Saturday, May 11, Day 19
We left Fayetteville in the early evening and began looking for a place to stay. There was an option of staying at the Free Will Holiness Campground, but we decided on another place. We found a park by a lovely lake. The goslings are beginning to go from baby cute to gangly teenagers, right before our very eyes!
It seems like the bigger the guy the smaller the dogs!
It was such a peaceful morning it was hard to think about going on.
But, it was time to get moving. And look what's ahead!
John did some repair work on our tail light, in anticipation of the downpour we are expecting!
We stopped in Kinston, NC at the visitors center and confederate museum. Kinston was the sight of a civil war battle in 1862. Most of the North Carolina was under Union control. They describe the brave efforts of the local militia who were seriously outmaneuvered. The man at the visitors center sold me a local book, although he said nobody ever bought books there and he didn't know how to account for the sale.
The bus stop is also at the visitors center and a woman came in who talked about the population of the local area and the inbreeding of its citizens. Another guy came in looking for a local map, because he wanted to check out the garage sales. The visitors center host said he went to a lot of garage sales but, "What they got I already got." And he told the bus woman that the tourists that came through were a "Bunch of dingbats."
When he found out we were from California, he told John that his friend had drove across country with a gallon of Atlantic Ocean water in his car. After taking it 2300 miles, he poured it into the Pacific Ocean
John looked at him in astonishment and said, "He's the guy that did that? The Pacific Ocean hasn't been the same since! " The man looked so dumbfounded as we made a hasty exit.
waters from the Atlantic.
There's this huge interchange that looks like layered pretzels. It takes you over water several times before you come to New Bern.
New Bern, named after Bern, the capitol of Switzerland, is the second oldest community behind Bath. It is lovely, with a lot of old houses, buildings, courtyards. There are something like 164 homes on the National Register, just in this downtown area.
This town was captured early in the Civil War by the Union, and due to its continuing occupation, it avoided the destruction suffered by other cities. After the war, it recovered quickly, became a capitol for the arts and was known as the "Athens of the South." And, it became a booming lumber area. It was the availability of lumber that resulted in construction of all of the beautiful homes. At one point, New Bern had 16 lumber mills. Today, only Weyerhauser operates in the area.
One of the things you quickly learn is that New Bern is the birthplace of Pepsi Cola. These banners hang on all the lamp posts!
There was an antique car show going on this morning. John takes a look at some old motorcycles.
There was a horn blowing, and two old guys seated on the sidewalk remarked, "I wish they'd get this show on the road before it starts raining. We had just come through a heavy rain , and I said in astonishment, "It's going to rain again?" The two of them looked at me and chuckled. "Well," says one of them, " Well, let's see. Its North Carolina, its Saturday, we have all these convertibles here and then the weatherman says there's a zero chance of rain. So there you have it."
Upon seeing this sign, John said, "Didn't he own them all?" Another guy came along right after that and made the same remark. I guess that's the point of the sign!
Remember when engines weren't all computerized and you could figure out how to fix it yourself?
This car just needs a top. All the mechanics are there....
John headed on down to the "newer" cars.
He remembers that one of his relatives had a car like this black one. Maybe Uncle Bill Norris.
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