Escaping Virginia

A week in the Carolinas half roughing it and half rooming it up!

WHEN: Week of 9/18/2023

WHERE: Stop #1; Oyster Point Campground, Croatan National Forest, NC

Stop #2; Hotel in North Myrtle Beach, SC

WHY: to get some alone time after lots of wonderful family time

HOOKUPS: none, nearby pit toilets and water source

EXTRAS: view of Newport River and on-site hiking trails

REGRETS: not having the proper inflatable mattress and a tent big enough that it did touch our feet and heads

Burnadebt (our RV) is still not feeling well, but after months of wedding prepping for one of the kids and days of excitement we decided a few days alone would be good for our souls. The first stop was the Croatan National Forest. Actually, we had never heard of it and all we knew about Croatan was that they were a people and it was carved into a tree where the Lost Colony was last seen. Or if you are a fan of historical horror dramas, then you may know the word from American Horror Story: Roanoke when it is used as the magic word for banishing ghosts. But like most history and its interpretations we will actually never know the truth while it is believed that the word itself may mean "counsel town"...so maybe the colonist went to the local town meetings with the people of the area to find a solution to their hardships. The world will never know.

As for the site, we paid $5 a night with our National Park Pass which gave us a few comforts but we brought our own potty to avoid having to use the pit toilets. We came during low bug season and still were munched on most of the time but nothing to cry over.

Anyways, the forest is beautiful and has way too many trails and waterways to enjoy in such a short trip. For those of you up for some adventure and even some dispersed camping, we highly recommend this forest for exploration. We definitely will head back for some long-term exploration of the park and the surrounding areas.

We only had one full day to explore the area and ended up building quite the bucket list for our return visit. Of course one of our goals was to get a stamp in our National Park Passport Book so we headed over to Beaufort, NC to find our way over to Cape Lookout National Seashore. While we met a great retired couple running the small museum and did get a stamp (that we didn't put in the book) we did not get to the island. Unfortunately, the docks were broken from a recent storm and were not handicapped accessible at this time. But Beaufort kept us well occupied and excited to come back for more. The town felt like a wee version of New Orleans with all the style minus the crowds and smells.

We wandered into what we thought was going to be a small waterman's museum but turned out to be an under-acknowledged gold mine. N.C. Maritime Museum is home to the recovered treasures of Queen Anne's Revenge last known owner was Blackbeard pirating his way about the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Photos can't do justice to all this booty, including a book still intact. Archeologists are on site for viewing doing what they do best.

In association with the museum located just across the street is Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center where the old ways of shipbuilding are preserved and taught. We loved the smell of freshly carved wood with a hint of the sea blowing through the open bay.

While we wandered out back of the center to take a little rest on the dock we noticed some movement on the banks. We were very lucky to see the wild horses having their lunch. These horses are considered Shackleford Horses named after their location and their special interest. These horses carry a rare ancient gene that dates back to Spanish Colonization. We learned that bank horses throughout the American East Coast are actually second-generation equines. Early American equines became extinct 10,000 years ago or so and current breeds arrived during colonization. Next time we hope to get out to the banks to see them up close.

We wrapped up our day in Beaufort with a double-decker bus tour that left us wishing we had more time for a walking tour. The architecture and stories of this town are memorable and we heard that the self-guided cemetery tour is top-notch. But we were hot and out of water, and I even nodded off as I always do when put into a moving vehicle. But don't worry I had my sunglasses on so the tour guide didn't think I wasn't interested.

He even weaved a tale that this first house being the oldest house in town must have been slept in by Blackbeard. We can't wait to get to more Blackbeard locations in the future, aye!

Headed Southerly!

Our next stop led us the long way to Myrtle Beach through the backcountry of North Carolina. We weren't too surprised that we were the only guests and the staff was excited to see someone.

So where were we? Only the last location of broadsword charge by Scottish Highlanders during the American Revolution. And guess what? The patriots of the Moores Creek National Battlefield won with a 2 to 50 kill count.

For all of you Outlander fans (like us), this is the battle that all the characters were conspiring about. As an historian, this battle has me most confused. It seemed simple, but the British were running around thinking they had the Scottish on their side despite the years of bullshit on the other side of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, the Patriots were running around uncertain about the Scots' loyalty and self-interest.

Want to learn more about the whole Outlander reality/fiction line crossing? Great podcast!

Finding Hidden Gems in Myrtle Beach

Then we were off to Myrtle Beach. Honestly, I have never had an interest in going there but we won a few nights so off we went. This is the one time I stepped onto the beach, swimming was actually closed with a two-red flag warning. I was a little off put by all the tall buildings blocking most of the view of the water and the sun. Therefore, we spent the rest of our evening doing heavy digging to find the historical and natural activities of the area.

All-In-One

We found this gem mind that provided nature, art, history, and animals all for $22 for 7 days. We could have stretched it out but we ran through Brookgreen Gardens in one day since we had other buckets on our list. Here is just a sample of some of our photos, we took several dozen.

For an extra $10 they take you on a boat ride through the old rice fields where we saw a 10-foot gater while breathing in the scent of toasted popcorn. Wait...popcorn, thankfully we had a tour guide to let us know that is the scent of rice ready to harvest.

The Carolina Shag

It's places like the North Myrtle Beach Historical Society that drive us to dig deep into a community and give the little museum a chance. Not only did we see some of our favorite items of the past like this beautiful old sewing machine and a Duke's glass jar. I know, who cares about those items? I do, I collect old sewing machines and always get a little excited when I see one...as for the Duke's...I make a Duke's joke at least every six weeks and hold close my family's stories about their Duke's recipes.

But what about that Carolina Shag? We learned at this little museum more than we ever needed to know about the history of Shag Dancing. We certainly didn't know that Myrtle Beach really gained its popularity with all the dancing back in the 1940s. Kind of the bee's knees wouldn't you say?

Then we headed away from the shore to check out the Horry County Museum which happened to be full of more sewing machines and groovy artifacts.

They have just a couple of miles down the road a living farm exhibit. We had to fight off our urges to set up camp and stay here forever.

While the animals, shops, and crops were on point the reconstructed farmhouse felt like home. The lady of the house spends her days canning the crops and keeping house. It smelled like home and left us daydreaming about mindful living.

Out to Pasture!

When we got home we set up the old tent that got a little wet on our adventure and agreed to put her out to pasture and turn her into a gear tent. We replaced her with a bigger tent that doesn't touch our noses when the wind blows even if it does take a little longer to set up.