Pastures new

Yet again, to me, its worth recapping on yesterday's events before moving-on to consider today's points of interest. In particular,  I want to mark our visit to the Smokehouse Grill, for dinner. Having asked the desk manager about the adjacent 'Chicago Grill', he gave it the thumb's down and recommended the nearby Smokehouse Grill as an alternative. So to there we went! Entering the establishment, I was immediately endeared by the red-chequered table cloths and rustic feel ..... and the model train running round the walls was an added bonus, reminiscent of an excellent eatery that we'd once patronised in West Yellowstone. Studying the menu we realised that everything (apart from salads) had a significant smoked component. When in Rome ..... we plumped for smoked ribs accompanied by 'the works' and pour-on, home-made, BBQ sauce. The result? Delicious and I got to use a 10% saver coupon ..... how cheap can you get!? (Our waiter was an interesting guy ..... polite, efficient, but totally devoid of any conversational dialogue!) Anyway, moving on, today began and continued with  sunshine throughout and we were soon on the road again. Our journey began with a visit to Historic Yorktown, a mere twenty minutes away. Situated by the sea, Yorktown is a pristine village of a town which could almost of been transported in toto from rural England.

The site of early Colonial settlers, Civil War battles, and the annual Gloucester Daffodil Festival, its a 'must see ' place. After Yorktown, it was 'South' to the Outer Banks and a chance to see and experience North Carolina for the first time. The traffic was heavy, as 'Summer' had officially started and people drained towards the beaches. (The Outer Banks comprises a long narrow spit, running some 125 miles into the Atlantic and has beaches running along its length). Nearing Kitty Hawk Beach where we were scheduled to stay for two nights, we stopped at Mel's classic retro Diner for a hot dog and then at Walmart's for provisions (beer!).

The forefront of Walmart's was festooned with bicycles and beach paraphernalia ....... the tourist were coming! Arriving at the Holiday Inn at Kitty Hawk we were immediately impressed by the location and its association with the Wright Brothers and their successful attempts to to put man in the air. In the evening we ate a great dinner at the ocean-facing Black Pelican, once  frequented by the famous brothers. Struggled to recall a musical highlight of todays drive, but then realised that James Taylor had a ready-made solution ..... "Carolina on my mind!"