We head out on our road trip on Sunday, June 20th and it is raining! Rain and bad weather have canceled several planned trips for us this past year, but we decided rain or shine we will take this road trip! So we leave my parent's house in Murphy, NC, and drive to the state line to get our drive started!
Alan and I had talked about doing this trip for several years. We had even read a couple articles in the NC Our State magazine about driving US Hwy 64 through NC. So with COVID causing our European cruise and land vacation to be canceled, we decided it was the perfect time to take this road trip.
We did have rain off and on for the first 3 days, but it wasn't a steady pouring rain. As we soon found out, leaving on a Sunday wasn't the best plan because on Sunday, Monday, and many Tuesdays most of the restaurants and stores in the downtowns were closed! Fortunately, for us, we did our "usual" thing and we brought protein bars and apples with us for lunches and yogurt, fruit, and granola breakfast bars with us for our breakfasts!! So, between the rain showers and most downtowns pretty much "closed" we didn't do much walking around the downtowns the first 3 days of our trip.
Regardless of the weather, it was a beautiful drive! Most of the time we were on two-lane country roads. So many beautiful views, with much of Hwy 64 lined with blooming daylilies and also blooming magnolia trees everywhere. We also saw lots of murals in the downtowns and quilt blocks on business buildings, houses, and barns throughout the drive. We saw some beautiful historic downtowns and some that were very sad! One downtown, Parmele, only had its sign and an old train car in its " historic downtown". I didn't take pictures of the "sad" towns and you will see in some towns all we got was a picture of the town's name. Some towns didn't even have a sign, at least not that we saw.
On our first day, we went from the North Carolina/Tennessee state line to Rutherfordton, NC. We stayed just outside Rutherfordton in Forest City. Between the weather and the time of our arrival, we didn't go into downtown Rutherfordton the next day.
We drove through Hayesville, Franklin, Highlands, Cashiers, Brevard, Hendersonville, and Chimney Rock~~ all towns we have been to many times so we didn't stop.
Highlands is one of the highest towns east of the
Mississippi River, with an elevation of 4,118 feet. It's also located in one of
the few temperate rainforests in North America.
This information is part of what I found posted online,
under the history Highlands, NC ~ The town of Highlands was founded in 1875 by
two developers living in Kansas who, according to legend, took a map in hand
and drew a line from New York to New Orleans. Then they drew another line from
Chicago to Savannah. These lines, they predicted, would become major trade
routes in the future, and where they crossed would someday be a great
population center. Their logic wasn’t completely insane when one recognizes
that we are just over 120 miles from Atlanta.
What evolved was a health and summer resort at more than
4,000 feet on the highest crest of the Western North Carolina plateau in the
Southern Appalachian Mountains. This paradisiac settlement, the highest
incorporated town east of the Rockies, provided common ground for both northern
and southern pioneers a decade after the Civil war. By 1883, nearly 300
immigrants from the eastern states were calling Highlands home. In the early
1880’s the town contained 8 country stores specializing in groceries, hardware,
and general merchandise, a post office, a hotel and boarding house for summer
guests, a public library, four churches, and a first-class school.
Very little changed until the late 1920s, when the
Cullasaja River was dammed, forming Lake Sequoyah, to provide hydroelectric
power. A spectacularly scenic road to Franklin was carved into the rock walls
of the Cullasaja Gorge. The muddy roads in and out of town were reinforced with
crushed stone. By the time the Chamber of Commerce was established in 1931, the
town’s population had increased to 500 with 2,500 to 3,000 summer guests. There
were now 25 businesses.
Again, very little changed until the mid-1970s, when the influx of multi-family homes and shopping centers spawned land use plans and
zoning laws intended to protect Highlands’ natural assets. The town’s
population stands at slightly over 1,100 year-round residents with 3,200 on the
plateau.
Brevard, the land of the waterfalls, and they are known for their mountain biking trails.
Hendersonville was a hunting ground for the Cherokees before Revolutionary War soldier William Mills “discovered” the area in the late 1780s. Mills received one of the first land grants west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which was dated 1787, and settled the land to become the thriving community it is today. The village takes its name from a large granite outcropping located on a summit above the village itself in Chimney Rock State Park.
Famous for stunning lake scenery, forested mountain
landscapes, and brilliant waterfalls, Lake Lure is known as a prime location
for some of the world's most iconic films, like “Dirty Dancing” and “Last of
the Mohicans.”
All along our drive, we saw daylilies lining the highway!
Rutherfordton is a town of firsts. It was the home of
western North Carolina's first U.S. Post Office, first public school, and first
newspaper. It's where the country's first $1 gold coin was minted. Founded in
1787, it was even one of the first towns in the region.
We arrived in Rutherfordton around 1700, so we waited until Monday to drive around downtown Rutherfordton.
We loved the banners hanging in downtown Rutherfordton!! They had banner flags to honor a loved one and their contribution to our freedom with a customized pole banner flag. These are displayed on holidays such as Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veterans Day.
Morgantown was another pretty downtown, the home of Catawba
Beer and at least four other breweries. There were renovations underway at the
Courthouse Square to include the construction of a new amphitheater, common
area, and green space on the southern end of the property that everyone will be
able to enjoy. As part of these renovations, the stone wall surrounding the
square is being restored. Currently, the original stones are being removed from
a portion of the wall that borders North Green Street. These stones are being
kept, and once structural improvements are made, the wall will be rebuilt using
the original stones.
From Hwy 64 you can see the back of the North Carolina School for the Deaf.
Court House Square.
Copied photo of the construction progress, this courthouse square will be beautiful when completed.
Lenoir was another pretty downtown. Arriving in Lenoir, we passed several buildings that were part of the Bernhardt Furniture Company, established in 1889 in Lenoir by John Mathias Bernhardt. Bernhardt is among the country's largest family-owned furniture companies. This is just one of the many Bernhardt buildings in town.
Had to take a picture of this storefront!!
Leaving Lenior and driving into Taylorville.
Taylorsville is the namesake of either John Louis Taylor, North Carolinian agriculturist, and political philosopher, or General Zachary Taylor,
the 12th president of the United States. The county is served by US Hwy 64,
which is a controlled access roadway connecting Taylorsville with Lenoir and
Statesville.
Downtown Taylorville
The City of Statesville was the first municipality in North Carolina to provide electric service to its citizens. Because of this historical accomplishment, the city has been recognized as the First
Public Power Community in North Carolina.
The first of many fires ravaged Statesville in 1855 destroying the majority of downtown's buildings. Most of the existing downtown was built around the turn of the century, with the majority of buildings dating from 1860 to about 1930.
Some two miles north of Statesville was Fort Dobbs, which was built to defend the forefront of civilization from 1756 to about 1764. It was considered to be the center of this part of the Revolutionary War. Statesville was incorporated as a city in 1847.
Statesville will be seen again because we stayed in Statesville on our way home from the beach. Statesville is a beautiful town!! This downtown had the most landscaping & flowers we had seen on our trip and they were all over downtown plus the landscaping was magnificent!!
Mocksville, like most of the other downtowns, was pretty much deserted because
most everything was closed.
The county seat, Mocksville, was known as "Mocks Old
Field" before it was incorporated in 1839. Other communities in the county
include Bermuda Run, Cooleemee, and Farmington. ... Davie County is home to one
of North Carolina's oldest annual festivals, the Mocksville Masonic Picnic,
held each August since 1878.
Lexington~ ~World Famous Barbecue, Award-Winning Wines,
NASCAR History, Fine Art, and Historic Uptown. Located in Davidson County in
the Piedmont area of North Carolina, Lexington is known as “The Barbeque Capital
of the World”.
Again, as you can see downtown is "closed" -- so nothing open!
Driving into Raliegh!
Raleigh is the capital city of North Carolina. It’s known for its universities, including North Carolina State University. The number of technology and scholarly institutions around Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham make the area known as the Research Triangle. The North Carolina State Capitol is a 19th-century Greek Revival–style building with a statue of George Washington dressed as a Roman general in its rotunda. Raleigh's downtown is beautiful and its streets are lined with many, many Oak trees.
Yummy dinner and drinks!!
Fried green tomatoes topped with pimento cheese and shrimp were our starter!
Alan was excited to find they had fried oysters as a topping for his salad. We were very lucky, all our dinners were delicious!!
When I researched towns on our route I loved this name, Lizard Lick!
According to NC historian William S. Powell, the town got
its name from a "passing observer who saw many lizards sunning and licking
themselves on a rail fence." Regardless of the town name, local community
members who are native to the area are proud of their origins, and their
economic future in the area.
Nintendo has a game connected to Lizard Lick!
Next are two small towns, but I didn't take pictures.
Yep, Nashville, NC-- I looked it up there are twenty places called Nashville in the USA.
Nashville was a very pretty little town.
The town served the area as an important Colonial river port and thriving trade
center until the Civil War.
Tarboro had banner flags around downtown!
Also, many beautiful homes surrounding downtown!
Didn't pull off the road to look and see if there was a "town". We just loved the name!
A very small town just outside of Greenville.
Above is the signage on Hwy 64 as we drove into town. The next two pictures are all there was of "downtown" that we could find.
Arriving in Manteo late Tuesday afternoon it was pouring rain, so we took the Manteo bypass and went on to Nags Head and checked into our hotel on the beach. Drove the last bit of Hwy 64 after we had several days on the beach.
Wednesday the rain had stopped but it was cloudy and very windy--too cold for most people to even set foot on the beach but we were determined!
Empty beach!
Thursday it was still cool but we did have a little sun!
These little guys were playing all around us!
The Brew Thru Experience
Picture yourself sitting inside your vehicle in the middle
of a building, surrounded by large coolers of ice-cold beer, wine, and
beverages, racks filled with your favorite beach munchies, and colorful shelves
of world-famous T-shirts lining the walls. This is all part of the Brew Thru
experience! At this iconic Outer Banks destination, the Brew Thru car tenders
grab your beverages and snacks, help stock your cooler and assist you in
picking out your Brew Thru souvenirs — all while you relax in the comfort of
your car. It’s an ideal way to shop!
No, we did not experience Brew Thru-----But GAS did think about it!! :)
After some time on the beach, we would take a drive!
On Thursday, we went to see the Wright Brothers Memorial!
This was fun!
At the end of the path is a marker for the fourth and final flight on that historic day!
This was a playground for the kids!!
After the Wright Brothers Memorial, we went to see the Bodie Lighthouse. We arrived too late for a tour or to climb the lighthouse.
The next day we drove to see the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. We got to see the museum and walk around but the lighthouse was closed for paint removal.
Homes for the Lighthouse keepers and their families. The keepers were sometimes called "wickies" because their job was trimming the wicks.
After dinner, we drove over to Manteo and walked around.
It is a lovely town.
On Sunday we left the beach to "officially finish" driving all Hwy 64 and then head towards home. We continued to take back roads and saw some wonderful sights.
Stumpy Point, oh so small and oh so cute!! Lots and lots of crab cages stacked up in the yards!!
This was a very small community but neat as a pin! If this community was in Ireland, it would win the "Tidy Town" award for sure!!
We continued down US Hwy 264 seeing one small town after another and lots of farms!
We drove through Belhaven and it is a very pretty town on the water, much bigger than we expected.
I read that ~ located on the northern shore of the Pungo River and close
by the Pamlico Sound, the Outer Banks, and the Atlantic Ocean, Belhaven is a
haven for both boatmen and fishermen. The area is popular with sportsmen on
dry land too, offering deer, bear, rabbit, squirrel, quail, and duck hunting.
My pictures do not do this town justice!!
I did not get a picture of a welcome sign, but this is Washington, NC.
Explored in the late 1500s it was finally settled in 1690. Continental Army Col. James Bonner donated land from his farm to form the first town, originally called Forks of the Tar but then renamed for George Washington in 1776.
Driving into New Bern
New Bern is a riverfront
city near the Atlantic coast. The Tryon Palace complex includes a replica
of the state's 1st capital, historic homes, gardens, and the North Carolina
History Center. The Birthplace of Pepsi is the drugstore where the drink was
invented in the 1890s. Nearby, the New Bern Firemen’s Museum highlights the
Great Fire of 1922. The Croatan National Forest is nearby with diverse
wildlife.
New Bern was originally settled in 1710 by Swiss and German
immigrants who named it after Bern, the capital of Switzerland. The town was
officially founded by Swiss Baron Christoph DeGraffenried. The city emblem, as
in old Bern, is a black bear going up a golden road which appears frequently
throughout the city.
The second-oldest city in North Carolina, New Bern is the
site of many firsts. It was in New Bern that the first state printing press was
set up and the first book and newspaper were published. The state’s first
public school opened here. The first official celebration of George
Washington’s birthday was held in New Bern, and it was here that the world’s
first practical torpedo was assembled and detonated. In the 1890s Caleb
Bradham, a New Bern pharmacist, invented Brad’s Drink, now known as Pepsi-Cola.
Tyron Palace
Arriving in Wilmington, on a very hot and humid Sunday afternoon about 1630!
Downtown Wilmington
Wilmington was a very pretty town, but the weather wasn't great.... all afternoon and evening; the heat and humidity never let up!
Started out inside at the bar for a drink before dinner and we should have stayed there...
The setting sun beating down on us made dinner very warm! We were lucky this was the only time during our road trip that we really were overheated!
Wilmington has a wonderful boardwalk along the Cape Fear River, but after a short distance, we left the boardwalk to find some shade! The WWII battleship USS North Carolina is moored across from the boardwalk, but a construction barge was blocking the view.
Driving out of Wilmington on Monday.
We spent our last night in Statesville and enjoyed walking around downtown after dinner.
Again, my pictures don't do this city justice either, because you can't really see all the beautiful flowers everywhere!
Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the beautiful homes in Statesville.
It really was a great road trip!!!!
