Down East

(Beaufort, NC) Hi 72 Lo 62 – Normal morning. We had planned a great day going down to the Beaufort waterfront for a tour of a replica of a three-masted warship from the War of 1812. They’ve been talking about it on local TV since we got here, but when we checked yesterday it wasn’t here. Sharon called today and found out they cancelled the stop at Beaufort. So we had to change our plans for today.

Jimmie (Sharon's Jim) took us along on a trip down east to check on one of his construction crews. "Down east" is the area past the North River bridge toward small towns such as Otway, Smyrna, and Davis, on the way to Cedar Island and the ferry to Ocracoke Island. Although it’s built up some since we were there last, it's still a very rural area with lots of marshlands. We went to the town of Davis. On the way we stopped at a little general store store that has all kinds of knick knacks and souvenirs, and a coffee bar. They sell Christmas trees made from crab pots. They come in all sizes, including a very small one that would be great for an RV. It folds flat for easy storing, and comes with lights already attached.

This is a crab pot. They're set under water in the local waterways and catch crabs for harvesting.


Here is an "upside down" crab pot Christmas tree.


This small one has Easter eggs on it. 


Jim, Dee, Jimmie, and Sharon.


After we had some coffee and snacks we went to the job site. They were sealing the walls in an under-house storm shelter. This is the entrance to the shelter, through the living room floor.


We figure it’s a very safe place to hide during any storm, unless the house comes down and blocks you in and no one knows you’re there. :)

We were getting hungry so we stopped at No Name Pizza for lunch. Their motto is "Our food is so good we don't need a name."


This place has been in Beaufort for many years and we’ve never eaten there. The food was good. On the way home we had to make room for a large boat to go by us. This is a wide load for sure.


When we got back to the house we relaxed for a couple of hours then we started work on a seafood dinner. We stopped earlier at a local fish market and got five pounds of shrimp and some founder filets. Jimmie and I cleaned and peeled the shrimp.


Sharon made fried potatoes and blackeyed peas, and Jimmie made some of his famous cornbread. My Jim helped us by staying out of the way. Jim's mom came over to join us for dinner.

After a great southern fried seafood dinner and some socializing with the family we headed to the RV for the night. Another great day spent with our family.