Things to do / Travel Guide
Beyond the beaches, just off the beaten path, the eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland region is full of unexpected big and little travel treasures.
Off the Beaten Path on the Delmarva Peninsula
Just across the way from Chincoteague Island, on the Delmarva Peninsula, on Wallops Island, is the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops Flight Facility. A great place for the entire family to visit, children can take part in scavenger hunts for space information and achieve certification as junior space rangers. There are also films of space flights, astronaut excursions, and space exhibits that are fun for the whole family. The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops Flight Facility is open Thursday-Monday, and, best of all, admission is free.
Off the Beaten Path in Eastern Virginia
The world's largest naval base, Norfolk Naval Station, claims 8,000 acres along the Elizabeth River and Willoughby Bay. Close to 90 ships anchor at the Norfolk Naval Station along with nearly 30 aircraft squadrons. Naval personnel offer 45-minute tours of the Norfolk Naval Station year-round. On the tours you'll get a chance to look at aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, and destroyers. Tours leave several times daily from the Naval Tour and Information Center located at Hampton Boulevard.
Who doesn't like to watch airplanes dive and dance on air? At the Naval Air Station Oceana, in Virginia Beach, you can watch the U.S. Navy's most talented combat pilots spin, slide, and swirl around in the sky. The naval station is home to 18 fighter jet squadrons and, while short, the daily air shows are nothing short of spectacular - you can catch them at the jet landing observation area at POW/MIA Flame of Hope Memorial Park on Oceana Boulevard.
Off the Beaten Path on the North Carolina Shore
At the Barker House, on South Broad Street, in Edenton, you can walk into the well-stocked book shop, take your favorite North Carolina title off of the shelf, pull up a rocking chair on the front porch, and gaze out onto the clear, cool water of Edenton Bay. It is not only that this house was once owned by Thomas Barker, a prominent figure in the Edenton Tea Party of 1774, it is also the fact that this place lets you do something that feels so satisfyingly Southern.
Did you know that the North Carolina shore is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola? Started as Brad's Drink, a digestion aid concocted by New Bern pharmacist Caleb Bradham, the “health tonic” quickly became one of the nation's most popular fountain drinks. You can visit the little New Bern pharmacy where the legacy began. Just a stone's throw from Lawson Creek, on Middle Street, you can learn about Pepsi-Cola's once-humble history and purchase your favorite Pepsi-Cola memorabilia from among the unbelievably diverse selection.
Gaboon vipers, king cobras, Australian taipans, black mambas, a six-foot monitor lizard, and a 23-foot python are just a few of the rare species housed at the Cape Fear Serpentarium on Orange Street in Wilmington; a snake-lover's sanctuary. The Serpentarium holds more than 100 species of snakes, and one of the largest collections of venomous snakes in the world. The Cape Fear Serpentarium is open most days of the year; call ahead for seasonal hours.
Lights … camera … action! In Wilmington, North Carolina? Yes! More than 300 movie, television, and commercial productions, including the well known Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill, have been filmed on the 32-acre film lot at EUE Screen Gems Studios North Carolina. Located on North 23rd Street, this is the largest full-service motion picture facility east of California. The studios offer a one-hour walk through tour of the state-of-the-art soundstages and sets (Dawson's Creek included) - tours of the EUE Screen Gems Studios North Carolina are offered daily, but reservations should be made in advance.
Ahoy matey! Don't leave the North Carolina shore without a planned run-in with the place's pirating past. One of the fiercest pirates in the U.S., the infamous Blackbeard, used to frequent Ocracoke Island, in the Outer Banks. At Teach's Hole on Back Road, in Ocracoke, you can take a look at historical pirating exhibits including weapons, old bottles, and dioramas, on Edward Teach (a.k.a., Blackbeard). Teach's Hole's gift shop also sells the full gamut of pirating paraphernalia, should your own collection of loot be lacking. Teach's Hole is open from Easter-Thanksgiving.
|
|
|