So when I googled “quaint, historic, duck, outer banks” (or something like that) to find a place to stay with our English friends, google sent me to some sweet cottages in Manteo on Roanoke Island, which as fate would have it turns out to be the site of The Lost Colony – a 16th century colony of 117 Brits that disappeared mysteriously. So perhaps this is the perfect place to visit with our British friends (a little re-colonizing perhaps) or not?
Category Archives: THE SOUTH
Contemplating a fall trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks: initial pros/cons
A pal from London is attending a conference in early October in Baltimore and I promised to meet her for a road trip. One early option – visiting the Outer Banks, which I’ve never been to – and long wanted to see. After some initial scrutiny of maps, airline websites and guidebooks, here are my initial pros and cons:
PROS:
- – Fall is ideal for a visit to the Outer Banks, especially since the summer gets so crowded. The weather and even the water, often, remains warm in late Sept/early October. (see hurricanes below under CONS)
- – There appear to be lots of good options for renting a cottage or staying at a b&b for a few days (if not a full week) – which would be good if our spouses join us.
- – Gorgeous seashore (175-mile ribbon of sandy islands plus national seashore with sand dunes and old lighthouses) , lots of history (including English history, plus hiding place of the everyone’s favorite pirate, Blackbeard, where the Wright brothers learned to fly and site of many shipwrecks – hence its reputation as “the graveyard of the Atlantic), quaint fishing villages, stunning beaches, things to do/see and places to eat (Carolina BBQ for the meat-eaters among us. local seafood – clam chowder, crab cakes, deep-fried hush puppies.)
- – About that English history: Near the Outer Banks on Roanoke Island is the site of Sir Walter Raleigh’s “lost colony.” In 1585, this was England’s first permanent foothold in the “New World” – a colony of over 100 Brits (men, women, kids). This was the location of the birth of the first child of English parents on what later became U.S. soil. The colonists appeared to disappear and history vague on details although there’s some talk of a horrific drought. (More reading advised.)
CONS:
- – The Outer Banks are a bit of a pain to get to (which is of course, part of their attraction) and pricey to get to. The nearest airport is Norfolk, Va. which is expensive to fly to from here in Des Moines and not so easy from Baltimore (it appears that a connecting flight is necessary) – haven’t check into London. Even when you get to Norfolk the Outer Banks are still 80 miles away. Nor does there appear to be train service from Baltimore to anywhere near the Outer Banks (although I have not done exhaustive research on this.)
- So the best bet appears to be: for me to fly from Des Moines to Washington (much cheaper than flying to Baltimore) and we meet up either in DC or Baltimore and drive – about 5/6 hours. Long, especially by English standards, but we’ve survived these drives before (including a five hour drive from London to the Lake District with five kids in tow.)
- – The possibility of hurricanes
HOTSPOTS:
- – Duck, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Ocracoke Island, Beaufort (Kitty Hawk to Nags Head sound overdeveloped), Nags Head architecture tours of old beach cottages;
- – Edenton (nearby colonial waterfront town
- WHERE TO STAY:
- When I looked for oceanfront rentals, I found large modern beach houses – some very pricey. When I looked up “quaint cottage duck north carolina) I found some sweet looking cottages including http://www.vrbo.com/334384#rates (Midgett House in Old Town Manteo on Historic Roanoke Island)
- Neva Midgett House corner of Uppowac and Budleigh – Manteo, North Carolina Vacation Home Near Restaurants and Shops
- Duck b&B: Advice 5 cents. (strange name, I know) wwwadvice5.com; Cottage rentals in Duck: sun realty, Carolina designs realty, duck’s real estate (www.outerbanksrentals.com) http://www.twiddy.com
Filed under North Carolina
Another sight to see when in Bentonville Arkansas
So this isn’t technically open for tourists in Bentonville, but the house owned by the director of Crystal Bridges – the new museum of American art founded by a Walton heiress – sounds definitely worth a drive-by, if I can find it when we visit Bentonville in late May. There’s a story about the house in the April 1st NYTimes’ Sunday T Magazine and it looks fantastic – a glass and limestone-brick home designed in 1954 by Cecil Stanfield, the same “Modernist” architect, the Times reports, who gave a “Jetsons”-esque touch to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa (which I’ve visited twice – when Oral was holed up in his “prayer tower” during the late 1980s. Wonder if the architect designed the tower – or the strange sculpture of giant clasped hands nearby on the campus).
Filed under Arkansas
searching for a low-key decor b&b in eureka springs, arkansas
My eyes are blurry after looking at so much floral wallpaper, flowery bedspreads, dark heavy drapery, thick overstuffed couches, beds adorned with stuffed bears and walls with garish art, after searching online for a bed and breakfast to stay at in Eureka Springs. A hotel may be the way to go. I found several more low-key even hip options in “The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America” which I picked up at a used book sale last summer in Southampton, N.Y. I figure if they’ve got good art, they’re worth staying at (I am, after all, the daughter of art gallery owners.) I’ve reserved a room at the Basin Park Hotel (much cheaper rates if you do online although you can’t guarantee you’ll get a nice view or quiet room online.) Other options include the Cottage Inn and the New Orleans Hotel.
So far, the best b&b options, decor-wise, appear to be Rock Creek Gardens – a cool old motor court motel with the outside walls made of dozens of small rocks – and inside relatively low-key tasteful decor; or 11 Singleton House, which I’ve read is also fairly low-key and run by a very knowledgeable local. I also spoke to the operator of 11 Singleton who books other B&Bs in town – and is a great resource for travel in the area – and she has put me on her list for a “maybe” single night stay during Memorial Day weekend. (Most proprietors, not surprisingly, want to book all three or at least two of the nights; She also said that people aren’t booking ahead as much as they used to – could it be in part because some places don’t allow cancellation without a penalty fee?) The Treehouse cottages – newly built wood tree houses in actual trees – also look pretty cool although again, I’d appreciate more low-key furnishings, but they’re all booked. Book a one night stay on memorial day weekend may also be a challenge.
Filed under Arkansas
Clarksdale Mississippi – again
Clarksdale Mississippi gets a nod from me for the second day in a row, oddly, after I read this morning that a restaurant there bankrolled by the actor Morgan Freeman, who is a Clarksdale native, is closing after ten years in operation. My meal there was about seven years ago,come to think of it, while I was doing a writing project in the Mississippi Delta and it was clear that Madidi, the restaurant which specialized in “Americanized French cuisine” (I remember it as Southern fine dining, with prices to match) would never break even in such an impoverished place. It was clearly a labor of love. Guess the cast and crew of “The Help,” which filmed in Clarksdale, also couldn’t save it from extinction. Last I heard Freeman does have another restaurant there – a popular blues bar, pool hall and restaurant called Ground Zero (see photos above). He opened another branch in Memphis, where my son and I listened to a very good female singer a few years ago.
Filed under delta, Memphis, Mississippi
Austin suggestions
My stepdaughter is looking for suggestions for a trip to Austin, Tx. I only spent a day there a few years ago but here’s what I’ve got:
– the funky old Hotel San Jose – right across from The Continental, a great music club we did manage to visit during our 5 hours in Austin. Another one of her hotels that sounds fun is the Hotel Saint Cecilia. This is all along South Congress, I think, which is a fun area.
– one-of-a-kind bbq restaurant, Kreuz market in Lockhart, Tx., aka the self-anointed BBQ capital of texas, (a short drive from Austin…but there are plenty of places in Austin too. http://www.kreuzmarket.com. You order the BBQ by the pound in a room so smokey it made my eyes burn, then take your brown paper-wrapped meat into a much less smokey room where you eat it – without sauce or a fork, as I recall. And you’re supposed to eat it with crackers (we chose bread) and red cherry pop.
– The original Whole Foods downtown. Supposed to be amazing.
Filed under Texas
Where to eat/stay when visiting Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas
We will no doubt make it to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which is making an unlikely art destination out of Bentonville, Arkansas (thanks to Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton who bankrolled the museum in the Wal-Mart headquarters hometown).
I’ve explored northwest Arkansas several times (especially Eureka Springs), but never had a reason to stop in the small city of Bentonville. Now I do, thanks to this new museum , which opened Nov. 11. and promises to put Bentonville on the map not only for American art enthusiasts but tourists in general. A huge complex designed by Moshe Safdie, the museum showcases Walton’s reportedly impressive art collection and also has a sculpture garden and nature trails that wind through 120 acres of forests, gardens and ponds.
Now courtesy of the NYTimes comes some suggestions on tourist amenities present and future there:
- – Table Mesa Bistro, around since 2008.
- – Pressroom, new restaurant located in a former – yes you guessed it – newspaper pressroom. (Sadly, given the deteriorating health of newspapers, more and more newsrooms may face this kind of repurposing…)
- – Laughlin House B&B – recently opened, first B&B in town.
- – 21c Museum Hotel – opening on the town square in Jan. 2013 and an outpost of the original hotel in Louisville.
Also on my list: the famous AQ (“Arkansas Quality”) Chicken House in nearby Springdale, Arkansas.
Filed under Arkansas
burgers in Texas, Mexican food in Houston!
More on-the-road suggestions from my friend Kathy:
We ended up eating a lot of Mexican food on this trip (not surprising, I suppose, since we spent so much time in Texas). We did hit a Whataburger once. It’s a chain that bills itself as a “Texas treasure” since the 1950s, and while it is still fast food, I must admit that when this semi-vegetarian first bit into a Whataburger, it reminded me of the drive-in burgers I used to eat when I was a kid. It’s a step above the big chains.
The other restaurant of note was Pappasito’s Cantina in Houston. It had come highly recommended. It’s a chain with restaurants scattered throughout the city and, from the lines forming out the door, a popular one. We waited for about a half hour with a pager in the parking lot, but since it was a balmy, full-moon spring night, the wait wasn’t terrible. The restaurant itself was roomy, and the food worth the wait. I had wonderful fish tacos: a couple of pieces of lovely fish, seasoned and grilled instead of breaded, with a big mound of homemade chunky guacamole and pico de gallo, rice and black beans. C. had steak and chicken fajitas that were also terrific.
Where to eat in Memphis’ Germantown…
This comes courtesy of my friend Kathy who is on a road trip with her family from Des Moines to Houston via some of my favorite places, including most recently, Memphis. Before they left, Kathy’s family got some road food recommendations from a well-known BBQer in Des Moines who owns Woody’s. Here’s the first restaurant they tried in Memphis’ Germantown area. Can’t go wrong with a place that offers complimentary deviled eggs!!
The Germantown Commissary, 2290 S. Germantown Road in the Germantown area of Memphis. According to the menu, a commissary is another term for a Southern general store. Interesting decor, with twinkle lights, and bleached animal skulls, movie posters and old tin signs on the wood-paneled walls. Great dry-rub ribs and tamales smothered in chili and cheese. Excellent coleslaw. Almost every dish comes with a deviled egg. Homemade lemonade and sweet tea. We didn’t have room for dessert, but they looked great: tall layer cakes and cream pies.
Filed under DINING, Memphis, Uncategorized
Flying home from Atlanta on Wednesday?
My husband D is supposed to fly home from Atlanta on Wednesday after a business meeting there. Here’s hoping – He reports it’s “pretty awful” there right now due to a huge winter storm that is moving across the south and up the east coast. the airport there, the world’s busiest we’re told, was pretty much shut down today. And tomorrow doesn’t look much better. Meanwhile, here in Iowa, we’re having our very own little snowstorm which is supposed to dump up to 9 inches – last I heard – by the time it ends sometimes tomorrow. Ahhh winter.
D did report that he had a terrific meal in Atlanta at the Woodfire Grill, whose executive chef is Kevin Gillespie (of Top Chef fame.)…so now we’ve each eaten at a Top Chef contestant’s restaurant (mine was Stephanie Izard’s The Girl and the Goat in Chicago.)
TakeBetsywithyou 