Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and Tanger Outlets

So, over the weekend, Hurricane Irene came to North Carolina and the east coast. There was a lot of damage to the Outer Banks and to some of the sound areas, but the Triangle was unscathed other than the ran. On Sunday, it was time to do something...anything. Obviously anything to the east was ruled out. It was almost noon already, so it had to be something quick, looked at the map for a while, a decided, hey, why don't we go towards Greensboro, and go explore the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

Depending on how traffic is, Greensboro is about an hour west from the Raleigh area. Instead of taking the interstate, we took US70 most of the way there just for a different view, and likely added a few minutes to the drive time. Right before the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, is the Tannenbaum Historic Park. A sign on the visitor's center indicated it would be closed until Spring 2012, however, the bathrooms were still open.

 Tannenbaum Historic Park
Tannebaum Historic Park had several old buildings on a small lot. The early archeticture was interesting, but the buildings themselves were locked up. We took a few pictures here, and moved on.

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

We arrived at the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park around 3:00 PM. The park gates close at 5:00, even during the summer. There is a small museum in the visitor's center detailing the Revolutionary War battle that took place on this spot. In addition, there are a number of monuments on the grounds, and over 2 miles of walking trails that can take you to them all. There is also a 2.5 mile driving tour that circles the park. With Jennifer being 8 months pregnant, and the temperature in the mid 90's, we decided to just do the driving tour. The one way road for the driving tour is also very popular with walkers and cyclist, so be sure to pay attention. There are a number of places to stop and very short walks from the parking spaces to the monuments. In the time it took us to drive from one end to the other, we actually saw someone else walk it in the same amount of time. We'll have to do this again in the spring  when it isn't quite so warm, and Jenn isn't pregnant.







Tanger Outlets
On the way back to Raleigh, we stopped by Tanger Outlets in Mebane. We both had gift cards leftover from the Grand Opening nearly a year ago and decided we should use them up before they start incurring fees. We got some good deals on shoes, and I got a pretty sweet Columbia jacket for this fall that I'll use for cycling and hiking. Outlet centers are outlet centers, check the website to see if there is anything there that interest you.

Food:
On this trip, we actually ate lunch before we left the house, and we didn't have dinner until we got back to the Triangle. We did still have a really nice dinner at Rockfish Seafood Grill. Food was good, many entrees from $10-$15. We both had the crab stuffed flounder and really enjoyed it. I've eaten there before and knew it was a chain, but didn't realize how small of a chain it was untill I looked the the website, 13 locations in Texas, and just the one in North Carolina. 

Links:
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
Guilford Battleground Company
Tanger Outlets - Mebane
Rockfish Seafood Grille

Southern NC Coast Day Trip

This was an all day trip from Raleigh. We started by heading southeast towards Wilmington via I-40. Then US17 south to NC133 towards Southport. Before you get to Southport, off Plantation Road lies Brunswick Town / Fort Anderson NC Historic Site. Brunswick Town was a pre-revolutionary war port on the Cape Fear River that was destroyed by the British. It was never rebuilt as a town, but the same site was used to construct Fort Anderson during the Civil War. There is a walking trail around where the town used to lie, and some excavations have been done to show where buildings once stood. The most remarkable structure remaining is what is left of St. Philips Church.










After leaving Fort Anderson, we continue on towards Southport. Southport is a small coastal community. In the summer, I would imagine it to be much more crowded that what it was in the winter. We enjoyed lunch at Fishy Fishy Cafe before driving up the road to the NC Ferry Terminal to take the Ferry across the river to Fort Fisher.

The ferry ride across the river takes about 30 minutes or so, and when the weather is nice, its fun to get out of the cars, walk around, and enjoy the sights and smells. Many people bring food to feed the seagulls, but do it from the back of the ship. It does cost a few dollars, but you would spend that in gas driving around the river to use the bridge in Wilmington.

During the Summer, we love 4x4 driving on the beach at Fort Fisher, but on this trip we had the car, so we were here to see the Aquarium and to see the Fort Fisher Historic Site. The aquarium at Ft. Fisher isn't as nice as the one in Pine Knoll Shores, but it still is nice. AZA members get in free, so its really hard to complain.

 After leaving the Aquarium, we had planned on stopping at Fort Fisher, State Historic Site. But, as it was getting close to 5:00, we decided to skip it this trip and head back towards home.

Links:
Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson - NC Historic Site
Fishy Fishy Cafe
NC DOT Ferry Division
NC Aquarium - Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher - NC Historic Site