FROM ASHEVILLE TO DURHAM TO NEW BERN

Hi y'all;

Asheville and our visit to The Biltmore was our furthest venture west in North Carolina for we wanted to visit Coastal Carolina in the east. So we traveled from the mountainous Blue Ridge region across the state to the tidal plain of eastern Carolina. It being about half way, we stopped in Mebane once again. It has a nice campground and we patronized the same restaurant, The Table, for a wonderful meal. The stop enabled me to get a prescription re-filled at the local Walmart. The next morning we drove past Raleigh-Durham and Greensboro on our way to New Bern, our destination. I wanted to visit an old friend, James Odham, Sr. who lives there. Unfortunately, he was ill and we were unable to see him. However, his daughter-in-law, Crystal, the widow of the late James, Jr. met us and with her colleague at work, Dan Ensor, and we had a delightful lunch together.

New Bern, NC is located very near the coast. Its location is on the 'Inner Banks' at the confluence of the Trent and Neus Rivers which flow to the nearby Atlantic Ocean 30 miles downstream. Founded in 1710, New Bern is the second oldest town in NC, as well as the original seat of North Carolina State government. A British seaport, Royal Governor William Tryon made the city his colonial capitol with the Tryon Palace built in 1770 before the American Revolution. While located deep in Confederate territory Union troops captured the city by sea and held it throughout the Civil War of the 1860's, interupting Confederate supply lines. Another 'claim to fame' that New Bern is proud of is Caleb Bradham's creation of "Brad's Drink". A local pharmacist, he concocted this drink which was sold over the counter of his drug store. It was later called, Pepsi Cola. So New Bern is the birthplace of "Pepsi" and the corner pharmacy is now a museum of Pepsi history. Apparently, once each year the Board of Directors of Pepsico meets in the basement Board Room of this former pharmacy, now museum.
After lunch with our friends, we took the Trolley Tour of the city and learned much about this interesting town. In it are over 150 sites included on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a bustling community of 30,000 but within the area I would guess it to be about 75,000. The coast of North Carolina, including New Bern was hit hard by Hurricane Florence in Sept. 2018 with a storm surge reaching second story height. Two downtown river-front hotels, the Hilton and the Marriot along with the Convention Center are still undergoing renovations and repairs. We were told of yachts from the marina being deposited by the storm surge two blocks into the city's downtown with their docks still attached to them. The city sits 30' above sea level. Our visit was most enjoyable. From here we travel down the coast to Myrtle Beach, SC.

More on that later.....................