Cherry Point, Emerald Isle, and New Bern, NC

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.