Because we had driven so far from Virginia Beach to avoid Tropical Storm Ophelia, we only had about an hour to go to get to our new home in Cliffs of the Neuse State Park in Seven Springs, North Carolina. The weather was sunny and warm and it was a beautiful day for a drive with the windows down.
We found our campsite and got all set up. The site was large and shaded so we were able to set up our gazebo AND our hammocks and still have plenty of room to spare. The campground is pretty busy on the weekends but fairly quiet during the week and we could tell we were going to enjoy a restful few weeks here.
After setting up, we took a little trip to check out the rest of the state park. As the name suggests, it is situated on the bluffs overlooking the Neuse River and there are several trails and a nice overlook area. We came too late in the year to enjoy the swimming beach but it’s still a really lovely place. There’s even a “dog parking” spot outside of the restrooms!
We needed to pick up a few things from the store so we drove to the nearby town of Mt. Olive for some shopping and to pick up dinner. We found several fast food restaurants and a Walmart Super Center on the outskirts of town with a really cute downtown area nearby. We also discovered that the town of Mt. Olive is the home of a factory that makes Mt. Olive brand pickles!
The week started off well but took a turn on Tuesday when I went to take Harley outside. John was already outside and when she saw him, she took off flying towards him. Unfortunately, this was at the same time that I was stepping from the house onto the stairs and ended up yanking me down the first few stairs. My immediate reaction was to pull back to keep my balance and I ended up wrenching my back and neck and was down for a few days recovering.
On Saturday I was feeling better but we still wanted to take it easy so we decided on an easy trip over to New Bern, North Carolina to visit the birthplace of Pepsi Cola. I know a lot of people are “Coke” people or “Pepsi” people but I am one of the weird ones that love both. Since we already visited The World of Coke in Atlanta earlier this year, I thought it was only fitting that we also see where Pepsi got its start.
On the way over to New Bern, we found a roadside flea market and had to stop. One of our favorite things about traveling is finding local farmer’s markets, flea markets, craft fairs, and festivals to check out and since we were in no real hurry and on no schedule for the day we were able to stop and enjoy. We walked around for a bit and met some really wonderful people. I bought the cutest earrings from a woman who had just recently purchased a laser and this was her first sales event! We also met a man who was selling 3D printed stuff at incredible prices and made a few purchases from him as well. there was a permanent building nearby as well that was like a flea market/craft show inside so we shopped there as well. I picked up a few gifts for a friend and some cute things for myself as well.
After we had seen all there was to see at the flea market we got back in the car and drove the rest of the way to New Bern. In Atlanta, the World of Coke was a huge facility in the middle of park with long lines and big flashy signs and displays. In New Bern, the Pepsi site was a former pharmacy on the corner of of two quiet streets in an adorable small town. One room of the building was a snack counter serving drinks and popcorn and the other room was a modest store selling souvenirs at really reasonable prices. While there wasn’t a ton to see, we did shop in the store for a little bit and then popped in several other small stores on the main street where we parked.
On Sunday, we drove over to Fayetteville, North Carlina to visit the Airborne and Special Forces Museum near Fort Bragg. The museum covers the history of the US Army Airborne and Special Forces from 1940 through the present. A large portion was dedicated to World War II but there were also exhibits on the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the post 9-11 War on Terror.
We got to see planes and helicopters, uniforms and weapons, and learn the stories of men and women who gave their all to protect our country. So far this year we have visited the World War II Museum in New Orleans, the Tuskegee Airmen National Monument and museum in Alabama, Camp Toccoa at Currahee in Georgia, and the Military Aviation Museum so this was a natural choice for us to visit and we had a really great time. The museum is free to visit (donations recommended) and we happily spent a few hours there.
I also used our time in North Carolina to decorate for Halloween! I have always loved Halloween time and I have SO MANY decorations in storage back in Ohio. The greatest struggle of living in the tiny house, for me, is that I can’t bring all of my Halloween stuff with me and go all out with my decorating every year like I used to when we were in our old house. I picked up a few things from Walmart and Dollar Tree this year and set about putting up a few modest decorations. I was feeling really pleased with myself….until Boots made it known that she did NOT approve of the decorations and set about trying to destroy everything. At the time of this writing, we have been engaged in an all out war for the past week that consists of me fixing the decorations every day and Boots tearing them back down. I keep telling her that she’s lucky that she’s so cute or I would be tempted to tie her up and hang her from the ceiling as a piece of decor. She responds by ripping down and chewing up something new. The little brat.
All in all we had a really peaceful and relaxing couple of weeks (aside from Boots and her shenanigans!) The park had an 8:00 curfew so that pretty much ensured we spent our evenings at home. We ended up cooking some nice meals and even had a little cookout on our last night at the park – hotdogs and smores on the fire! Our next stop is Myrtle Beach and I have a feeling it will not be this laid back so I’m glad we got the rest while we could!
