Back to the Beach

One of the perks of this job is occasional trips to visit schools near the North Carolina Coast.  My last such trip was to the Outer Banks and once again, my favorite traveling companion joined me.  Monday was a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King.  Mary and I left very early and traveled to Atlantic Beach near Morehead City.  When we arrived we found a wonderful diner named "Four
Corners" where we enjoyed delicious food and got excellent advice on local restaurants from our waitress, Jen.

We were anxious to walk on the beach but it was very cold and windy so we bundled up and enjoyed a stroll that left us chilled to the bone.  The hotel hot tub quickly chased the chills away and the heated indoor pool made for a relaxing afternoon.  We enjoyed a delicious meal at the Channel Marker Restaurant on the Bogue Sound waterfront.

We returned to the "Four Corners" for breakfast and met the owner, Once again, Jen waited on us and we told her about the wonderful food we'd had at the Channel Marker.

Tuesday morning we drove inland to go to Jacksonville which is home to Camp Lejune and the
United States Marines.  This proud military town is also home to Coastal Carolina Community College.  Sally Goodman is the Director and Kerry Brinker is in charge of ordering books.  Located in Onslow County, I also visited the Onslow County Public Library.
Virginia Sharp March is the new director and Karen Moore is in charge of acquisitions.  Both facilities were new to me but I received a very warm welcome at both places.

Turning north we traveled to Craven County Community College.

 Throughout our travels in this part of the state we had listened to the NPR station which would regularly identify itself saying "broadcasting from Barker Hall on the campus of Craven Community College."  Barker Hall is also the home of the Craven County Community College Library!  Entering the building, I felt compelled to drop by the radio station office and thank them for their excellent programming.  Upstairs at the library I learned that the director, Cathy Campbell, the director, was not there but I enjoyed a great visit with Mark King and Edie Boesen.  Mark is an "army brat" who spent much of his youth in the area and Edie is from the great frozen north of Wisconsin.  It was a beautiful, warm sunny day in January so Edie was especially glad to live in the South.

Pamlico Community College is in the town of Grantsboro and serves the people of that county in association with East Carolina University.  Electra Kriele is in charge of getting books and is always a delight to talk with.

To get from PCC to our final stop you can go one of two ways.  The trip around Pamlico Sound is 50 miles and takes an hour.  OR, you can drive a few miles to Minnesott Beach and take the ferry.  We took the ferry.

It was lunchtime and as we passed through Beaufort (pronounced "BYOO-fert" (as in "beautiful") in South Carolina and "BOH-fert" (as in "Beauregard") in coastal North Carolina, which is also the correct pronunciation of the Duke of Beaufort's name.  Just sayin').  We stopped at "The Spot" and enjoyed friendly service and delicious food.  

Our final stop was at Carteret Community College.  The library sits
on the banks of the Bogue Sound and how anyone could get any work done with that beautiful view is beyond me.  Elizabeth Baker is the librarian and she will host the North Carolina Community College Library Association Conference near the end of March.

We returned to our hotel and made our way to the beach.  The change of weather was remarkable.  It was warm and sunny and we enjoyed our stroll and collected "sea glass" to put in our indoor fountain.

After another dip in the hot tub, we returned to Morehead City to

Sammy's (recommended to us by our waitress, Jen).  It was "all-you-can-eat" oyster night.  As tempted as I was, I settled for a half-dozen of the biggest and freshest oysters I've had in a long time.  Sammy Boyd, the owner, started out cleaning fish at age eight.  That night he stood at the counter and shucked oysters the entire time we were there.

Mary had to be at work on Wednesday by 12:30 so we left very early.  It was a full three days but they were full of great memories.