” Becomes Pepsi-Cola in 1898

“Beginning in 1893, New Bern pharmacist Caleb Bradham developed and began serving a carbonated drink he called “Brad’s Drink.” He served the beverage from the soda fountain in his pharmacy at the corner of Pollock and Middle Streets.

As a pharmacist who had undergone some medical training, Bradham believed in the health, energy and digestive benefits of his sweet and bubbly brew, which originally included the enzyme pepsin and the cola nut. It is likely that these ingredients resulted in the renaming of the drink, although at some point pepsin was removed from the formula.” ~ READ MORE

Although the cost was quite a bit more than the 5 cents displayed on the vintage mirror behind the counter, we just had to enjoy an ice cold Pepsi at its birthplace! Caleb Bradham is one of the “notable burials” at Union Grove Cemetery (above).

New Bern Firemen’s Museum

“Established in 1955, the New Bern Firemen’s Museum is a unique experience! Bring the kids for an educational and fun day of learning! Find out about New Bern’s fire history and special programs. Learn about the oldest fire company in the state, experience the Great Fire of ’22 which destroyed over 1,000 buildings in downtown, talk to Fred, the beloved fire horse, and be part of something unlike any other!” ~ READ MORE

Although this museum was closed until March, I was able to peek in the garage door windows to see some of its interior and put my cell phone against the glass for a couple of shots. This is definitely a place to visit for a blast from the past. I wish it would have been open for our visit.

Speaking of Bears…

When we saw “No Burn Bear” at the Firemen’s Museum above, I remembered seeing a couple more bears, which lead to finding a few more. It turns out the nonprofit Bear Town Bears recruited local artists to hand-paint life-size fiberglass, ceramic bears. They were sponsored and adopted by local businesses during New Bern’s 300th anniversary in 2010. There is a list of all EIGHTY locations at the link. That would be quite the scavenger hunt – a challenge I may have taken if we had more time.

Below are “Bearon de Graffenried” (founder of historic New Bern) and “Greenzly”, both located at Union Point Park. “Captain Black Bear’d” is located in front of the Courtyard by Marriott just down the street.

You may ask, “Why Bears?” Here’s the answer:

“New Bern was settled in 1710 by Swiss and Palatine German immigrants led by Baron Christoph DeGraffenried. The new colonists named the settlement after Bern, the capital of Switzerland and hometown of their leader. Many years before New Bern was settled, Bern, Switzerland was founded by a group of hunters who named the city after the first animal they came upon on their hunting expedition… a bear. “Bern” is the old Germanic word for bear and the bear became the symbol of the city. The bear symbol was passed along to Bern’s sister city, New Bern, and still serves as the city’s mascot with bear flags and statues featured throughout the town.” ~ READ MORE

Whet your Whistle

We definitely didn’t go hungry (or thirsty) during our time in New Bern. Turns out there’s an area referred to as the “Beermuda Triangle”, which consists of Brewery99, Freshwater Beer Co., and Tap That. All three breweries are in close proximity and are involved in a block party every year. It’s probably a good thing that we missed that!

Established in 2015, Brewery99 was the first brewery in Craven County and the 99th brewery in North Carolina. The whole visit was quite an experience – from the locally sourced oysters offered on Wednesdays – to the torrential rain storm that moved in while we were there.

A brand new taproom was still under construction on property, so we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves with a few locals inside a makeshift taproom with plastic for windows. Someone mentioned that some weather was about to hit the fan, and it wasn’t long after that they shut ‘er down and we scrambled for the car. Let me tell you, that was NOT a fun drive on the bridge over the Neuse River THAT night!

Up next: A Visit to Tryon Palace

Happy trails,
Barb