Day 10 of Road Trip: Norfolk VA to Home: 8 '19

Norfolk to Home: 351 miles, 6 hrs 31 min

Bruce was experiencing his usual end of vacation blues today, 

He's got the Vacay End Blues

while I was anxious to get home to my garden. 

 To please me, he got up early this morning (6 am) to get an early start. 

Good Morning, Norfolk.

 That may have been just a bit too early; the hotel hadn't set up their breakfast bar yet, so wound up hitting the road with nothing more than coffee and some cold donuts in our stomachs. Also, another round of rain showers followed us all day making travel seem a bit slower and more stressful than we would have liked. Low blood sugar and back/leg pain from sitting so long made Bruce pretty darn glum. But we made it home in just under six hours and managed to get the car and suitcases unpacked before dark set in.

Round trip total: Ten days  1351 miles

Day 9 Road Trip Somers PT. NJ to Norfolk VA: 98:19

Somers Pt,NJ to Norfolk, VA: 201 Miles 5 hrs 30 min

We kissed everyone goodbye this morning and took off for home at 8 am this morning. Our plan is to divide the two-day trip into two 6 hour segments with a rest stop three hours into each day's journey. Today we planned to go From Sommer's Point in New Jersey, Stop for a stretch and some food at Cape May, New Jersey, then catch a ferry to take us to across the Delaware Bay. From there we would drive along the Delaware coast, and take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to Virginia where we had made a hotel reservation to spend the night in Norfolk, VA.

Cape May is only 2 1/2 hours from Somers Point, so it made a good rest stop for the first half of the journey. It is a cute resort town with lots of well preserved Victorian homes. 

We spent the hour we had before we had to board the ferry walking around the shops on the main street.

New Bern, Dinner at Persimmons: 11 '16

To celebrate out last evening in town we decided to have dinner at Persimmons Waterfront Restaurant, which specializes in farm to table cuisine.

Everything on their menu sounded wonderful, but eventually we settled on the special of the evening which was lamb medallions,with riced potatoes and sauteed collards on a bed of red pepper gravy.

Oh my!  Everything was delicious.  Even the collards were to die for!  We really happy we chose this as our last adventure on this trip.

New Bern to Cliffs of Nuese SP: 11 '16

The site of Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, with impressive 90' cliffs overlooking the Neuse River, has been a landmark for centuries.

Five hiking trails explore the riverside habitats and their mature forests and lead to some quiet fishing spots along the waterway. 

We took the 350 yard trail which led to an overlook of the Neuse River 

and a close up view of the cliffs . ( They are hard to see through the trees from this angle)

Then the trail angled down hill to the edge of the Neuse River where there were

some beautiful reflections of the trees in the water.

Unfortunately, even with bug spray, we were being swarmed by mosquitoes, so we turned around and attempted to go downriver on the Spanish Moss Trail,

only to encounter the same swarms of insects

as the trail dropped closer to the river the river. 

A favorite facility for the local communities is an 11-acre swimming lake with a bathhouse, grass-covered lawn, sandy beach and diving platform with rental boats available. Expansive picnic grounds are nearby. Interestingly we did not encounter too many insects on the trail that circled the lake

A visitor center offers kid friendly exhibits that explore the natural and cultural history of the region, complementing regular interpretive programs.

The park has group campsites and a 35-site family campground,, but we wouldn't recommend staying there unless (a) you are willing to bathe in bug repellent, or (b) the weather is too cold for mosquitoes.)

The Stanly House and Dixons House Tours: 11'16

A docent led tour of two private homes of the colonial era were included in the Tyron Palace Tour Package

The Stanly House and the Dixon House were both built and owned by private business men during the colonial era.  Each have a fascinating history and have been meticulously maintained with authentic furniture and details specific to their time in history.

 For more information about these historical homes see:

http://www.tryonpalace.org/stanly-house

and

http://www.tryonpalace.org/dixon-house

New Bern's North Carolina History Center 11 '16

Entrance to the  North Carolina History Center is included in the cost of the Tyron Palace Admission.  The Center has a wide variety of exhibits and some very high tech interactive historical activities designed to appeal to a wide variety of ages and interests. Our favorite was the Pespsi Family Center.

At the Pepsi Family Center, a virtual time machine transported us to a river village in North Carolina’s Central Coastal Region in the year 1835. Here, hands-on activities invited us to step back in time and sail a ship, distill turpentine and produce naval stores, piece an electronic quilt, and/or help the shopkeeper find merchandise for customers in the dry goods store.

New Bern was an important coastal river port into the 19th century. The time machine allowed us to visit the New Bern wharf and join the crew of the Snapdragon as she set sail on a trade voyage. Every crewmember has a unique role and must work together to help the ship reach its destination safely. Bruce manned the helm, while CC trimmed the sails and killed rats.

 At home in the Kitchen,  we helped the cook as she sought ingredients for her ice cream recipes, then watch as the ice cream was prepared as it would have been in 1835.  CC joined a quilting bee in the parlor, and designed patterns from squares that were then pieced together to create a beautiful quilt.

Finally, we stepped into a Main Stree shop and helped a local merchant who was  looking for some extra hands. In his Dry Goods Store, we help the shopkeeper  find items to fill his customers’ shopping lists.

New Bern, Lunch on the Neuse River: 11 '16

We took a break from the New Bern history tour, for a pleasant picnic lunch in Union Point Park on the Neuse River.

New Bern Tyron Palace work areas: 11'16

After touring the Governor and his family and formal rooms, we were free to explore the separate unattached buildings that housed the kitchen area and other working areas of the palace household.

The kitchen was large and roomy with many different areas for food preparation

A costumed expert  colonial cooking processes was on hand to answer any questions we might have while she  prepared an authentic meal for the day, 

Another room was set aside for weaving and tailoring

The head of the female staff.(above)  as well as the lead butler each had their own modest, but reasonably comfortable  private accommodations.

Other servants however bunked together in minimaly furnished accomodations.

Other areas we viewed were the blacksmith  house,

the stables,

and the herb and kitchen gardens.

New Bern, Tyron Palace Tour: 11 '16

Tryon Palace, located in New Bern, North Carolina, is a replica of the mansion built in the late 1760s for the Royal Governor of the Province of North Carolina Completed in 1770, During Colonial times, Royal Governor William Tryon and his family brought architect John Hawks from London to design and build the Georgian-style structure. Completed in 1770, Tryon Palace served as the first permanent capitol of North Carolina and home to the Tryon family.

Tryon Palace was the site of the first sessions of the general assembly for the State of North Carolina following the revolution and housed the state governors until 1794. In 1798, fire destroyed the original Palace building. An extensive 30-year campaign to rebuild the Palace and restore the grounds was launched by the people of New Bern, state leaders, world craftsmen, and generous, dedicated citizens such as Mrs. James Edwin Latham. Their efforts led to the triumphal reopening of the Palace in 1959. Today, the Palace lives on as a testament to history, community and rebirth.

Tryon Palace has numerous tour ticket options designed to accommodate individuals, families, tour groups, and school groups. We chose the One Day Pass, which allowed us to see everything Tryon Palace has to offer, including the Governor’s Palace, Historic homes, Gardens and the North Carolina History Center. 

Our tour guide showing us the General Assembly Room in the Palace.

All tours are led by docents in costumes of the colonial period, and costumed specialists are available to answer questions about specific skills like blacksmithing, or cooking.

The Govenor's Office

The Palace Formal Dining Room

Govenor Tyron, and his familly and visitors dined on fine china imported from Europe.

The floating mahogony staircase was used by the Govenor and his adult guests to reach the second story rooms. Children ( under the age of 14) and servants used a smaller less decorative set of stairs.

A light and airy guest bedroom faces the Trent River, and was decorated to impress visitors with the wealth and importance of the Colonial Government.

A second guest bedroom was more confining and probably reserved for guests that the Govenor wanted to leave quickly.

The Govenor's wife had her own sitting room in which she could entertain her freinds in private.

She also had her own personal dressing room

But she and the Govenor shared a bedroom which had a distinctly masculine flair.

Next door the the Governor's bedroom was a bedroom and sitting room of their only daughter.