August 2 - 12, 2014 - 10 Days in North Carolina

10 Days in North Carolina August 2 – 12, 2014

Before we left for 10 days in North Carolina, the boys and I harvested their carrots. They had planted the seeds in their preschool class in April and we transplanted them to our veggie planter earlier in the summer. The boys pulled them in bunches from the soil. The carrots looked and tasted “like real carrots” and we ate them at dinner; the boys were so pleased and proud.

I also packed up a piece of glass from my new sunset series and delivered it to the Iowa State Fairgrounds, where they were gearing up for the biggest fair in the world, August 7 - 17. Here is my glass that was on display at the Fine Arts exhibition there (more information at www.tbsglass.com). Alle and I also each had a photograph at the Cultural Center of the Fair this year.

Alle arrived from California on the evening of August 1^st and bright and early the next morning, we all left for Norfolk, Virginia. From there, we rented a minivan and drove south for two hours in the pouring rain. The rest of the country was enjoying sunny summer weather, but the Carolina coast was in thunderstorms. Saturday is the turn-over day for rental properties on the Outer Banks, so the other 100,000 families who were renting places for the next week were also on one of three approaches headed east to the tiny strip of islands that holds four lighthouses, highway NC-12, and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Here's one of the entry points on a sunnier day.

We finally picked-up our keys (the rental company had happily gone for the day, but left us a bag outside with keys and slightly damp toilet paper for the week), found a small seafood shack to eat dinner of crabs and shrimp, and made our way south to Nags Head, NC, arriving far after bedtime. The Cape Hatteras Seashore is a 70 mile stretch of wind-swept dunes and beach islands which frame the North Carolina mainland. It is beautiful in spite of the tall vacation homes which dot the shore towns and the strip malls which are along the commercial parts of the road. We stayed in a VRBO beach house which was right on the beach.

We were so happy to be on the beach, so the boys could run out our doors and play in the sand and be near the waves. We could see and hear the surf from our windows. Here's our view looking east to the Atlantic. 

Since it was still pouring with rain on our first day at the beach, we drove 40 miles south to visit the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. While we were there a thunderstorm hit, so only Ricardo and Alle made it up the stairs to see the view before it closed due to lightning.  The Cape Hatteras Light is a classic, well-known stripped black and white lighthouse that is used in so many lighthouse images.

Our house was near the Bodie Island Lighthouse, which is slightly shorter than Hatteras, but also black and white for daytime visibility. The Bodie Light warned ships coming down the eastern coast from the north that they were near Hatteras.

Hatteras marks where two ocean currents meet and form large sand bars or diamond shoals 15 miles out to sea. As a result it is the location of around 600 shipwrecks. When ships saw the Bodie Light, they knew to head out to sea to avoid Hatteras. Here are a few photos from my climb to the top of Bodie a few days later.

North of us was the Wright Brothers’ Memorial, which we visited twice. Our first visit there was late in the afternoon. Since the national park service there closed right at 5 pm, we only had time to see the museum. The museum has a replica of the Wright Brother glider and their first plane. In addition, the track and route of the Wright Brothers’ first flight in the field at Kill Devil Hills is marked out. Here is a modern plane landing at the airstrip in view of the marker of the first flight of the Wright Brothers.

and there is also a playground model of the plane that kids can climb on.

All in all, it is an interactive memorial and the boys were fascinated to learn about the early efforts, process and accomplishment.

Close to Kitty Hawk is the East Coast’s largest sand dune, Jockey Ridge. Being from Michigan and knowing the sand dunes on the west coasts of the Great Lakes, I wondered what the big deal was. But, the dune area was long, had trails and a nice walking space, and the views were great.

We climbed up to see the hang gliders and all of the kites. The boys loved running around in the sand.

The week at the beach was relaxing and fun. I would have happily stayed another week.

From Nags Head, we drove west 450 miles and eight hours to Asheville. We crossed all of North Carolina, from the beach, through the wet lands and areas called Alligator River. We saw farm lands growing tobacco, cotton and soybean and drove into the mountains and smoky Blue Ridge hills. We were traveling to Asheville to join the Board, management and spouse meetings for Ricardo’s bank. We arrived there at the end of a long day, ate dinner at a wonderful organic café called Sunny Point Café in West Asheville, and then drove to the Biltmore Estate to check in at the Inn.

It wasn’t until the next morning that we awoke to see our view of the Blue Ridge hills from the Inn at the Biltmore.

We drove to the Blue Ridge Parkway, only driving on it for a few miles, but still enjoying the serenity of not seeing anything commercial and driving at 45 miles an hour in park-like surroundings.

We love the Folk Art Center and shop near Asheville on the parkway. While there, I strongly hinted that one of the art pieces would be great for my birthday.

Before the meetings started, we also toured some of Asheville’s galleries. The Blue Spiral used to be in our price range, but only a few pieces were on this visit. We also looked at the Haen, Bellagio and Minerva galleries. These have all become more upscale as well. Twenty five of us from the meetings visited a few of the studios in the River Arts area to see the ceramics, painting, weaving and other artwork there – a great group of people to wander around and have lunch with as always.

It was fun to have a chance to visit the River Arts artist studio area to see the artists at work and get a sense for how they approach their work.

The Biltmore Estate required a whole day on its own. The house can be seen on a self-guided tour with audio and by asking questions of the docents in every room. It takes hours to see the whole house, including the kitchens and food storage downstairs. One forgets how complex it was to store food in the days before refrigeration and how difficult it was to cook with imperfect ovens and stoves. The Vanderbilts changed clothes four or more times a day to be dressed appropriately for their activities. All of the clothing was washed by hand in the basement rooms. It was an incredible set-up.

Since we were asked not to take photos inside, here's the view out the main floor veranda. 

George Vanderbilt designed the house with architect Richard Morris Hunt in the 1890s. The outside gardens were designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead (the same designer as NYC’s Central Park). The project was said to be the pinnacle of their careers. Olmstead also designed the roads around the estate and the approach to the house and his goal was to have a visual surprise around every bend.

Vanderbilt collected artwork and design ideas from many visits to Europe, so each room is unique, filled with interesting artwork and decorated on a grand scale. The gardens are also inspiring and need another hour or two to tour.

We got caught in a thunderstorm and cut our visit short.

We had another lovely evening at the Biltmore with old time folk music at the Winery Barns on our last night. As we flew from Asheville to Atlanta and back to Des Moines the next morning, Ted had a minor meltdown stating that we HAD to go back. He wanted to visit North Carolina again, perhaps tomorrow.