Author: Easin' Along

Helen and I drove away from Onslow Beach, NC, with Hurricane Idalia in hot pursuit. Idalia was one of two hurricanes on the East Coast, making things difficult for vacationing beachgoers.  Hurricane Franklin was sitting offshore and no threat to land, but he was not in a hurry to move either. Rip tides and heavy surf were Franklin’s contributions. 

The forecast for Hurricane Idalia included high winds and heavy rain. Both conditions are not conducive to fun times in an RV park, but we drove on with hopes that the stormy weather would die down and perhaps offer a break from the unbearable heat of the past month. We arrived at Cherry Point Marine Air Station just in time to sign in before the campground manager left to secure her home for the impending threat.

Thankfully, Idalia passed over us as a Tropical Storm without the high winds.  She did give us hefty rain for nearly a day and a half.  We rode out the rain with a good book, Helen’s puzzle, and a draft of a future blog post. It was relaxing. As the rain moved north, we were treated to a beautiful evening sky over Cherry Point.

Although we were spared hurricane damage, Idalia took away two days of a five-day stay at Cherry Point, and we wanted to explore the area before time got away from us.  We decided to visit Emerald Isle on the recommendation of a friend from our church. By this time, Idalia was just a memory, and the weather was perfect, as were the temperatures.

Despite the perfect conditions for tourists, the hurricanes continued to churn up the surf, and the surfers were out in big numbers. I can’t blame them—gigantic waves rolled in one after another, with skilled surfers making the most of them. Helen and I walked out on the pier to better view the surfers and the Emerald Isle beachfront. Did I mention that it was a lovely day?

On the return trip to Cherry Point, we decided to visit nearby Beaufort, NC, for a late lunch of local seafood at Clawson’s 1905 Restaurant & Pub.  The food was as good as advertised (Helen’s crab bisque was divine). We drove back to Cherry Point with good memories and great leftovers in a doggie bag so Mortimer could watch us eat.

On our final day at Cherry Point, we included a drive to the charming town of New Bern, NC, for some sightseeing and perhaps a visit to an antique store or two for some browsing. We ended up doing some bear hunting. Our visit began at the visitor center near the waterfront, where we learned that New Bern was founded in 1710 by Swiss and German immigrants who named the settlement after Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Bern is the old Germanic name for bear. Thus, the bear became a symbol of the new settlement.

In 2010, the 300^th anniversary of New Bern, local businesses sponsored the creation of fiberglass bears and placed them throughout the city.  A local artist chose the theme for each bear and painted them in keeping with the theme. New Bern has 28 colorful bears in the downtown area and 80 throughout the city.  Helen and I went searching for them. I included pictures and the names of eight bears here.

New Bern is also the home of Pepsi-Cola, a creation of Caleb Bradham, a pharmacist, in the late 1800’s.  Bradham’s drugstore still stands, but it is now a retail store for Pepsi gear and a small museum. The store was closed during our visit.

The very helpful volunteers at the Visitor Center gave us directions to an antique and consignment store a short walk from the Center.  After we ended our bear hunt, we checked out Poor Charlie’s.  Readers know browsing through stores like Poor Charlie’s is my favorite pastime when visiting new cities and towns.  Poor Charlie’s was crammed with plenty to look at, but after giving the place a good going-over, I left empty-handed…probably a good thing.

We left Cherry Point the following day en route to Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. It was a beautiful day, and we’re Easin’ Along.

Helen and I pulled out of Camp Blakeslee and drove about 70 miles up the coast to Camp LeJeune Marine Corps Base and the military campground at Onslow Beach. We spent seven days at Kure Beach and were looking forward to the next seven days of our East Coast adventure. We had not visited Onslow Beach previously but had heard it was an excellent place for a beach vacation.

We pulled through the gate at Camp LeJeune and then drove another ten miles through this huge military installation until we reached the shores of the Atlantic. A charming young lady greeted us and assigned us to Site 33—less than 100 yards from the dune guarding the shoreline. All the campsites are gravel and grass with a covered patio beside each one.  The covered patio was very helpful in shielding us from the sun’s piercing rays.

Our week at Onslow Beach was very relaxing.  We only ventured out of the campground on one occasion, and that was to do a little shopping at the Exchange and Commissary—a ten-minute drive to the center of the Marine Base. I love shopping at Military Exchanges.  There are always great buys in the clearance section, mainly casual clothing.

The remainder of our week was spent on the beach in the mornings or under the covered patio in the late evening. We rose early each day to walk on the beach before the hot temperatures chased us inside.  Mortimer went with us a few times, although hot weather is not his “thing.” We were treated to some beautiful sunrises on those walks. I took my camera on several of them, but Helen and I were primarily hunting for shark teeth to add to our growing collection.

When we checked into the campground, we purchased a handy piece of beach gear called the Sand Dipper, an expandable hiking pole with a strainer attached to the lower end.  We made great use of the Sand Dipper every day.  We found The shark teeth on the small side, but the Dipper allowed us to sift through the sand to find many of them in the surf.

The literature attached to the pole explained that the Dipper could double as a hiking stick if the strainer was removed and a rubber tip attached over the end. The literature offered a free rubber tip if the user would send pictures of the Dipper in use and post photos of anything recovered on social media. Helen sent Mr. Dipper the image above and a note detailing our findings and location and posted a picture on Facebook.  Mr. Dipper sent us two tips and thanked us for promoting his product. He was especially impressed with the Great White tooth I found on our second morning.  I guess I took a “big bite” out of Onslow Beach.

Stay with us on our road trip.  Next up is Cherry Point, NC.  We’re Easin’ Along.

We have visited this lovely area twice before.  During those visits, the campground was known as Fort Fisher Recreation Area, but the military recently changed the names of several installations, Fort Fisher among them.  Fortunately, only the name changed; everything else remained as we remembered.

Our most recent visit was in 2017, and we were on our first RV trip in an 18-foot Coleman trailer we named Bertha. During check-in, we were assigned a campsite next to the fire hall with water and electricity but no sewer connection.  I was disappointed at first with the assignment, but the large campground was packed, and this was the only site remaining.  It turned out to be a stroke of good luck. The site had a nice view of the Cape Fear River, a stone’s throw from the swimming pool and the recreation center with large showers. When I made a reservation for this trip, I asked again for the fire hall site—we got it.

I mentioned in our last post that the weather for our trip had started with sweltering temperatures.  Those hot temps followed us to Kure Beach.  I’m not going to dwell on the weather except to say that we were forced to stay out of the heat (or in the pool) during the middle of the day. Helen and I rose early to take beach walks and avoid the worst.

Near the beach access is a prominent feature along the shore known as the Coquina Outcrop.  At first glance, it appears as nothing more than an algae-covered rock. Still, it is a complete ecosystem with many microorganisms between the cracks and crevices, offering a buffet for gulls and other shorebirds. I always took my camera with me to capture the activity.

On a few mornings, I got up extra early to capture the sunrise over the surf. It was worth the effort, and the sunrise was spectacular on those days.

We would also use the early time to let Mortimer get his first taste of beach life.  He seemed little impressed.

During the day, we spent time in Dora with both air conditioners running.  Helen worked on her puzzle, and I read books.  We used the swimming pool every day that it was open.  Helen found some fresh watermelon that was so good even Mortimer liked it. He got more than his share.

One of Helen’s co-workers from Maryville College visited while we were there. Katherine lives in Wilmington now, and living on the coast appears to agree with her.  It was good to see her, and she looks great.

Late in the afternoon, when things cooled off a bit, I ventured out long enough to capture images of the sun setting over the Cape Fear River–Mother Nature cooperated.

Before we left Blakeslee, we took the time to thank the staff at the facility. They were accommodating and friendly.  The facility is well-maintained, the pool area is immaculate, and the showers are spotless.  We will be back.

Next up, Onslow Beach, NC…we’re Easin’ Along.