Monthly Archives: November 2022

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 6

Posted on November 9, 2022 | 11 comments

The fam knows that I love gardens, so for my last place to visit, they took me to the Elizabethan Gardens showcasing Roanoke Island’s Tudor-era roots.

Elizabethan Gardens Manteo North Carolina

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

Most of the flowers had faded away, but there is plenty on this 10 acre site to enjoy at any time of the year!

Not that I enjoyed this fella! He/she had a web stretched from one side of the footpath clear to the other side! This garden spider was hard to photograph, but it was 5 to 6 inches in size…the biggest spider that I have ever seen! They grow ’em big in North Carolina!

Fanciful and elaborate gardens were kept to entertain Queen Elizabeth I during her reign, and the Elizabethan Gardens are a living memorial to her time and Sir Walter Raleigh’s lost colonists who settled here.

Amazing detail!

The Virginia Dare statue, sculpted from white marble by Maria Louise Lander of Salem, Massachusetts, was sold, sunk off the coast of Spain, bought back, restored, sold again, rescued from a fire, returned again to Miss Lander, willed to North Carolina, exhibited, disputed, left behind in the basement of the old Supreme Court Building, exhibited and disputed again, eventually making her way to a beautiful home with an ancient oak in the Elizabethan Gardens.

These ruins are part of the gardens and overlook Roanoke Sound. I wish I knew their stories!

My daughter in action!

Thus ends my wonderful trip to the east coast! If you have never been, then I highly recommend visiting if you can! I know I loved it!

Thank you for all of your comments and encouragement as I shared my trip with you!

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 1

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 2

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 3

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 4

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 5

Stay healthy.

Stay safe.

Keep smiling.

See the world around you!

11 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Elizabethan Gardens, LCsCottage, lost colonies, Manteo, North Carolina, Queen Elizabeth I, Roanoke Island, Roanoke Sound, Sir Walter Raleigh, Virginia Dare

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 5

Posted on November 7, 2022 | 18 comments

Sunrise at Avon Beach.

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

My daughter, Jessica, the real photographer! I am biased, but, seriously, for great photos, you should check out her website, Jessica Breuer Photography. While I just dabble at it, photography is her business. It was fun for me to watch her in action!

Avon Beach Outer Banks North Carolina Jessica Breuer

This is the house where we stayed for the retreat. My bedroom was the one on the top left corner.

The Marc Basnight Bridge across the Oregon Inlet, a critical hurricane evacuation route.

Oregon Inlet Life Saving Station Rodanthe North Carolina

The abandoned Coast Guard Oregon Inlet Life-Saving Station.

This historical sign led me to read up on some very interesting black history at the Pea Island Life-Saving Station (no longer existing).

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Rodanthe North Carolina

I would love to go back to the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Geese and ducks were the only waterfowl that we saw up close. There were white pelicans and herons, but they were too far for us to photograph. Our timing needs to change to see the migratory birds.

The turtles were fun to see!

We also visited the Cape Hatteras Light Station where the lighthouse oversees the graveyard of the Atlantic.

Offshore of Cape Hatteras, the Gulf Stream collides with the Virginia Drift, a branch of the Labrador Current from Canada. This current forces southbound ships into a dangerous twelve-mile long sandbar called Diamond Shoals.

My first successful sunburst! I can’t tell you how elated I was to learn how to do this!

And because I did it once, I had to do it again!

My daughter and I rose early on the last day of the retreat and walked to Avon Beach for one more look.

The sunrise was wonderful!

After which, we packed up and drove back to South Mills.

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 1

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 2

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 3

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 4

Stay healthy.

Stay safe.

Keep smiling.

See the world around you!

18 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Avon Fishing Pier, Basnight Bridge, Hatteras Island, Jessica Breuer Photography, LCsCottage, North Carolina, Oregon Inlet, Oregon Life-Saving Station, Outer Banks, Pea Island Life-Saving Station, Pea Island National Wildlife Station, Rodanthe

What I Did on Vacation or Visit to North Carolina Part 4

Posted on November 6, 2022 | 20 comments

Another beautiful morning at Avon Fishing Pier.

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

Surf is up!

I wonder if the locals call in sick on special days like this!

Since it was so cool and cloudy we decided on a shopping trip to Manteo on Roanoke Island.

I would love to revisit this beautiful town! Manteo was the first American Indian to receive a title of nobility. He was a liaison between the Roanoke Colony settlers and the Indians.

From Plymouth, England, on 27 April 1584

Walter Raleigh sent Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe to North America to explore and prepare for English colonization. On 13 July they claimed land in the name of Queen Elizabeth. Called Virginia in her honor, this area is now known as North Carolina. In 1585 a colony under Governor Ralph Lane settled here on Roanoke Island, remaining a year. In 1587 a second colony under Governor John White established the “Cittie of Ralegh” at the same site. This settlement, known as Raleigh’s “Lost Colony”, disappeared between 1587 and 1590.

Manteo is also home to the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, a replica of the one constructed in 1877.

Manteo North Carolina Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse

I don’t know anything about this building…I just like it!

There were lots of these colorful baskets for sale!

Bodie Island Light Station, constructed in 1872, the third attempt to illuminate the perilous stretch of coast between Cape Hatteras and Currituck Beach.