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Wednesday was a beautiful day and we slept late and then had brunch at the Spouter's Restaurant. We explored the town and hung out in the graveyard which is one of the most fascinating places around. There is a British soldier buried standing up facing England and saluting King George and a little girl buried in a barrel of rum as well as a naval officer buried with a cannon on top of his grave. It is amazing to see gravestones dating from the 1700's. We took naps and read and walked some more before going to the waterfront for dinner. We went to the Blue Moon Bistro for dinner. It was pricey and delicious and had peach creme brulee for dessert that was to die for. It was a quiet and relaxing time and we walked the waterfront and watched the boats come in. I love having nothing to do and doing it.
Thursday we cooked breakfast in our cottage and then went to the organic grocer. This is not good because Kathy kept finding 'cool things' and we had an assortment of goodies by the time we left. We got on a boat for a three hour tour of the outer banks including a stop at the lighthouse and some time looking at the ponies on Shackleford Island. We walked the beach and collected some shells and found a sting ray on the beach. Very cool. The trip to and from was uneventful and we did not get stranded with Ginger, Mary Ann, and a millionaire...
We purchased fresh shrimp and oysters from Joe the shrimp guy who lives next door and he regaled me with tales of how to cook them. He was quite proud of his lemon tree until I squashed him with tales of our own giant lemons which are twice the size of his. Arizona lemons, baby. We rock!
We headed to Camp Lejeune and dinner with my niece, Rachel, and her Marine husband, Michael. It was a wonderful evening hearing stories of his deployment to Iraq and some quiet conversation about his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. We got to meet their dog and their pet duck who kisses beak to mouth. If you let it...
Friday morning we grilled and shucked oysters and had a late brunch of baked potatoes and oysters. They are very tasty but so not worth the trouble of shucking. I much prefer the nice little jars of them we buy at Christmas to fry up for our Christmas brunch. But at least we can say we did it!
We spent the afternoon touring some old homes and visiting museums and then went to dinner at Clausens again. This time Kathy ate Shrimp and Grits and I chowed down on Crab Cakes. Very yummy. Then we headed to the waterfront for the Ghost Tour of Beaufort. What a hoot. The guide was a riot and a tremendous story teller. I can't recall laughing so hard and enjoying myself so much. He was definitely worth the price of admission.
We woke this morning and had leftovers for breakfast and then headed out to the Aquarium. It was a nice place and we enjoyed a live bird show as well. Interesting to see trained owls and vultures.
We went to El's Drive In for lunch. Everybody says you need to go to El's for shrimpburgers and so we did. A dumpy place by the side of the road where young ladies come and take your order and bring it back to your car. There is no inside seating so you sit in your car or at a picnic table to eat. Huge live oaks shade the dirt 'parking lot'. The food is cheap and delicious! It has been around since dirt was young and we couldn't find a place to park at 1:30 in the afternoon. People drove in and had to wait for an open space to park in. Definitely a must go to place. Following lunch we drove to Fort Macon and thoroughly enjoyed walking around the fort. It was originally built to protect us from the British and was eventually occupied by the South at the beginning of the War of Northern Aggression as the Beaufort folks are fond of calling the Civil War. Union general Burnsides captured it after a brief siege and they held it til the end of the war. During WW2 it was used to keep an eye on German U-boats and then turned into a park. A sign said, "This is not a safe place. It was designed for war. Please watch your children'.
We had dinner at Amos Mosquito's Restaurant where I had southern fried pork chops and gravy along with collard greens and smashed potatoes. Fine food for an Iowa farm boy.
We are packing up tonight for an early start to Asheville in the Smokey Mountains tomorrow. Goodbye, Beaufort, you've been a delightful place to stay. | 
