Meandering East

First stop as we headed east on I-40 was the Tanger Family Bicentennial Garden in Greensboro.  (Remember the Bicentennial?  That was so many years ago!). This gave us a chance to do some walking and enjoy a beautiful Friday morning.

They packed a lot of nature into 7.5 acres, including themed groupings, sculpture, a replica of a grist mill, and a bog with a slow-running stream.  Probably a bit early in the season as many of the trees were just starting to bud out and some flowering plants were just starting to wake up, but the early blooming plants, azaleas and the like, added a splash of color to the landscape.

We strolled around the grounds for perhaps an hour, then back in the RV and headed east again to Raleigh and the State Farmers Market just off of the freeway.  This is one of four state-owned regional farmers markets in North Carolina and is quite large.  Early in the season, there were a fair number of empty stalls, however there was still plenty to browse.  We came away with some potatoes to use in a future meal.

I took a wrong turn which added about a half-hour to the next destination, but also put us down several minor roads through the North Carolina countryside.  In contrast to the steep up-down of Asheville, this area is relatively flat, with some areas forested, and some farmland.  I was surprised by how many old falling-down houses and barns we saw along the way.

We stopped at Cliffs off the Nuese State Park near Goldsboro and hiked some of the trails.  The park was named for the 90-foot cliffs along the Nuese River, and recreational facilities were added when an 11-acre lake was formed with an earthen dam.  The location of this was chosen because it broke up the drive time and gave us another chance to enjoy the outside on a lovely day.  We hiked for a couple miles around the lake and then headed east again.

We arrived in Havelock at 5:30 pm, and made dinner sitting in nephew Scott’s driveway.  He arrived soon afterward and we spent the evening catching up on his experiences as a Marine stationed here at Cherry Point.  He has a lot of stories to tell!