Having done little to no research, we set off down Hwy 70 east (past all the great eastern NC BBQ places - we were strong and didn't stop - we were saving our appetite for seafood!). Paul likes the spontaneity of jumping in the car with a vague inclination of where he'll end up where I would rather do some research, have a map and know where we're going. Needless to say, there were a few tense moments once we arrived in Morehead City and had no idea where we were going (or ok, I had no idea where we were going, Paul didn't have a problem with the unknown final destination), thankfully there's a really helpful visitor's center right off the highway that saved that day!
We knew several things that we wanted to accomplish on this trip:
1. Eat some really fresh & tasty seafood
2. Check out the recently renovated NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
3. Get a nice walk in
4. See the ocean
5. Just get the heck out of town and be somewhere new & different!
For the most part we did accomplish all of our goals. We arrived around 11am and kept driving past Morehead City to Atlantic Beach to check out the area. We knew this was the 'off season' but didn't fully realize the implications.
I had picked up a few things at the visitor's center to aid us in finding lunch and our way around in general. We drove through the parking lot at Fort Macon unable to stop and enjoy due to our hunger. I located a handful of restaurants to check out and almost ALL were closed for the winter. This included the Morehead City icon, The Sanitary Fish Market (in high school, all the 'cool kids' had a SFM t-shirt which was worn weekly). I was sorely disappointed but we did find one place open on the same drag called "Key West Seafood Co." We were able to eat outside by the water and watch boats pass along the waterway. Lunch took a lot longer than we anticipated so we had to rush back out to Atlantic Beach to the Aquarium.
Seeing that it was a decidedly warm January day and also a holiday weekend, we encountered a bustling crowd at the Aquarium. I'll admit this disappointed me greatly. We had a wonderful time at the Fort Fisher Aquarium a few years ago on a weekend just like this - we had the place to ourselves! It was heaven! It wasn't as bad as I had feared since many people were on their way out (especially those people with strollers and cranky toddlers). I give the NC Aquariums super-dooper props for their helpful information and identification at each display. We were super disappointed in Atlanta's new aquarium - despite its huge size and dazzling display of aquatic life, we were left to guess what were looking at and what was important about them. That's a whole other entry...
Outside with the fish sculpture
Paul and a fiesty snapping turtle
Tiger fish
We took our walk while at the Aquarium - around their nifty naturel trail. Who would have ever thought you'd find little hills & valleys along a trail AT THE BEACH!? We had a great time walking through the woods and marshes close to the Aquarium - until the floating bridge. Here's a few shots taken along the way:
Awesome bark of a holly tree
Swamp in sepia
Marsh bird through long distance viewing device
A Nutria (aquatic rodent) we watched (these things are NOT native and are invasive to the NC marshes)
Ahh - the floating bridge... it sure didn't float when we attempted to walk across it!
Paul soaked his socks & shoes while crossing the darned floating bridge. Thankfully I made it across without incident... which is amazing.
After the Aquarium we set off driving down the road, once again with no destination in mind other than finding food at some point. We ended up at a parking area and a 'boardwalk' for Atlantic Beach. Neither of us felt like walking out on the beach, so we took a short walk down the 'boardwalk' and decided the breeze was getting too cool to stay out (esp. since someone was wearing shorts).
Thankfully Paul had been observant on our travels back & forth between Morehead City & the beach to see a nice enough looking place open for dinner. JACKPOT! We had a delicious dinner at the "Channel Marker" on the causeway between the beach & the inter coastal waterway. The food was quite good and thankfully we beat the dinner crowd.
It was a delightful day and I think we'll return in the future to further explore the area. We satisfied our beach craving, at least for now.
3 comments:
What a great trip! Looks like you had a great time at the beach! I think it's cool being there in the winter, because it's not so crowded, and certainly not hot! Good times! :-)
Ahhhhh....the beach. How nice and relaxing!! Glad you got to get out of town for a little bit!
That Nutria looks awesome!
-Baker
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