Under a cloudless blue sky I left Virginia Beach yesterday morning. As agreed, I just left....no goodbye's. Despite my eagerness to begin my adventure, I struggled with leaving Noel and Ava. One light touch of Noel's head, one more look at a sleeping grandaughter, and I was gone. I had a few more things to leave with Celine. We unloaded them into her home and went to breakfast at Panera. We were seated next to the front door and so were able to see all who entered after us battling a gusty wind. I was to fight that same high wind all day but it provided entertainment as well as a challenge to keep the van on the road. At the last minute I decided my route. Once upon a time if you wanted to drive south through some of the most picturesque and historical Southern towns, you automatically headed for Route 17. When Bob's partners forced the sale of WFOG in 1979, Bob endured a non-compete clause. We first took the boat down the Intracoastal for a few months, then came home to Virginia Beach where he was completely bored without running a radio station. A friend of his owned one in Wilmington, NC and offered him a consulting position. He took it and we lived in Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach for a year. In 1980 we were living in a beach home with an eighteen month old, Lucia, and our Samoyed, Chimo. The town was small enough to be compared favorably with "Mayberry, RFD". I remember walking into the post office to pick up the mail one day and being greated with "You got a letter from Canada today". Mind you, I had never had a word with this man so I was just a little thrown off. But the town was friendly and we enjoyed our time there. And so, I opted for the "Great Nostalgia Tour" and headed down Rte. 17 into North Carolina. I love North Carolina. It's a beautiful state, delivering beautiful beaches with high surf (and a dangerous undertow) and rolls west to the Great Smokey Mountains. It has everything. That brings me to my favorite definition of N.C.
"A vale of Humility between two mountains of Conceit". Although no one in South Carolina has ever offended me, you gotta love it!
It didn't take long to realize that my "Great Nostalgia Tour" was so long in coming that there's not alot to be nostalgic about! The two lane Route 17 so revered in my memory looks a lot like I-95 in several places. The road that once meandered through small towns has been replaced except in a few stretches. Crossing the Perquimans River (per-KIM-uns) I saw white caps; not often seen this far inland. Through the dormant peanut and soy fields there was another result of the ferocious wind....dust funnels. By the time I reached Edenton, I wanted a break. "Historic Edenton" sounded good. I headed for the harbour which the town has enhanced with a park for children and four legged children. The entrance salutes the Confederate Army. A bronze CSA soldier stares down at you. The wind almost blew me off my feet. A clean, playful wind. A warm day. Then I saw it! The civic league moved a decrepit and stunningly beautiful lighthouse to it's new home in the park where it remains on the trailer until funds are found to complete the project. Believe me, the photo doesn't capture the reverence you feel when seeing it for the first time. I drank it in and moved on. There are two field cannons standing sentry over the harbour. This town is representative of the conflicted loyalties found in many states...both Southern and Northern. The churches sent their bells to a foundry in Richmond VA...capital of the Confederacy...and had them recast as the cannons you see in the photo. They were used to protect the harbour from Northern intruders and their sympathizers. At the same time, Edenton had a strong Underground Railroad.
When I left, I stopped to read the inscription on the statue of the soldier:
"Our Confederate Dead
1861-1865
Gashed with Honorable Scars,
Low in Glory's Lap they Lie,
Though They Fell,
They fell like Stars,
Streaming Splendour through the Sky"
On to Bertie (burr-TEA) County where the road abruptly returned to the familiar two lanes of old, cut through stands of feathery pines. The speed limit here was 20 mph. What I found interesting is that when I left VA Beach, gas was $2.65. No where in coastal NC was it less than $2.90, topping out at about $3.09. With a lengthy detour resulting from a brush fire, I reached Wilmington at 730PM. What a surprise...it is unrecognizable on the outer fringes. Completely built up. I went to Harris Teeter for dinner and retired to Cracker Barrel for the evening. I had planned before dark and find somewhere less commercial to lay my head for the night. When I saw that I was in a city I no longer knew, I went for the familiar instead. This morning brought bright sunlight and the desire to see how much the beach had changed. I'm sitting there now, overlooking the Intracoastal after touring. The Blockade Runner, The Bridge Tender, Roberts Grocery...all still there. Our temporary home? 765 South Lumina is still there, surrounded by more grandiose houses but looking good. The Holiday Inn, former site of great Sunday buffets, was razed and a new Holiday Inn stands in it's place. Yes, I realize that Holiday Inn and great food is an oxymoron. Finally I parked the van and ate a breakfast of coffee, crusty boule and cheese. I glanced across the street and into floor to ceiling glass on the second floor of a home with a baby grand piano facing the Atlantic. The sun was clearing the horizon and I envisioned the pianist beating back the pain with a vigorous concerto and a view of Eternity.
"A vale of Humility between two mountains of Conceit". Although no one in South Carolina has ever offended me, you gotta love it!
It didn't take long to realize that my "Great Nostalgia Tour" was so long in coming that there's not alot to be nostalgic about! The two lane Route 17 so revered in my memory looks a lot like I-95 in several places. The road that once meandered through small towns has been replaced except in a few stretches. Crossing the Perquimans River (per-KIM-uns) I saw white caps; not often seen this far inland. Through the dormant peanut and soy fields there was another result of the ferocious wind....dust funnels. By the time I reached Edenton, I wanted a break. "Historic Edenton" sounded good. I headed for the harbour which the town has enhanced with a park for children and four legged children. The entrance salutes the Confederate Army. A bronze CSA soldier stares down at you. The wind almost blew me off my feet. A clean, playful wind. A warm day. Then I saw it! The civic league moved a decrepit and stunningly beautiful lighthouse to it's new home in the park where it remains on the trailer until funds are found to complete the project. Believe me, the photo doesn't capture the reverence you feel when seeing it for the first time. I drank it in and moved on. There are two field cannons standing sentry over the harbour. This town is representative of the conflicted loyalties found in many states...both Southern and Northern. The churches sent their bells to a foundry in Richmond VA...capital of the Confederacy...and had them recast as the cannons you see in the photo. They were used to protect the harbour from Northern intruders and their sympathizers. At the same time, Edenton had a strong Underground Railroad.
When I left, I stopped to read the inscription on the statue of the soldier:
"Our Confederate Dead
1861-1865
Gashed with Honorable Scars,
Low in Glory's Lap they Lie,
Though They Fell,
They fell like Stars,
Streaming Splendour through the Sky"
On to Bertie (burr-TEA) County where the road abruptly returned to the familiar two lanes of old, cut through stands of feathery pines. The speed limit here was 20 mph. What I found interesting is that when I left VA Beach, gas was $2.65. No where in coastal NC was it less than $2.90, topping out at about $3.09. With a lengthy detour resulting from a brush fire, I reached Wilmington at 730PM. What a surprise...it is unrecognizable on the outer fringes. Completely built up. I went to Harris Teeter for dinner and retired to Cracker Barrel for the evening. I had planned before dark and find somewhere less commercial to lay my head for the night. When I saw that I was in a city I no longer knew, I went for the familiar instead. This morning brought bright sunlight and the desire to see how much the beach had changed. I'm sitting there now, overlooking the Intracoastal after touring. The Blockade Runner, The Bridge Tender, Roberts Grocery...all still there. Our temporary home? 765 South Lumina is still there, surrounded by more grandiose houses but looking good. The Holiday Inn, former site of great Sunday buffets, was razed and a new Holiday Inn stands in it's place. Yes, I realize that Holiday Inn and great food is an oxymoron. Finally I parked the van and ate a breakfast of coffee, crusty boule and cheese. I glanced across the street and into floor to ceiling glass on the second floor of a home with a baby grand piano facing the Atlantic. The sun was clearing the horizon and I envisioned the pianist beating back the pain with a vigorous concerto and a view of Eternity.
1 comment:
You've started your adventure!!!! Wish I could join in- but will thoroughly enjoy reading about it! Keep safe. Love ya, Sara
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