Tacky to terrific

How can two people see the same town and have such different impressions? In Myrtle Beach, Larry especially liked the restaurant with the giant crab on the roof with its claws around the front door. Susan thought it and the whole town was one of the worst places she's ever seen; tacky on steroids. The fun part was seeing all the spring break families having a great time - and why not?! It has the largest number of miniature golf courses in the country.

The next stop was charming - Wilmington, North Carolina. I enthusiastically talked up its many great features while Larry just didn't get it. I think it was more of a woman's town.

Spent the night in Morehead City and took a stroll in Beaufort, North Carolina, another charming seaside town.

The next day we took a 2-hour plus ferry ride from Cedar Island to Ocracoke on the Outer Banks. 71 degrees, sunny skies, and no wind - heaven. We were on a very small ferry - it took 53 cars but we only had 37 on our trip. After about an hour the wind picked up and we were rockin-n-rollin our way into Ocracoke. Larry was on a Dramamine high. A second 40-minute ferry to Cape Hatteras was much smoother. First stop was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest traditional brick lighthouse in the United States. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the view of the Atlantic ocean. There were also lots of great exhibits.  We spent the night in Cape Hatteras, which the the farthest point from Puyallup on this trip.

The next day we drove through the Outer Banks National Seashore to the Elizabethan Gardens. Surprisingly, we both enjoyed them very much. The gardens were in full bloom and the azaleas were amazing. This was rewarding after not seeing any wildflowers in the Texas Hill Country nor flowers in the gardens in Charleston and Savannah since spring had passed.

We climbed to the top of the highest sand dune on the east coast to watch people flying kites and hang gliding. Then came the highlight of the Outer Banks - the Wright Brother's Memorial. When you learn what they did to make the flights a reality and what it meant to the world, you can help but be captivated, awed and moved by this story and memorial. Needless to say we both loved the Outer Banks.