March 2007
On a nice warm MARCH day, Bonnie and the Red Hat ladies took a tour of the Techatticup Gold Mine near Nelson Nevada
Cousin Nancy stopped by for a short vist, so a trip the the Bellagio was in order
Our friends Carol Ann and Dave rented an apartment for a few months in North Carolina. They invited us to visit for a week and explore the coast.
Our first trip was to New Bern North Carolina, the colonial capital of North Carolina. The Tyron Palace was built for the colonial governor.
As we went down the coast, we went through Myrtle Beach - almost solid hotels so you couldn't actually see the beach.
In North Charleston, the Confederate submarine the Hunley was on display. This man-powered submarine was the first to sink a ship in battle.
We took a bus tour of the city and saw may historic buildings - history, history, history everywhere.
Dave and I took a boat to Ft. Sumter. The Confederates apparently brought granite in from New England to build the island and the fort prior to the Civil War - just protecting the coast, folks.
Across the bay from Charleston is the Patriots Point Naval and Marine Museum. The U.S.S. Yorktown aircraft carrier and the WWII submarine Clamagore are moored.
A little further up the road is Ft. Multrie - with an observation platform made to look like a ship's bridge to a vessel coming over the horizon.
We made a little detour to Pawley's Island and were surprised by a huge beautiful public beach. If you know anyone looking for a place to relax a read a book on the beach, there apparently are lots of summer rentals along the beach.
And further up the coast toward Myrtle Beach we found Brookgreen Gardens. They were created by railroad magnate Archer and sculptor Anna Huntington (think Huntington Beach California). Anna was an artist, and created a haven for talented young sculptors. Sculpture is everywhere. Flowers are everywhere. And then there is the zoo of native animals.
In the town of Beaufort, we explored the wooden boat repair and construction cooperative, the maritime museum with the artifact of the pirate Blackbeard's exploits, and spent some time walking through the old church cemetary.
When we got home, grandson Nick and his wife Andrea were in town celebrating their first anniversary. We spent a day doing many of the fun thing Nick remembered from his previous visits, including (of course) feeding the fish at Lake Mead.
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