Out of Our Rut Blog Welcome Page

Welcome to the Out of Our Rut blog landing page.

Who we are:

We are a couple of former engineers that lived and worked in the Rochester New York area for over 30 years. When we were laid off from two different companies, one day apart, we took that as a sign to change things up. We had built a beautiful home on 50 acres and loved the place, but with plenty of time on our hands, we began to travel more and realized that when we were on the road for weeks on end, we didn't really miss all the “stuff” we had back home. Plus the work involved with maintaining our home and property seemed to be the only reason we would head back home. That prompted us to get out of our rut and sell 95% of our possessions and our home and move into our 38 foot motorhome and travel the country full time starting in June of 2016.

Chris and Jack Hiking in Washington State

At Pullout Along Rugged Oregon Coast

Our mission:

To explore the country with a strong bias towards outdoor activities. Our passions are hiking and geocaching with some mountain biking on the side. I am an avid photographer. I guess working at Eastman Kodak for 32 years had an influence in that. And while we live in a motorhome and stay in many campgrounds, we really are not campers. We seldom have campfires and don't have a corn hole game. We rarely stay at a campground for its amenities. We pick a place that is near where we want to explore. We think of it more like our home happens to have wheels and can move around. Our desire in these travels is to slow the pace. We didn't want to see if we could get to all the National Parks as quickly as possible. We like to keep a travel day to less than 200 miles and if the place warrants, stay for a week or more.

At Geocaching Headquarters in Seattle for #10,000

The blog:

For friends and family (as well as us) to keep track of what we have been up to, we have created this blog. It chronicles where we've been and what we've done as we wander around the country. Each stop along the way will, at minimum, get mentioned in the blog. Some longer stops in areas we enjoyed may get multiple blog posts in order to give that stop it's due. Generally the blog has lots of photographs as I find it difficult to eliminate photos I like. The blog will talk about the campground to some extent, but it shouldn't be considered a campground review. We seldom seem to exhaust the things we want to explore before we exhaust ourselves and need to move on. That means we may completely skip some activities or places in an area that others may consider essential. We look at that as a reason to come back in the future.

Pretty Sunset in Quartzite Arizona

At the Window in Big Bend National Park

This landing page:

The problem with just about any blog is that fact it is chronological. This is fine since that is how the events occurred in real life. But since our blog is so much about a given location, it can be difficult for somebody to find a specific blog post for a given location. I even find it a challenge to remember when we happened to be at a given location if I wanted to look something up. For instance, if someone asked about Twin Falls Idaho. I know we stayed there but it might take me awhile to figure out that we were there in June of 2017 to get them to the right post. If I could only look at a map of all the places we have stayed and have an easy way to get to the relevant blog post.

Since I already use Google My Maps to keep track of our locations, I have created a special map that has all of our stops since going full time. None of the routes are included in the map since that just seems to clutter it up and don't really add value. By clicking the link below the map, an interactive map with all of our stops will open in another window. It is then possible to move around the map and zoom in an area of interest. Clicking on any pin on the map will pop up the name of the location along with a link to the blog post(s) associated with that stop. Since I am nearly always 2 to 4 weeks behind in the blog, some of the most recent map points may not have a link to a blog, but they will in time. The GREEN pins are locations that happen to include one of our annual or yearly reviews.

So if you want to see what we found to explore in a given area, this should provide a much easier way to find the blog post.

Click HERE to open interactive Google map

2024 Year End Review

As 2024 comes to a close, we get to celebrate being on the road as full timers for eight and a half years. We stuck to the eastern side of the country this year and in fact stayed within a couple hundred miles of the Atlantic Ocean the full year. I suppose the most significant aspect of this year’s travels was our decision to purchase an RV lot in Titusville Florida at The Great Outdoors (TGO). And to a large extent, this purchase was our reason for staying in the east instead of heading back out west. We started the year finishing up a monthlong stay at TGO having rented a different site trying to determine if we liked this place. We found a site we really liked that fit our needs and closed on the property in mid January while we were exploring other parts of Florida during the rest of the winter.

There were a few factors that told us we should have some sort of place we call home but instead of repeating the details of that thought process here, I will simply refer to the blog post from late December 2023 (Xmas at The Great Outdoors) which goes into the decision. One update to that blog post relates to the ongoing cost of ownership - HOA fees and property taxes. In that post, I had used historical data from the rental office regarding the possible income from renting out our site when we are not in Titusville. I had estimated that if we were here for the 6 months during the “high season” but had our lot in the rental pool the other 6 months, our site would cost us $23 per day. I don’t have what our income is yet from our lot being rented during the month of October before we came back. But based on the income for the first three quarters of the year, I suspect we will come in below my initial estimate. For the time being, the daily cost I have used in my spreadsheet for keeping track of camping expenses has been $25 per day so my stats I talk about later in this post should be fairly accurate or just a little high.

The first 3 months of the year found us bopping around Florida. It was a mixture of private campgrounds, state parks, Elks Lodges and a Habitat for Humanity build in Vero Beach. We had planned and booked all but two weeks well before we knew we were going to buy a site at TGO so we only came back to our site for those two weeks at the end of February. By early April, we had completed all our original plans so we could return to TGO for 3 weeks before starting our journey north to New England for the bulk of the summer and early fall.

The map below shows the route we traveled this past year. While there was some overlap on the route we took north in the spring and south in the fall, we tended not to duplicate the actual camping stops in order to allow us to see slightly different places. Just below the map is a link that will open the actual Google Map which permits you to zoom in and pan around to better see our stops. Each red pin represents a place we spent at least one night at and by clicking on a pin, a new window will pop up with the name of the place we stayed as well as the links to the blog posts associated with that particular stop.

Click HERE to open Google Map

We spent about 5 weeks working our way from Florida to Vermont and then had two different monthlong stops near the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. There were also a couple weeks spent in the Adirondacks and a few more weeks in Burlington and northern Vermont. We wrapped up our New England journey by spending nearly all of September exploring some of the interior of Maine. We wrapped up the journey with another 5 weeks to make it from Maine back to Titusville Florida.

It was definitely an action packed year. The hiking in the mountains of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine was outstanding and we even found some excellent bike trails along the way. We also fit in a couple of train rides and a few boat rides over the course of the year. We managed to stay at 19 different Elks Lodges during 2023 - the majority of them ones we had never visited before. And with these additions, we have now surpassed the one hundred mark of how many different lodges we have camped at in the last 8.5 years bring our total number of nights spent at lodges to 407!

I have a few different “heat maps” that show where we have camped. Each state we have stayed at is shaded in red. The darker the red, the more nights we stayed in that state. The first map is just for 2024. You can see that we stayed in 14 different states this year. Florida came in the top spot at 179 nights. Vermont was in second place with 79 nights. We managed to add one new state to the list - Rhode Island. The second map shows our stops for the full 8.5 years, now up to 45 states instead of 44 from last year. The only states not colored in are Alaska, Hawaii, Oklahoma, New Jersey and Delaware. Technically, we have camped in all of these states other than Hawaii but those camping trips occurred prior to going full time. I am also including a version of second heat map but this one is divided into the counties within each state to get a better view of where we stayed in the state.

Our 2024 Camping Map

Our 8.5 Year Camping Map

8.5 Years at County Level

Like in past reviews, I have a table showing some of the statistics for our full time lifestyle. It includes facts like how many stops we had as well as the number of miles driven in the motorhome and car and the costs associated with our travels. Since we have so many years under our belt at this point, I only show the numbers for the past 6 years. Previous year end reviews will have the data from earlier years.

Just the Stats for the Past 6 Years

There aren’t too many surprises in the table. We camped in a few more places this year compared to last year which brought our average number of nights per stop to under 12 versus over 15 last year. This one is simple to explain. In 2023, we stayed at a  campground in western New York for over 5 months. So even staying for a couple of monthlong stops in New England and a few stops a week or longer, we ended up moving around more often. Even so, it didn’t seem like we were moving at too fast of a pace. Our number of miles driven both in the motorhome and the Jeep were very similar to last years.

In terms of the types of places we have camped, I break it down into one of 4 categories - boondocking, state parks, private campgrounds and Elks Lodges. This year we stayed two thirds of the nights in private campgrounds similar to last year. But we did stay a few more nights at state parks versus Elks Lodges this past year. That is likely just a function of there being fewer Elks Lodges on the eastern side of the country and we spent a fair amount of time out west in 2023 where the lodges have more camping options. For the keen eye observer, the breakdown of style of camping shows 376 nights total versus the expected 366. This is simply to show that we did boondock 10 nights over the course of the year but those nights also happened to be at Elks Lodges. I only show it because we had a new solar and lithium battery system installed in early 2023 and I wanted to prove that we did use it - albeit sparingly. The net result over the course of the year for camping costs came in at just over $30 per night. This is pretty consistent with prior years.

As we sit on our lot at TGO in Titusville Florida this winter, we are finding that having a nice place to stay with a shed to store our bikes and other stuff out of the weather is quite nice. I can do some of the maintenance chores on the motorhome that are more difficult to do in a gravel lot in a state park. Since returning to TGO this November, I have washed and waxed the rig, replaced the return springs on our leveling jacks and even had one of our air conditioners replaced - although I hired that job out to people more skilled at that task. We also did start to get established with a doctor and dentist in the area. This was part of the reason for buying the RV lot - needing to have “shallow roots” so we can take care of ourselves as we get older.

Like we have done in previous year end reviews, we have looked over the 42 stops for the year and tried to identify several of our favorites. Even though I will provide the campground we stayed at in an area, do not look at this as a campground review. We seldom pick a campground based on its amenities. We are more looking for a great location and the campground tends to just be the place the motorhome gets parked for the duration of our visit. In fact, one of the top stops this year was the gravel lot on the side of an Elks Lodge with no RV services. Many campers may consider that too primitive, but we found a lot to do in the area and would love to go back for more in the future. For each of the stops, there is a short description of the stop, a link to the first blog post for that location which will provide more details about the stop, and a couple of my favorite pictures from the stop. In chronological order, here is the list for 2024:

• Indian River Habitat for Humanity ReStore Vero Beach Florida - This place isn’t your typical campground. In fact, if you find yourself in Vero Beach, you won’t be able to stay here unless you have signed up for one of the Habitat for Humanity RV Care-A-Vanner builds at this local affiliate well in advance. We were here for a 2 week assignment in early March. Vero Beach is a pretty area with lots of small towns along the coast to visit and quite a few wildlife areas to walk around or go for a bike ride. The Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is the oldest NWR in the country and we drove around the Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area but should have visited with our bicycles. I’m sure we could have found plenty more to see and do in the area.

But the true reason this place made our list was being part of a large group of like minded RVers here to help lend a hand from building new homes, refurbishing existing homes or working in the ReStore. This was only the third one of these builds we have been part of, but this affiliate runs their program like a well oiled machine. They can accommodate just about any skill level so you don’t need to have been a general contractor to find a job at the build site. And while swinging a hammer and helping out a good cause is therapeutic in a way, it was the camaraderie of the eight couples that made this a winning stop for us.

Vero Beach Blog Post 

Our RV Care-a-Vanner Crew at Vero Beach

Wall Raising Ceremony

• Collier Seminole State Park Naples Florida - We spent 10 nights at this state park in the southwest corner of the state. There are both state and federal preserves in the area that were wonderful to explore. We spent two days on long bike rides at both Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park and Big Cypress National Preserve basically riding with alligators! There were also lots of less strenuous (or dangerous) things to see and do in the area. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has a 2 plus mile boardwalk though a very scenic area. And for an even more laid back day, Marco Island was a fun visit.

First Naples Blog Post

One of Dozens of Gators to Bike Past

Royal Terns on Marco Island

• Green Mountain Family Campground Middlebury Vermont - We spent the whole month of June at this place in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont. The hiking was excellent but challenging at times. This stop gave us one of our favorite hikes from our eighth year review - Mount Abraham. But there was more to see and do in the area than just hike. We spent a day each at both Shelburne Museum and Shelburne Farms and really enjoyed them. We also learned all about the granite industry in this part of the state. I wrote 8 blog posts about our stay so it is tough to summarize another than to tell you to check out this part of Vermont.

First Green Mountains Post

Chris Enjoys View at Buck Mountain

At the Granite Quarry

• Moose River Campground St Johnsbury Vermont - While we technically were camping at this place in Vermont for the month of August, we were here because of its proximity to the White Mountains of New Hampshire just a a few miles away from camp. The hiking here was excellent as well although it seems like the White Mountains are a bit more popular with hikers so we ran into more crowds on the trails. The two places we went back to multiple times were Franconia Notch and Crawford Notch. I suspect we could move to this area and spend the rest of our lives hiking and never need to repeat a hike if we didn’t want to. We also found several excellent rail trails that we spent multiple days exploring 20 to 30 miles at a time by bicycle. Lamoille Valley Trail may have been our favorite but the Ammonoosuc River and the Presidential Range Trails were quite nice as well. And then there were the two train rides. One to the top of Mount Washington via the cog railway and the scenic train ride out of Conway New Hampshire.

First White Mountains Blog

Our Ride to the Top of Mount Washington

Covered Bridge Over Ammonoosuc River in Bath NH

• Katahdin Shadows Campground Medway Maine - We only managed to fit in a week here around the second week of September. The main draw for us to this out of the way spot in central Maine was Baxter State Park. It’s a pristine wilderness area that has very limited services to help keep it that way. There are excellent hiking opportunities and for the really hardcore hikers, this is the location where the Appalachian Trail starts/ends. But we found other things in the region including a lumbermen’s museum and possibly one of the nicest biking areas at the Penobscot River Trails. Had we known how much we were going to like this place, we likely would have tried to book a spot for a month or longer.

Medway Maine Blog

Mount Katahdin from Penobscot River Trails

Keep Maine Beautiful

• Wareham - New Bedford Elks Lodge Wareham Massachusetts - This lodge does not have any RV services like electric, water or dump station. But they do have a fairly large and level gravel lot next to the main paved parking lot and we had decent sun exposure for our solar system to help charge our batteries while boondocking here. This place is in southeastern Massachusetts and it worked out well for visiting Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. It would also have worked to take in Nantucket had we only been able to stay another day or two, but now we know that staying just 4 nights wasn’t long enough. We spent a very long day taking the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, walking 10 miles around the island and trying to fit in as many sites as we could manage in a single day and then returning to the mainland. We also got in a nearly 25 miles bike ride along the Shining Sea Bikeway. The drive onto Cape Cod was nice but there was to much to see along the drive that we weren’t able to get all the way to the tip of the cape.

First Wareham Blog

Ned's Point Lighthouse

Sunset on Ferry From Martha's Vineyard

Below is a map showing all 386 places we have camped in the past eight and a half years. For additional information on any of them, click on the link below the map which will open the actual Google Map I use. Pan and zoom on the map and by clicking on any pin, a window will pop up with the name of the location and a link to the blog post(s) for that place. Those interested in hiking, mountain biking, geocaching or nature photography, may find some of the posts useful if you plan to visit an area we have explored. Our blog posts are more about the interesting locations we discovered during our stops and less about campground reviews so don't expect to find much information about what campground is the best in a specific area.

Click HERE to open interactive Google map

So what does 2025 hold for us? Originally we had reserved some state park campgrounds down in the Florida Keys and the Everglades for most of January and the first half of February, but we are reassessing those plans as I try to get past a couple of health concerns our newfound doctor has identified. We figure it makes more sense to stay in the Titusville area to deal with tests and appointments until I get the all clear. We also haven’t put any thought into where we might spend the warmer months but will eventually figure it out.

Off to Morehead City NC

Map of this blog's locations click this link to open the map

Coming out of Pocahontas State Park in Virginia, we don’t have another reserved campground until 8 nights from now at Skidaway Island State Park just outside of Savannah Georgia. The most direct route would to be to head down Interstate 95 nearly 500 miles thru North and South Carolina. But we were looking to visit some more of the coastal towns along the Atlantic Ocean. We knew the Morehead City Elks Lodge had a spot for one RV with 30 amp electric. This would be an area of North Carolina we haven’t visited yet in our travels. Being a 250 mile drive, we opt to split the drive in two parts and try out the Elks Lodge in Wilson North Carolina which we believe also has some RV spots.

This halfway point is an easy drive down I-95. We make it to the lodge and find the drive back to the rear of the building where the outlets are had some low hanging tree branches but we manage to make it back without incident. We were lucky that the lodge wasn’t open yet otherwise it might have been a tight squeeze to get turned around and situated. A lodge member did show up and we asked about staying. He said we were fine since the lodge wasn’t open that night - even though it was a Friday.

I had earlier read about a place in downtown Wilson that had a lot of whirligigs on display. Since it was midafternoon, we decide to head into town to see what the deal was. Road construction made it a challenge to get to the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park but once we got near the place it was quite obvious. There are dozens of the large contraptions in the two acre park.

Whirligig Park in Wilson NC

We saw there was a visitor center across the street so we head there first before it closed for the day. Inside are numerous smaller whirligigs that a normal person might put in their yard. The woman at the desk gave us the backstory about how this farmer made these works of art and had them on his farm outside of town. They were a big tourist draw for the area but as Mr. Simpson aged, he was having difficulty maintaining them so the town began work in 2010 to create a park in the center of town and move them for future generations to see.

Inside Visitor Center

Since he made all of the whirligigs with scrap parts, they tend to be rather unique. One of the larger displays inside the visitor center was a large star made up old street signs. A sign asks visitors to take a picture with the flash on. It is a rather incredible difference between the two photos. She also tells us we can wander the grounds now but we should really consider coming back after sunset to see a similar display of the large whirligigs outside.

Normal

With Flash

Before heading outside, we see another shop inside the large building that housed something called the American Center for Photographers. From what we could see through the windows, this placed looked like a place two Eastman Kodak veterans need to visit.

Kodak Advertising

Old View Camera

They have a lot of old photographic equipment and a ton of Kodak advertising displays from years ago. I marveled at some of the old view cameras on display. Some of them looked like they would be capable of taking a photo today.

Old Time Photo Display

View Camera with Kodak Ektar Lens

Some of the Kodak displays predated our time at the company but there were quite a few that would have been from the several decades we worked there. This was a wonderful walk down memory lane.

Film Cameras Over the Years

I've Shot Lots of Rolls of Film Over the Years

Now we head out to get a better view of the 30 something whirligigs across the street. These things are huge, reaching near 50 feet tall.

Airplane

Dozens of Whirligigs

Bike Rider

We had a virtual geocache that required us to answer several questions about them. They were not too difficult but it did take some time to notice the various details since there were so many ones to look at. We wander a block away to a display of a lighthouse and cannon to find a physical geocache as well. We were really amazed with these whirligigs and decided we must return after dark to see them. We scope out a place for dinner and then head back to the rig to pick up a tripod and other photo gear.

Stagecoach and Horses

Mini Lighthouse and Cannon

When we came back to the park at 6:30, it was plenty dark. We had been told that there were several light switches around the perimeter of the whirligigs to turn on some special lights to show off the reflective qualities of them at night. We didn’t have much luck getting the lights to come on and stay on but simply using the flash on my camera did the trick.

High Flying Goose

Two Man Log Sawing

We walked around for 20 minutes or so checking them out for various angles. There was a slight breeze so many of them were moving a little bit but not too quickly. We had picked Wilson simply as a midpoint on our travels but it turned out to have some fun things to see.

Stagecoach at Night

The next morning, we start our journey to the southeast. It is just 120 miles to the Morehead City Elks Lodge. It was a nice day and a pretty drive. We arrived at the lodge and knew we wanted to park on the north side of the building if we were going to use the electric outlet. The lodge wasn’t open although a couple of members were out doing some chores. There was room for us to stay, but there were a couple of vehicles and a trailer parked near the outlet so we weren’t able to get very close to it. Turns out the lodge rents out its kitchen to a local caterer and these vehicles were theirs. One of the members called them and asked if they could move the vehicles to different spots. A couple hours later, someone arrived and rearranged things so we were able to pull into the spot we needed for the 5 nights we intended to stay here. The next day was Sunday and we were lazy and just watched some football games.

We had looked at things to do in the area and came up with a few ideas to keep us busy and entertained. Morehead City is right on the Atlantic coast, midway between Cape Hatteras and Wilmington. We head out Monday morning to try out the bike path on the barrier island just off the shore. Emerald Isle is almost 25 miles long with bridges across it on either end of the island. There is a bike path that extends roughly half its length. One of the things that is very difficult for us to mentally handle is the fact that along this stretch of North Carolina, the shoreline runs east to west instead of the expected north to south. Emerald Isle is quite narrow. Under 1 miles wide at its maximum and under 1000 feet at its narrowest point. There isn’t a lot of parking for the trail, but we did scope out a small parking lot near the western end of the island at The Point. There likely would not have been parking if we were here during high season but we found spots since it’s well into October.

The trail is paved but it does follow right next to a main road for nearly all of its length so it isn’t the most peaceful ride. Worse is that the bike path has intersecting roads for most of its length. Fortunately there wasn’t a lot of traffic but this might be more challenging during the summer months. We also have a few dozen geocaches hidden along the trail. This is way more than we want to tackle but it does break up our ride for us. About 2 miles into the ride, we come across Emerald Isle Woods Park. There are several caches here as well but our real goal was to find the restrooms likely in the park. But 12:30, we were in need of a place to stop and have the lunch we had brought along. We found a beach access point near the Islander Hotel that worked out well for us.

Our Lunch Stop

Continuing up the coast (east), we stopped at the Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier. We didn’t have our locks with us so we only checked out the pier from the shore.

Fishing Pier

As we went past the road to Emerald Isle Boat Ramp, we detoured to check it out. Well, not so much to check out the boat launch, but to find a geocache hidden in the adjoining park. This ramp provides access to Bogue Sound - the body of water between the mainland and the island.

Emerald Isle Boat Ramp

We were approaching the town of Indian Beach which is where the bike trail supposedly stops. We decided to turn around about a 1/2 miles in from there since our maps didn’t show any sort of ice cream stand in town, and by now we were about 13 miles into our ride. We used a geocache at the small 3rd Street Park to mark the halfway point of our ride. This park is on a less traveled road about a block south of the bike path. We started our ride back on Ocean Drive and found this to be much more pleasant. We didn’t have the constant traffic from the major road next to the path and we didn’t have the dozens of intersections to be concerned about traffic turning into our path. The homes along this road were generally quite nice and from the looks of things they were predominantly rental homes. Other than a few construction vehicles of workers renovating a few of the homes, there was no traffic what so ever.

Eventually Ocean Drive ended and we were forced back onto the bike path. A quick stop at Blue Heron Park for another geocache before finding a Ben and Jerry’s in the town of Emerald Isle. We sat in the air conditioned comfort eating our well deserved treat and chatting with the worker about the area. He asked us how far we needed to go to get back to our car and we told him we had parked at the southern end of the island. He corrected us and said The Point is on the western end and that visitors always confuse directions. We made it back to the car after a 26 mile ride and 16 geocaches found. It was quite a productive and fun day.

Another Beach View

The next day we head back to Emerald Isle but this time to the far eastern end to visit Fort Macon State Park. There are some hiking trails and a beach, but we are coming to see the old fort. Originally built in the 1820’s to protect ships in Beaufort, it was sold to the state and became a state park in 1936. There is a very nice visitor center when you arrive at the fort. The volunteer informs us that there will be a docent giving a tour of the fort starting in just a few minutes.

Display at Fort Macon Visitor Center

Beautiful Timber Roof

As we wandered around over to the fort to start our tour, it is clear that this place is getting ready for Halloween. There are decorations everywhere you look. Turns out, Fort Macon hosts an event called Fear at the Fort each year. It looks like they go all out but that will mean several of the rooms inside the fort are currently closed while they set up.

A Skeleton Crew Works the Cannon

Large Guard Outside Fort Entrance

The entrance to the fort is pretty neat with a brick and cobblestone walkway to the bridge over the large moat.

Pathway to Fort

Moat

We have pretty large group of people for the tour. The docent was excellent and plenty of stories and history about the fort over the past 200 years. We get a good tour and even get some insight as to what we would have seen in some of the rooms presently closed. After the tour is over, we wander around on our own to check the place out and read more of the displays. The upper level is where some of the cannons are located and it provides for a good view of the courtyard, ocean and inlet to Beaufort.

Fort Macon Courtyard from Above

Cannons

Back on the ground level, we explore the rooms that are open. There is a lot to see here and many of the rooms even have audio guides to explain what we are seeing.

Sleeping Quarters

Uniforms

Mess Hall

There is the hot shot kiln that was used to heat up the cannonballs before firing at enemy ships with the hopes of starting a fire onboard. There was a large gunpowder room as well as a display with all the different types of shells that could be fired from the cannons.

Cannonball Kiln

Powder

Shell Selection

There is some impressive brickwork that went into the construction of the fort. One of the staircases between the lower and upper levels has the results still showing where a cannonball lobbed into the fort rolled down the stairs damaging the edge of many of the steps. Apparently some of the more damaged steps needed to be repaired from a visitor safety issue, so it isn’t quite as obvious. We only saw it because our tour guide pointed it out.

Dinged Stairs

There is an outer section of the fort that helps to form the moat. From this vantage point, soldiers would be able to shoot any enemy fighters that got into the moat during an attack.

Stairs to Outer Section of Fort

Looking Into the Moat

We also had an Adventure Lab, virtual cache and the first stages of a multi cache to occupy our time during the visit. All in all, we had a great time at the fort and learned a lot of out the history of this part of North Carolina.

With one more full day in the area before we continue south, we decided to explore Morehead City and its neighbor Beaufort.

Welcome to Morehead City

We used an Adventure Lab to tour us around the waterfront at Morehead City. Being midweek and late October, there weren’t many people around the waterfront area.

Neptune

It was clear that if wanted to take an ocean fishing charter, this would be a good place for it and from all the boats docked in the marina, there were lots of options.

Fishing Boats

Our plan was to next head over the short distance to Beaufort and check out the North Carolina Maritime Museum before finding a place for lunch. The museum is a free attraction but does accept donations.

North Carolina Maritime Museum

There is quite a bit to see here. Obviously it is all about the coastal life whether that is fishing, boating, lighthouses, lifesaving equipment or marine science and ecology. There is a little bit of everything to check out.

Rescue Boat

Whaling Exhibit

One of the main attractions for the museum is the repository from Blackbeard’s wrecked flagship - Queen Anne’s Revenge. This ship was captured by Blackbeard in 1717 and ran aground at the Beaufort Inlet. The museum has an archaeological team that is using modern day tools to examine the artifacts salvaged from the wreck. There is even a room where the work is done that can be viewed by the public. Nobody was working today, but from the looks of things, the room isn’t just a prop.

Blackbeard Video on Transparent TV

Queen Anne's Revenge Model

Lab

We finish out by checking out some of the various fish found in the waters near here and watch the museum’s movie. It is a well done place and definitely worth a visit.

Whale Skeleton Overhead

Sportfishing Species

Blue Marlin

Right across the street from the museum is the Harvey Smith Watercraft Center. The facility is where people can learn to built a boat. Since it was lunchtime, there wasn’t any activity going on however visitors can look inside from either the street or from an inside loft area that overlooks the workshop. They look to have nice woodworking equipment.

Watercraft Center

We had selected the Finz Grill as our lunch stop both from its menu and it is directly across from the museum. We had a seat on the deck overlooking the water and enjoyed a nice meal before continuing our walk along the water.

Double Decker Tour Bus

Cruise Boat

We had two more goals for our time in Beaufort. There are many historic homes that were built in town and Chris has a map with details of many of the more famous and beautiful ones. It was a beautiful afternoon to walk around town and we got in an all the homes we wanted to see and ended up with a fairly long walk in the process.

Tucker Thompson House

As we headed back to the car, we had our next goal - the Old Burying Ground. This is a very popular destination as well. With another map and description printed out, we start to explore the old cemetery. It isn’t a huge place, only taking up half a city block but we discover that if we were to walk to each of the 28 graves sites of interest and read about the person, we would end up spending more time than we were willing to invest. It was an interesting stop but were aren’t as big of history buffs as you need to be to check out all the famous people buried here.

Old Burying Ground in Beaufort

Even though we ran out of interest in Beaufort history, it was only midafternoon so we decided to to drive east a bit to find a few of the more popular geocaches in the area and make it over to the county next door since we had yet to find a cache there. We end up in the town of Swansboro at the small but pretty Riverview Park. We find the geocache we wanted and walked along the boardwalk along the White Oak River. There was a guy carrying a small boat to the dock and looked to be assembling it right there before he put it in the water and started out. It was clear that this was a rather unusual personal watercraft and his propulsion system was battery powered. It wasn’t until I studied the picture of him leaving the dock that I saw his dual motor setup appeared to be two cordless drills tie wrapped to a mount with a couple of ropes positioned on the triggers so he could control each “propeller” independently thus allowing him to turn the boat. It was a quite inventive setup although it was clear how seaworthy the vessel was. Fortunately it was a calm day so he would hopefully be okay.

Riverview Park in Swansboro NC

Unique Boat Motor Configuration

We had a nice time at Morehead City Elks Lodge for the 5 nights. It is a quiet neighborhood and the lodge was seldom open so there wasn’t too much traffic in the parking lot. The most activity we saw was the caterers coming and going on occasion.