http://www.beaufortcountynow.com Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:55:50 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/494/28/every-picture-tells-a-story-don-t-it-on-the-road-busch-gardens.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/494/28/every-picture-tells-a-story-don-t-it-on-the-road-busch-gardens.html I have always loved theme parks. It is an incurable urge that draws me to these monstrous ribbons of steel that allow roaring, rolling collective groups of stangers strapped into a transitory thrill box to be shot up and down and all around, until the itch to be thrilled is surely satisfied. They're called roller coasters, and you either love them or hate them; never just tolerate them. Busch Gardens placates that itch for me, as well as it does for most of the members of my family. Does it ... Read More]]> Sun, 8 Aug 2010 17:30:58 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/441/28/every-picture-tells-a-story-don-t-it-an-afternoon-in-corolla.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/441/28/every-picture-tells-a-story-don-t-it-an-afternoon-in-corolla.html On my last trip to the Outer Banks around Independence Day; more specifically Duck, North Carolina, I spent the afternoon in Corolla in Currituck County. Corolla is best know for a number of principal attractions; most notably: the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, the Whalehead Club, and the Wild Horses, the natural shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Sound. My concentration was on the lighthouse, the Whalehead Club and the sound.

Below are a number of pictures, with the obligatory c... Read More]]> Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:47:03 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/436/16/celebrating-independence-day-down-east.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/436/16/celebrating-independence-day-down-east.html My home in eastern North Carolina is famous for a number things; not least of which is the celebration of Independence Day - July 4th. In my home county of Beaufort, there is the annual, and most traditional, Town of Belhaven’s Independence Day Parade and subsequent barbeque at the Mayor’s home in Belhaven. As a local elected official, I try to ride in the parade each year, and to enjoy Mayor Adam O’Neal’s sumptuous feast of barbeque pig and chicken, with all the custo... Read More]]> Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:59:37 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/393/16/plenty-of-sun-lots-of-fun-perfect-days-in-myrtle-beach.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/393/16/plenty-of-sun-lots-of-fun-perfect-days-in-myrtle-beach.html As many of you know, I’m a big fan of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I travel to this not-so-distant beach destination year round, and each season, there is always a good time for the active traveler, the sand and foam enthusiast.

As I have previously reported, I spend many 4-day weekends away at the beach in the autumn and winter, when the rates are lower and the folks are sparse in company. This last trip, I spent 3 days in Myrtle Beach. In the very late spring of early June, and it wa... Read More]]> Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:26:12 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/376/16/north-carolina-state-parks-part-i-south-mountains-range-part-i.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/376/16/north-carolina-state-parks-part-i-south-mountains-range-part-i.html South Mountains State Park

Rising high from the foothills and lower piedmont of North Carolina, the South Mountains Range of North Carolina is a unique geological formation that boasts streams leading to waterfalls, such as the High Shoals Waterfall that I visited, and some elevations approaching 3,000 feet above sea level. South Mouth Mountains Range, where once gold was mined beginning in 1826, comprises 100,000 acres (156 square miles) located in three counties: Burke, Cleveland and Rutherfo... Read More]]> Tue, 8 Jun 2010 09:23:10 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/375/16/tybee-island-georgia.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/375/16/tybee-island-georgia.html The Keeper of the Mouth of the Savannah River is Tybee Island ...

And it has been since 1736. In that year, British General James Oglethorpe understood the imperative need to mark the entrance of the river, so he ordered a lighthouse constructed at its mouth on Tybee Island. General Oglethorpe considered the defense of the river also a priority, and therefore, he had a small fort constructed to insure the control of the Savannah River for his British Citizens upriver.

Tybee Island would la... Read More]]> Mon, 7 Jun 2010 11:11:08 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/373/16/national-parks-part-iv-the-blue-ridge-parkway.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/373/16/national-parks-part-iv-the-blue-ridge-parkway.html The Misty Mountains of North Carolina

Rising up from the adjoining foothills and valleys stretching up from northwestern Georgia to southeastern Pennsylvania is the Blue Ridge Mountain chain. The Blue Ridge Mountains comprise a collection of the highest peaks of the Appalachian Mountains, making the Blue Ridge the highest peaks east of the Black Hills in South Dakota. The concentration of the tallest and most massive mountains in this hazy scalloped ridge, that rise up like the big blue shoul... Read More]]> Thu, 3 Jun 2010 15:06:52 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/161/16/walt-disney-adventures-part-i.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/161/16/walt-disney-adventures-part-i.html Walt Disney Adventures: Part I, Animal Kingdom

Whether one loads up the family into the minivan and heads down Interstate 95, or they pile into the SUV and head down Interstate 75 to the sunshine state of Florida, what they have in common is that they're heading south ... deep south: where the air is hot, the men well fed and the women are better looking. Where the hordes often congregate is Central Florida, and there are advantages. Advantages such as: Interstate 75 and Interstate 95 converg... Read More]]> Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:25:24 EST http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/116/16/williamsburg-virginia-part-ii-colonial-williamsburg-part-i.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/116/16/williamsburg-virginia-part-ii-colonial-williamsburg-part-i.html Williamsburg is a Renovated Reminder of our Colonial Past

The Commonwealth of Virginia, along with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, are the cradles of English civilization in the New World. Jamestown, Virginia was established in 1607, Plymouth Rock was established in 1620.

Jamestown served as the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia until the 1676, when the State House was burned during Bacon's Rebellion. The Commonwealth's government was temporarily relocated to Middle Plantation, wh... Read More]]> Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:29:29 EST http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/98/16/national-parks-part-ii-the-c-o-canal.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/98/16/national-parks-part-ii-the-c-o-canal.html Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park

From Rock Creek Parkway on the west side of Washington proper, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal runs through Georgetown, and further west through the District of Columbia, and further west through Maryland north of the Potomac River to the crest of the rocky falls of that great river resides the C & O Canal National Historic Park. This National Historic Park is located at the locale of the "6 Locks at Great Falls." Within the bou... Read More]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:53:57 EST http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/93/16/washington-dc-part-ii.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/93/16/washington-dc-part-ii.html Pictorial Expose’ of One of the World's Most Important Cities

Every trip of mine to Washington, DC for a conference involves me taking a measure of my time, often limited, to visit the southern sector of Washington, DC. On these short visits to the United States of America's national capital, I try to vast one or two of the exhibits, museums, or a national points of interest. As is my usual practice, I exit the Metro (Washington, DC's subway) into the Mall designed by Pierre L'Enfant ... Read More]]> Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:42:47 EST http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/77/28/every-picture-tells-a-story-don-t-it-part-iv-on-the-road.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/77/28/every-picture-tells-a-story-don-t-it-part-iv-on-the-road.html When I am out of town and have more time on my hands than I generally do, I look for places of interest to take pictures. I especially like to make images of sunrises and sunsets. What I predominately look for is landscapes with the ability to reflect light and color; ergo, I search for water.

The following series of pictures that have not been used in any other article. They are an extension of my Beaufort County series, "Every Picture Tells a Story ... Don't It," however, I will make it ... Read More]]> Tue, 3 Nov 2009 11:32:47 EST http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/67/16/hilton-head-island-south-carolina.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/67/16/hilton-head-island-south-carolina.html Great Big Beaches, Swimming in Warm Waters Well into October ...

Or you could just play golf or tennis. Hilton Head Island, the island that resembles a basketball shoe, is world famous for its number of championship golf courses, including The PGA sponsored Verizon Heritage Golf Tournament held at the Harbour Town Golf Links, located on Calibogue Sound near the southern toe of the island.

I am not a golfer; however, and it was too hot to play tennis when I visited in June and August, so I sp... Read More]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:08:05 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/55/16/myrtle-beach-south-carolina-part-ii-the-off-season-beach.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/55/16/myrtle-beach-south-carolina-part-ii-the-off-season-beach.html The "Redneck Riviera" is a Wonderful Respite in the Early Off Season

Myrtle Beach is a wonderful vacation destination, but somehow better, when most of the summer tourists have long left for home. Few adults, even less children, and still some nice days; some warm enough to swim in the ocean. That is why I will always love the off season, and will try to make Myrtle Beach a vacation destination during that time period.


On a lovely Saturday, with the temperature about 78 degre... Read More]]> Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:57:54 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/37/16/williamsburg-virginia-part-i-busch-gardens.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/37/16/williamsburg-virginia-part-i-busch-gardens.html If You Love Roller Coasters, Make Busch Gardens a Summer Destination

Almost everyone loves Disney World. I do, my wife does, and my children do. While my children and I still love the Disney experience, but we also love roller coasters, and there are no better assemblage of these rides in the South that are equal to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. Busch Gardens is located on the south side US Hwy 60 North from Newport News where it is easily seen from the Highway as one drives towar... Read More]]> Sat, 3 Oct 2009 21:33:02 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/36/16/savannah-georgia.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/36/16/savannah-georgia.html The Grand Lady of the Old South is Preserved for Posterity

The most enduring commentary on Savannah's citizen's commitment to preserving their past, and the legacy of their ancestors, is the preservation of the park squares and the architecturally significant structures that are prevalent throughout the downtown of one of the South's busiest seaports. Savannah is located atop a bluff, along the southern banks of the Savannah River, in the low country along the northeastern shore of Georgia's ... Read More]]> Sat, 3 Oct 2009 01:24:26 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/23/16/national-parks-part-iii-the-cape-hatteras-light-station.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/23/16/national-parks-part-iii-the-cape-hatteras-light-station.html North Carolina's Outer Banks Again: Destination - Cape Hatteras Light Station

Living less than an hour and fifty minutes from Nags Head, my staging area to the National Seashore, I am regularly drawn to the beauty of one of the most beautiful and unspoiled seashores on eastern coast of the United States of America. On this quick trip to the seashore, my wife would not accompany me. I was alone, but I would be undeterred.

On that fine spring morning, after a beautiful sunrise and with th... Read More]]> Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:27:45 EDT http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/14/16/washington-dc-part-i-arlington-cemetary.html http://www.beaufortcountynow.com/post/14/16/washington-dc-part-i-arlington-cemetary.html Arlington Cemetery

Washington, District of Columbia is one of the most important cities in the world. It is a young city, even by The United States of America's standards; but considering the legislation and executive decisions that have been made within its limits over the last 70 years, it is inarguably, the most important city in the world over that period. The southern, across from Virginia, side of Washington, D.C. is the most significant: architecturally and in regards to the city plann... Read More]]> Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:05:29 EDT