Pine Knoll Shores and Fort Macon

Just over three hours from the Triangle is the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach are very popular destinations in the summer. In the winter, well, this area is not very crowded at all. We started our trip by driving to Pine Knoll Shores, home of the newest (most recently remodeled I should say) of the three North Carolina Aquariums.

The Aquarium is pretty nice, with a large indoor waterfall, huge tanks full of fish, and very reasonable entrance fees. Annual memberships are very affordable, and AZA reciprocity include free admission to the NC Zoo, and many other aquariums and zoos around the county. Membership typically pays for itself after three visits to an eligible park.

After we left the Aquarium, we headed up the island to Fort Macon State Park. Fort Macon is very well preserved and is a neat way to spend an hour or so exploring. There is a lot of history here and some neat things to photograph.

After leaving Fort Macon, we headed back to the mainland, and drove around Morehead City and Beaufort. Being the off season, we didn't find anything to do this trip, so we started to head back home to the triangle via New Bern, NC.


New Bern, was once the Capital of North Carolina, and Tryon Palace is a popular tourist destination. It is also the birthplace of Pepsi-cola. For today's trip, we were here for only one thing, seafood at the Stingray Cafe. We had eaten here once before, in May, and had steamed blue crabs that were delecious and very reasonably priced. Blue crabs aren't exactly in season in January, so we had to get something different. Jenn ordered the softshell crab, and I had a craving for clam strips. Still good, and even more affordable than the crabs we had last time. This has become our go to place when we are in the area.

Links:
Crystal Coast NC
Fort Macon State Park
NC Aquariums - Pine Knoll Shores
Stingray Cafe - Urbanspoon