Teacher travels NC

Although I hadn't heard of this city before moving to the US, whilst there I heard of it several times and thought it worth a visit.

It is the home of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum which tells the story of the struggle of the civil rights movement. It was definitely an eye opener as we learned about the the events in 1963 when more than two thousand African Americans silently marched in the city.

We were able to stand beside the Woolworth counter, which saw the act of a non violent protest against the racially segregated lunch counter in the store, by a small group of African American students. Their actions had a lasting impact, forcing Woolworths and other establishments to change their segregation policies.

Not all our visits result in beautiful photos of mountains, lakes or stunning American scenery. Sometimes the greatest impact is the lasting impression on the heart and mind. The Greensboro four - the young students who first staged the silent sit in at the lunch counter, said, ''Let's all sit together, as human beings should."' They are just simple words and for me are as important now as when they were uttered over sixty years ago. We need to strive to recognise the similarities between us all and our rights as human beings and value each other with all our differences.

We enjoyed a short wander round the small city and a bite to eat before heading back to Concord with yet another interesting day trip behind us.

Richard is always on the look out for clothes which are a little bit different. I think he was gutted that he couldn't actually take home these eye catching, international trousers.

We had wanted to go to a country concert whilst in the States but we are not fans of giant crowds so that restricted what we did. Fortunately for us, we managed to get tickets to an outdoor venue in Wilmington - Live Oak Bank Pavilion to see Jordan Davis, Ashley Cook and Mitchel Tenpenny.

It was a great evening and the weather was perfect. All the singers performed brilliantly and it was fun to be outdoors, listening to country and watching the sun set in a beautiful location.

Wilmington is a cool small town with a great vibe. We had visited before with Liam and enjoyed the restaurants along the board walk. This time we also managed a cycle ride to Wrightsville Beach.which was beautiful, but way too crowded for us. We did park up our bikes and sit for an hour, but then headed on our way back to Wilmington and just enjoyed the cycling.

Teaching in the US has been a fantastic experience. I have had great colleagues, met great friends, travelled across the country and had the pleasure of teaching lots of wonderful young people. I think there will be. a few US kids remembering my name at some point in the future. I hope they do so with a smile.

With time running out, we decided to squeeze in a few more short trips. Black Mountain had been recommended to us and it turned out to be a quaint, mountain town with a casual vibe. The town is named after the mountain that towers over the town and consists of a main street with some quirky art shops, a few good cafes and small restaurants.

Nearby is Montreat - a very small community town with Montreat Conference Centre and college at its heart. With a population of only 700, it is a very small town indeed. There are no cars allowed on the winding roads which makes sense to protect the beauty of this natural environment which covers 4000 acres of land, 2460 which are protected by a conservation order. The centre piece is Lake Susan which sits beside the visitor centre and cafe. It was here that we coincidentally bumped into a couple who had been living in Cardiff. It's a small world!

It was beautiful weather on the Sunday, so we headed for a hike in Montreat. It was a bit of an uphill struggle, but worth the effort required to scramble to the top. We were able to enjoy our packed lunch with a wonderful view.

To say this was the most perfect weekend is an exaggeration. I'd seen information on this hotel on the Blue Ridge Parkway and decided this was to be a treat. The hotel rooms are not anything special, but the views certainly are and that is why they sell out so quickly. The hotel is only opened for part of the year because bad weather often closes this part of the Parkway.

We had a glorious first day hiking the Pisgah Forest. The second day was pretty grey and wet in the morning, but brightened up in the afternoon. The photos say more than words. We absolutely loved this area and our weekend was just perfect.

Taken from our balcony and around the hotel.

Our view at dinner was one of the best we've had from any hotel!

Salisbury, Davidson

During our time in NC, we tried to visit lots of local places including parks and towns. Salisbury was only about twenty miles away so we had a shopping trip there. Well, we only bought a pair of sandals from the shoe shop, but the intention had been to do some shopping. We have found that there are actually limited shops in lots of the small towns, but even so it's nice to see the towns and the coffee shops.

Salisbury

Our favourite small town near by was Davidson. This college town had only one main street with a handful of boutique shops, several coffee shops and a few restaurants and a beautiful college with impeccable grounds and we frequented the place often. It would have been a perfect place to live while we were in NC, but unfortuantely it was just too far from the school. We did make the most of it though and enjoyed many afternoons strolling the main street and even managed to get over and cycle in the area.

If I lived in NC permanently, I think this area would become my regular 'go to' in order to chill. We had visited twice previously and were so glad to tie this in with our visit to the tea rooms in Calabash. As it was only a couple of hours from Concord and a fairly traffic free route, it was a perfect beach area to just visit one last time before our stay in NC was to come to an end. We were also introduced to Ocean Isle by Holly and Brian, which was lovely on the short visit we made, but didn't get enough time to explore this beach area.

Our Air bnb in Oak Island was situated close to the beach which allowed us to make the most of walking on the beach and enjoying the fresh sea air. It also gave us the chance to walk to the local beachside restaurant for dinner and enjoy coffee at the cafe next to it. Both real treats!

Although we had been to the area before, this was the first time that we had the chance to take a boat trip from Southport -just ten minutes down the road. Southport is a quaint small town and the starting place for a couple of boat trips. We decided to take our bikes over to the 'car free' Bald Head Island.

We were treated to beautiful blue sky for our day trip. The island is less than thirty minutes away, has a population of approximately 300 and measures only 5.8 sq miles. It's definitely worth a visit. Those who own property on this island are treated to beautiful vistas, traffic free roads and stunning beaches...oh and a red British telephone box! It really was beautiful.

We enjoyed a day cycling, sitting on empty beaches and just appreciating the beauty of this peaceful place.

Afternoon tea in the UK is very common, but to find a place in NC that offers this little tradition is pretty unusual. We were very lucky to have Holly, who knew just where to go and this turned out to be a precious find. As our time in NC was dwindling, we were fortunate to fit this one in. Holly booked and we joined her and Brian to experience one of their favourite treats - afternoon tea at Calabash.

A small, but elegant room was revealed inside the traditional, pink, wooden cottage style building. Holly had made sure we were suitably attired with our fascinators (Thanks Holly!) very aptly coordinated to our colours. We were seated at a corner table and the menu provided. WOW! I didn't know there were that many variations of tea. Fortunately for us, Holly was an expert and guided us with our choices, all of which turned out to be perfect.

I have to be honest and say that I'd never heard of the city of Charlotte before researching NC in anticipation of our move. It's definitely not a New York style city, but I have loved getting to know it.

The drive into Charlotte was a bit manic for us, so most of the time we took the easy option of the train. This option required us to drive to University station, park up and then hop on the tram and within 30 minutes, we found ourselves in the heart of the city. On many of our trips in, we would stop for lunch at a station a few stops before downtown and venture to Optimist Hall. This is a great food hall filled with a great variety of eateries and eating spaces housed in an old warehouse. It became one of our favourite places to eat, especially the Indian street food venue which we frequented many times and introduced visiting family and friends to as well.

It wasn't the only food hall that we enjoyed! We also found a very convenient one, though a lot smaller, just as we disembarked the train in the downtown area - The Market at Seventh Street. I loved the buzzing atmosphere here and also the waffles. The coffee here was pretty good too!

We cycled through Charlotte on several occasions and spent time just walking the pavements of the city exploring . The city grew on me!

We enjoyed several visits to the Blumenthal Theatre, several football (soccer) games courtesy of friends Maureen and Jamie, a couple of visits to the Charlotte Knights baseball at Truist Field, a visit to the Spectrum Centre to watch the Hornets basketball team play and just managed to squeeze in an American football game as well.

I have to admit that I hadn't heard of this place before moving to the US but I would definitely recommend it. I'm not sure why I hadn't heard as this is the location of the original 'Fountain of Youth'.

Situated 450 miles from Concord, it was a good job we had a stop in Beaufort. So there we were in the sunshine state for the second part of our trip and ready to enjoy all the glorious sunshine that Florida has to offer during Spring break.

Our first stop whilst there was to visit the original Fountain of Youth. This is the place where Ponce De Leon discovered the healing waters that magically maintain your youthful appearance - well supposedly! It is located within a tourist attraction park which has a range of other things to explore including cannons firing, peacocks strolling and small buildings from the era of the fountain.

Both Richard and I had a drink from the fountain and will now wait and see if we remain our 'youthful 60's' long into the future. I won't hold my breath.

St Augustine is known for being the oldest city in the US. It has some beautiful, Spanish colonial architecture and a European atmosphere which we loved. The city is small and easy to navigate on foot. The town centre consists of one main street lined with restaurants and boutique shops which we enjoyed browsing. At the far end was a perfectly maintained old school house and further on the Castillo de San Marcos - a fortress with great views of the inlet. We enjoyed a walk around the centre on our first day and then returned to our air bnb for the evening.

As we had our bikes with us, we decided to use them to cycle to our next attraction - the alligator park. I hadn't expected to see so many alligators! It was cool to see them and definitely something to remember about St Augustine.

In the evening, we enjoyed a great meal at a recommended restaurant. Everything about it was great and it was fun to just stroll the streets in the evening and then rely on an Uber to get us home.

We couldn't visit St Augustine without enjoying some time on the beach which was only a five minute walk from our accommodation. It was a long stretch of golden sand with very few beach goers. We walked, relaxed and paddled and I also enjoyed taking a few photos early in the morning.

Beaufort - South Carolina, St Augustas - Florida

Finding places to visit during holidays is an easy task, but choosing which one out the vast number of places is harder. For our last Spring break in the US, we decided on Beaufort and St Augustine. Both of these places definitely end up on my favourite list.

Approximately 250 miles form Concord down on the East Coast in South Carolina was our first stop - Beaufort. Our AirBnb was perfect and situated a short walk from the quaint riverside town. A cute main street with coffee shops, restaurants and a few random other shops wasn't it's only attraction.

We had taken our bikes and did manage a bike ride, probably not one of the best, but always good to be on wheels and enjoying the eerie appearance of the spanish moss covered trees.

We had booked a kayak tour but unfortunately this was cancelled at the last minute and so we ended up going to a state park instead. For me, this was a real bonus as we found ourselves in a remarkable place full of natural beauty - Huntington Island State Park.

The photos speak for themselves!

Whilst it is difficult to cycle anywhere from our apartment, it is possible to find trails not too far away. We cycled Mallard trail a couple of times. It's on the outskirts of Charlotte, near enough a Starbucks to ensure we have refreshments and also quite a pleasant trail through greenery.

On this occasion, we were welcomed with the first sign of Spring and my favourite flowers - daffodils. A lovely short excursion for a Sunday afternoon.

It's always good to celebrate and this evening, we got to do just that ...celebrate new friend Claire becoming a citizen of the US. The tee shirt says it all. Spending the evening at Strain Brewery, with colleagues from AT Allen, who were also Claire's good friends, was a great way to spend a weekend evening.

Virginia

Another state and another long weekend away. Our trip this weekend was to visit a friend of Richard's from the Valleys of Wales - a school friend who had come over to the US and fell in love and set up home here. They had made contact over FB and before we knew it, we were on our way up to stay with them.

I had the Friday off work so we headed off early so that we could make a stop at Lexington on the way up. This was a lovely small town, with some quaint shops, a large military college and the home of Stonewall Jackson, a confederate general. We enjoyed a walk around, before heading on up to the Fowler's home.

There home was conveniently situated in a gated community on lake Louise. Although we couldn't make that out when we arrived as it was dark. We were greeted by Michelle and shortly after Mark made an appearance, with another guy- also from the valleys. We headed out to a restaurant which seemed an eternity away and enjoyed an evening together.

Once back, I headed to bed, but left Richard up with Mark...reminiscing about life growing up in Wales.

We spent the Saturday exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway - Rockfish gap in the Shenandoah Valley area and a short coffee stop in Gordonsville - a small one street town, but perfectly situated for an early morning break.

Gordonsville

In the evening we sat and chatted around their table enjoying the view of their lake and eating pizza. There were lots of rugby stories, laughter and memories shared.

The following day, we made a fairly early start to head over to Fredericksburg to meet up with Kayleigh from Coventry. It was about an hour away, but as it was Sunday mornng, the drive was fairly quiet. We met for brunch and it was great to meet up and discuss our experiences of teaching in the US. It was too short really, but better than not meeting up!

Colonial Williamsburg

After another 90 minutes, we arrived in Williamsburg. D Roosevelt apparently stated that this main street below, was ' the most historic avenue in all America'. In fact, this is the largest living history museum in the world. It was here that the idea of independence and revolution took shape. To take a walk along the main street is definitely a walk in the past.

The buildings are beautiful and it's easy to imagine the local people of the day living here and building community. We enjoyed a wander around and found a coffee shop at the end of the town. Once again, it was a place we could have stayed longer, but evening drew in and we headed back to our impromptu booked hotel for an extra night.

The stars and stripes hadn't quite arrived. The union Jack is still in place!

The last mention for February needs to Valentine's Day. The experience in school in the US is very different from the UK. I have never received any gift on this day in England, but for the second year running, I was made to feel very loved by the tokens of love gifted to me by my little sweethearts. ❤️ I love my little people and how on Valentine's Day, they acknowledge each other with handmade gifts and tokens of love.

Reed Gold Mine

Reed Gold Mine was the location of the first gold found in America. It is now an unassuming place, with a great small museum and the chance to go down underground to the mine. The gold was actually first found in the river running through the area, but eventually it was mined here.

We enjoyed the self guided tour and then a walk in the surrounding countryside on a blue sky day.

We did at one point find ourselves in the middle of nowhere with no idea which way to go, but with the help of the river, we did find our way back to civilization. All part of the adventure!

Crowders Mountain State Park

One of our past times which we've really enjoyed is hiking the state parks. This weekend was the turn of Crowders Mountain State Park. We were fortunate to have a lovely day and an hour's drive so it wasn't too bad.

The hike was fairly steep and rocky at the top, but it was worth the effort. We took our sandwiches and coffee which always provides a welcome lunch stop. This is one of the differences between the UK and US. It would appear that we are never far from a coffee shop/cafe in the Uk, but here there are never any cafes to pick up food and drink. We always have to be prepared.

Although, it's not obvious in the photo, you could just make out the city of Charlotte in the distance.

Krispy Kreme

Several friends had recommended that we go try Krispy Kreme donuts which originated not too far from here in Winston Salem. So on a quiet Sunday morning, we headed to Concord Mills to the Krispy Kreme store. On arrival, we found out that the freshest donuts - those just coming along the production line- still warm were unlikely to be available until about an hour later. Seeing as we wanted to experience the 'melt in the moment mouth experience' several friend shad recommended, we opted to come back later.

We popped over to the shops and then wen and picked up a coffee before returning to the store. Unfortunately, we then found out that the just baked donuts would not be on offer until the next day. Very frustrating!! We decided to just go with trying the morning baked ones, which tasted pretty good...almost melt in your mouth!

I was content with one, but I knew Richard would probably want another later in the day so we purchased a couple of extra, but satisfied ourselves with just one with our coffee. I'd definitely recommend.

Being a real tourist can be fun! We booked an afternoon tour of Charlotte on the comedy bus as a way to see the city in a fun way. As it wasn't until later, we took the bikes in and first enjoyed lunch at Optimist Hall before taking a ride on the greenway.

We parked up our bikes and then headed to the meeting point for the bus. Once there, we were introduced to our tour guide/comedy host. The bus was full by the time we left and the host took on his role. He was pretty funny, but perhaps a bit too crude for my tastes. He did entertain though and the two hours went by very quickly.