North Carolina

Last week we got back from a trip to North Carolina. We have talked about going to North Carolina since we got married. Tom served in the Raleigh, NC mission ten years ago. We toured his mission, found his old apartments, went to the beach, and ate lots of barbeque. It was a blast.

We left Bloomington around ten Monday, March 8 and drove the ten hours to Durham. The next morning we got up and went to UNC-Chapel Hill around 9 a.m. We walked around campus, found the Old Well, and shopped at the bookstore. Then we drove to Cary, a suburb of Raleigh which was one of Tom's mission areas. We ate bbq at Dickey's and then we shopped. We were excited to find an REI there since we don't have one in Indiana and it is Tom's favorite store. After lunch we spent a few hours exploring Cary. We found his mission apartment and some of the neighborhoods he used to tract. Then we went to an ice-cream place he liked called Good Berries. Then we drove back to Durham to meet up with James and Melissa Winder. James, Tom's cousin and Melissa, my friend since high school, are both students at Duke. Melissa is getting her Nurse Practitioner and James is in MBA school. They took us to their favorite bbq joint called the Q Shack. It was delicious. Then we went back to their apartment and stayed up late talking. It was so good to see them again. Ainsley loved playing with Hannah.

The Old Well on Chapel Hill campus

Apartment in Cary

The mission office

10 March, Wednesday:

The next morning, we picked up Melissa at her apartment and she gave us a tour of Duke campus. It was beautiful. We saw where James goes to school, the hospital where Melissa works, the beautiful Chapel, etc. I loved the gothic architecture of the buildings on the campus. We ate lunch on a patio of a pizza cafe on campus. Ainsley and Hannah loved running around the giant lawns on campus. We would have to chase after them. After our tour, we dropped Melissa off and drove to Apex, NC to see the Raleigh Temple. It was built and dedicated while Tom was on his mission and he was able to attend the dedication. It was closed so we just walked around the grounds. Then we drove to Goldsboro, NC which was Tom's last mission area before he came home. He served there for six months and so it was really special for him. It is home of the Seymour Johnson Air Force base and so we could hear F-15 Eagle planes flying all day. We found his apartment, and some of the restaurants and shops he used to go to. We ate dinner that night at Wilbur's which had the best Eastern Carolina style BBQ of the trip. Their hushpuppies were amazing! That night we found a western wear store where Tom bought some cowboy boots on sale. Although they are intended to be worn at his family's ranch, he keeps threatening that he is going to wear them to church one day:)Duke Chapel with Melissa

Duke Campus

The girls loved running around this grassy area

Cousins

Temple in Apex

Apartment in Goldsboro

Tom's favorite NC drinks

11 March, Thursday:

While we were in Goldsboro, Tom was determined to find a couple of drinks that he used to buy. One was a cheap carton of juice called Jungle Juice (we found it...it was way to sugary) and another was a Ginger Ale called Blenheims. Blenheims is a rare Ginger Ale made in South Carolina that is known for it's really bitter taste. As missionaries, they used to buy it for a greenie missionary as a joke. We probably went to 15 gas stations looking for the stuff but couldn't find it. So we headed to New Bern. Again, we drove around his area, found his apartment, and then stopped downtown. We toured the Tryon Palace which is where the British Governor of the North Carolina Colony lived in 1771. It burnt down in 1798 but was rebuilt as accurately as possible in the 1950's. There were tour guides in costumes who gave us the tour and taught us what life was like in the colonies in the 1770's. It was really interesting. Afterwards, we drove to the pharmacy where Pepsi Cola was invented but now it is a tourist shop. We walked around the beautiful square and then had bbq for the fourth time in 3 days at Moore's BBQ.

New Bern apartment

Tryon Palace

Tryon Palace

New Bern

12 March, Friday:

This morning, Tom woke up with the flu. He had a high fever and a sore throat. We had planned to drive to Harker's Island and then take a ferry over to Cape Lookout to see teh lighthouse which was the symbol of Tom's mission but Tom felt awful and the weather was really overcast so we decided to ski pit. I drove the three hours to Wilmington while Tom slept in the car. We checked into the hotel where we all napped for almost 4 hours! We must have all been exhausted. After the long nap, Tom was feeling a little better so we went to dinner at CiCi's pizza and then drove around Wilmington. We found Tom's mission apartment and the church where we would be attending on Sunday.

13 March, Saturday:

We got up early and had breakfast at Dunkin Donuts then we drove to UNC-Wilmington campus. To fulfil his service hours on his mission, Tom and his companion worked in the library on campus. Unfortunately the library and student union was closed due to Spring break, so we didn't go in. So we drove down to Carolina beach. We walked along the boardwalk and went into some of the little shops. The weather was beautiful but a little windy. We stuck our toes in the ocean and jumped over a few waves. The water was too cold to swim so we played in the sand, built a sand castle and picked up seashells. I am not sure Ainsley liked her first experience at the beach, the water was too cold and she didn't even like the sand in toes. She kept saying, "Mom, feet a mess!" After the beach, we drove back up to Wilmington and toured the USS North Carolina Battleship. This ship fought in the Pacific during World War II. It was amazing to see what life would have been like as a navy sailor on that ship. Afterwards, we drove around historic downtown and then had dinner at a mexican restaurant called El Cerro Grande.

UNCW

Carolina Beach

I think this picture accurately depicts how Ainsley felt about the first day at the beach. It was windy, she didn't like the cold water, and she didn't like walking in the sand because it made her feet "a mess" It took two more trips to the beach before she finally enjoyed it.

14 March, Sunday:

We woke up early and drove to Wrightsville Beach to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful. Ainsley loved watching the birds and picking up more seashells. Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for church. We attended the Wilmington Second Ward, which Tom served in. He was able to see some of the old members he worked with. After church we drove down to Shallotte, NC which was Tom's very first area. We found the trailor he lived in (yes, a trailor...we are in NC afterall.), found the church, and several member's homes. Then we drove to Ocean Isle Beach. This beach was covered in shells and so Ainsley went crazy. She kept reaching down to pick up shells, but her little hands couldn't hold any more and so she would keep dropping them to find new ones. It was pretty funny. After searching far and wide on this trip, we finally found the Blenheim's Ginger Ale in Ocean Isle. We drank it on the beach....it was disguistingly bitter. We bought two bottle, and one of them is still sitting in our refrigerator down stairs....the hunt was more exciting than actually drinking it. After we left Ocean Isle, we drove to Sunset Beach and the Sea Trails golf plantation where Tom used to golf on his P-days with a member who was the GM there. We drove back through Shallotte and then to Wilmington where we did our weekly Sunday skype with both families.

Sunrise at Wrightsville Beach

Ocean Isle

Drinking the bitter Blenheim's Ginger Ale

15 March, Monday:

We checked out of our hotel and drove one last time through UNC-Wilminton campus. Tom went into the bookstore to buy a t-shirt and then we drove to Winston-Salem. We toured Wake Forest campus which is one of the schools we could have attended for MBA school. It was strange to think we could have been living there instead of Bloomington. I am glad we chose IU though, we have loved it here. Then we went to Bibb's Downtown Restaurant for our last BBQ of the trip. We met our good friends and fellow MBA students Tye and Jenner there. They were in town looking for their new house because Tye got a job with Hanesbrand located in Winston-Salem. We had so much fun hearing about all of the houses they had seen. Then we drove to Mount Airy, NC which is the hometown of Andy Griffith. It is the basis of the fictional town Mayberry in his sitcom. We also drove past Pilot Mountain, which was remained Mount Pilot in the show. We stopped in town and went to a few Andy Griffith tourist shops before heading to Charleston, West Virginia for the night. The next day we drove the remaining six hours back home to Bloomington.

Mount Pilot

Andy and Opie and Ainsley

Mayberry

It was an amazing trip. I heard lots of mission stories, ate lots of bbq, and had a lot of fun. Next time we will come in the summer so we can enjoy the beach more, but I loved it!