Friday evening, in the midst of a wild and whippy wind, Steve and I . . .
took ourselves downtown for a mini meander along the Manteo boardwalk.
Here I am in full meander mode.
The end of our walk took us near the lighthouse which is usually quite beautiful. This time however, the view was quite different from what it normally is. I don’t know what all they are doing but it seems to be pretty extensive.
But hey. Since they were nice enough to leave behind some equipment that I could use to frame my shot? I’m all about it.
Steve and I morphed into our best tourist mode and walked around and looked at all the signs and displays, one of which I had never even noticed before. (That’s a good thing about putting yourself in tourist mode.)
I discovered that our beautiful lighthouse was in the same spot that once housed the town’s wastewater treatment plant.
We spent a bit of time pondering why a town would put a waste treatment plant in such a highly visible place in town. It’s not exactly an attraction that tourists would plan their trips around. Unless of course one happened to be a Waste Treatment Plant Aficionado!
We also took a gander at a big tall tower thingie that has a flag on top telling the weather.
Steve studiously examined what all the weather flags meant . . .
while I wandered off to photograph the actual tall thingie.
From there we (meaning, Steve) closely examined a screw pile from the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse.
And since I didn’t know what a screw pile was, I figured maybe you didn’t either. I looked up the definition for us all.
Screw piles, sometimes referred to as screw anchors, helical piles, and helical anchors are a steel screw-in piling and ground anchoring system used for building deep foundations. Screw piles are manufactured using varying sizes of tubular hollow sections for the pile or anchors shaft.
After looking at waster treatment pictures, tall weather thingies, and the screw pile, It occurred to us both at about the same time that we were hungry. And what should happen but Poor Richard himself stepping out onto the sidewalk and inviting us into his eating establishment. Such a hospitable fella.
While waiting for the our order to arrive, I wandered around a bit, as I am wont to do. (I want to wander, I am wont to wander and I wonder as I wander. There’s a little word study for you.)
I was especially fascinated by this sign, since Steve and I have weathered a few of these storms in our 8 1/2 years here.
At the end of my wanders, I returned to this fella and a delicious sandwich.
I think it is a sign of good eatin’ when a restaurant has a roll of paper towels instead of napkins.
We got a bite of dessert at the Laughing Lollipop.
This is a store that sells locally made goodies as well as vintage candies from your childhood. (Well, it’s vintage only if your childhood was more than forty years ago.)
The candy bar I always look for but rarely find is Cow Tales Crispy Moo. Low in calories (140), crispy and delicious!
Here are some of the candies and drinks at the shop.
We stopped to listen to a guy sing . . .
and we talked to the owners of these enormous Newfoundlands. The black one is 150 pounds which means that Summer probably doesn’t even weigh as much as his paw!
And then it was back to our red Jeep and the 5-minute jaunt home.
Wait. What?
You didn’t know we had a red Jeep?
Well, actually, we don’t.
Steve’s car is in the shop getting repaired from his little accident a few weeks ago. Since the insurance company provided us with a rental vehicle, we figured we’d put it to use.
And therein lies the end of our Mini Manteo Meander.
What about you?
Are there favorite candies/drinks from your childhood that are hard to find?
What is your current favorite candy?
If you were to play the tourist for a day in your town, what would you do? And why?
You have me looking for those Moo bars! Look delicious.
Did Steve violate his own Miata Parking Only sign with his temporary red jeep??
Catherine,
The Moo bars are fabulous. Don’t stop searching till yo find them!
That’s a very good question about the Jeep. I think he was very careful to avoid the Miata spot while driving the Jeep because it wouldn’t be right for the pastor to be breaking laws out in the church parking lot!
You look cute in a hat!
Steve,
Thank you, kind sir!
I’m late to the party but….
Are there favorite candies/drinks from your childhood that are hard to find?
I loved a chocolate bar when I was a kid – A Christmas Toffee Crisp. It was a limited edition and never came out again! Boohoo! I can still taste it now….
What is your current favorite candy?
Jelly Beans!
If you were to play the tourist for a day in your town, what would you do? And why?
Ah now this is interesting. I live In a small town called Rothwell which traces its roots to the Bronze age – although really the settlement as it’s now known “only” goes back 2000 years. First called “Rodewell” (place of the red well), we still have a reddish coloured brook that runs by the field near my house.
If i was a tourist, I’d definitely go to visit the church (many of my ancestors have been baptised, married and buried there), and the Bone Crypt (aka an Ossuary/charnel house). Legend has it a local gravedigger was going about his job when he fell in, and was stuck in there overnight with the bones until he was rescued. Some say he was never the same afterwards. It dates back to the 13th century and contains over 2500 bones, dated from 1250 to 1900. You can visit once every fortnight on a Sunday for a princely sum of £2.
The Church itself is also well worth a visit. It dates from the 13th century but three of the windows date from the 11th and the west tower from the 1170s. It’s the longest in the county and has an interesting past. One of the spires was struck by lighting many, many moons ago (in 1660), leaving it stuck halfway down the wall where it remains today. The original clock face is also preserved in the graveyard. It’s a Grade 1 listed building and is still in everyday use.
We also have a Market House that was designed by William Grumbold and partially built by Thomas Tresham – you may not know the name but he had an interesting life. He built the Rushton Triangular Lodge (a folly) which is Grade 1 listed and a symbol of his Roman Catholic faith. He was jailed for refusing to become a Protestant and built the Lodge when he was released. Everything about it represents the Holy Trinity; even the hexagonal shape. This was the only building he completed, as he left the Market House without a roof. In fact, the Market House was started in 1577 and not finished until 300 years later!
The town itself is picturesque if you’re into grassy open spaces, stone buildings and history – I suppose I take it for granted having grown up there. Old records are available in the Heritage centre which show how it used to look pre-modern buildings, including an old Grammar school (now a library, which is sadly being closed down). We have an old Nunnery (dated to 1247, closed in the 1500s but the building is still lived in) and the Jesus Hospital, opened in 1586 as a place to care for the elderly and still used to that purpose today.
If you ever come over to the UK, definitely give the midlands/Northants a visit for history – lots of it round here! And cafes – lots of them too! 🙂
Rebecca,
A toffee crisp sounded so yummy to me that I Googled it and found that it’s still being made. Alas, I saw no mention of the Christmas variety.
Ok. You have really got to stop being so descriptive in your descriptions! I’m not sure I can take it. 🙂
If my camera and I could be transported to that very town this minute, I would be thrilled beyond words. That is exactly the kind of buildings and scenery that makes me the happiest. And your added comments about the history and background of each place made it seem all the more appealing. You should have a job as a guide.
Enjoy it for me until I can get there!
It looks like you two had such a great time especially being able to be near the water. Looking at your old fashioned candy, I didn’t see anything that we had in the Minnesota – North Dakota area. Wonder if your old time candy is different in the south than the north. Growing up my favorite was a block of winter green taffy-like candy. I prefer spearmint to peppermint and guess that’s why I liked it. Today, although I seldom eat it is the Snickers Bar – like it is, or frozen – now in an ice cream bar. We have Fort Snelling here and have been there, but it’s been many years, so would be fun to go again. Also, of course, is the Mall of America. That’s where the majority of tourists go, but we only go once in a blue moon. Know there are other areas to explore.
Sharyn,
I have been to the Mall of America one time. Glad I went. Don’t care to ever go back! It IS an amazing place, though.
I’m sure there are regional variances for lots of kinds of candy. I’ve never heard of a block of “winter green taffy-like candy.” Sounds interesting. And sticky! It would be fun if you could find it again. I just found a website called oldtimecandy.com. Might be fun to browse through! 🙂
You have such a pretty and interesting place to visit so close to home! There isn’t really anything interesting to visit in our city, but Detroit is only a 20 minute freeway drive and there are a lot of things there. I prefer more country, outdoorsy things!
No favorite candy, as I don’t generally eat candy. A favorite from growing up was vanilla crepe soda which can be found at some of our better grocery stores. Also Vernor’s floats, Vernors Ginger Ale and Vanilla Ice Cream.
Ah, now I know what a Screw Piling is!
Kari,
I’m right there with you on country, outdoorsy things, although every once in a great while it’s fun to go to a big city and see the sights. And then it’s great to run right back home again to my own small town.
I am glad I could help you with the Screw Piling info. You never know when that might come in handy! 🙂
My favorite vintage candy is probably Sixlets, but they’ve made a comeback so I can treat myself fairly regularly. My current favorite candy is Peanut Butter M & M’s, but they have to be chilled in the fridge. I miss my Dr. Pepper in a glass bottle – you can get the smaller ones, but they are usually 3 times the price of cans. 🙁 And you got me with the red jeep – I thought I had missed or forgotten, and was about to go searching through your blog posts to see when got it! In my town, the “touristy” thing would be the Mesquite Championship Rodeo, but I would go to Dallas instead and visit Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum. And I want to visit the George W Bush Presidential Center at SMU, which is a gorgeous campus on it’s own.
Sue Ellen,
I completely forgot about Sixlets. I found it interesting that “The chocolate centers are made from a mixture of cocoa and carob, giving them a ‘malted’ taste.” Wikipedia
And I will have to try chilling the Peanut Butter M & M’s. I have heard of people chilling the peanut variety and then mixing them in their bag of hot popcorn at the movies. I think I am getting hungry!
Sounds like you have numerous interesting things to see and do within a short distance from where you are. What’s amazing (and also kind of sad) is that there interesting places around every corner in every town but I will never get to see even a fraction of them. But I’ll enjoy the ones I can!
I said the same thing when you said red Jeep, “Wait. What??” But it might come in handy on some off-road meandering!! If I played tourist in my home town, I would go visit the NC Granite Quarry, take a ride in an Andy Griffith squad car, stroll down Main Street to visit all the quaint Mayberry shops. Then I would head over to Barney’s or the Snappy Lunch for a meal then drive over to Aunt Bea’s for some ice cream!
Donna,
That sounds like a lovely, Mayberry-esque day. So fun!
I was never much of a candy eater. However, I do remember the Chick-O-Sticks. They tasted a lot like the center part of a Butterfinger candy bar only more crumbly and had no chocolate. I have seen something like them but not for quite a while. Also, the candy cigarettes. They were so good! I bet those are long gone. 😀 We didn’t drink pop but we did drink lots of Tang. It was supposed to be good for us….loaded with vitamin C (oh, and sugar!); it’s “what the astronauts drink”! Lol Do they still make that stuff?
In our town I would suggest going to the Imax Theater and the museum, Kool-Aid Days, and a drive through the old Navy base. It used to be where the bombs were made in WWII. Now it’s just a bunch of underground bunkers that are privately owned and used for storage, etc. Also in the summer, our town hosts a series of outdoor concerts at the amphitheater at Brickyard Park and one of my favorite summer activities is to walk to Fischer fountain in the evenings after dark. The fountain goes through many, many different variations of sprays that are timed with different colored lights. So pretty!!
Your Manteo meander looks so enjoyable!
LeeAnne,
Yes, you can get Tang from Amazon! (Among other places, I’m sure.) I remember drinking it, too. 🙂
Sounds like my camera and I would have a great time touring your town. I would especially like to go through the old Navy base. Sounds interesting!
Of course, the colored fountain would make some magnificent photos, for sure!
What is the 1904 brick building? Love old buildings like you do. Ruth
Ruth,
That is the old courthouse. A few episodes of Matlock (starring Andy Griffith) were filmed in there.
Now it’s owned by the Dare County Arts Council. There are various galleries/shops on the first floor with art of all kinds, decorations, handcrafted jewelry, etc. Second floor has space for art classes and small performances. It’s a very cool place. You need to come and visit so we can explore it together!
I used to like Cherry Mash – haven’t seen them in a while. Also Chunky with almonds. My favorite candy now is anything caramel – the caramel M&Ms are pretty good but I really love a good sea salt caramel. Funny you should ask where I would tour as I’m getting ready to retire in June so I’ve been making a mental list of places to go – Nelson Atkins Art Museum, Powell Gardens, Overland Park Arboretum, Harry S. Truman Library are all on my list. Going into NW AR, I want to go to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
Pictures are beautiful. Glad you are taking advantage of the red Jeep!
Phyllis,
Cherry Mash is a new one for me; I had to look it up. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Laughing Lollipop carried that.
Your retirement is getting so close. I think it’s almost as fun to PLAN the retirement as it is to retire!
Not sure what my favorite candy was–guess the little kits in packages of about four or five small squares that were like taffy. I like Zero, Mounds and any dark chocolate now. Always liked the Zero and Mound. We drank the grape drinks, orange ones as well as Pepsi and Coke. Now I have to have Sprite or 7-up or Cierra Mist if I can find it. In our town I think we would tour the Centennial Park, Canal Museum and trail and possibly Veterans Museum. We go over to Weldon and go to the river. Halifax is just about 15 to 20 minutes away (county seat) and lots of historical places there. I enjoy walking in the Cedarwood Cemetery looking at the trees and gravestones. There is a lovely fountain as you enter the area. Happy you could spend the day enjoying yourselves. Sure like your “new red jeep.”
Ann,
I have never had a Zero before. Now that I have looked it up, I am definitely going to try one next time I see it! Can’t believe I’ve never eaten one.
Sounds like you have enough attractions in your immediate vicinity to keep you busy for a very long time. I would especially love to see the historical places. Steve and I also love walking in cemeteries and reading the gravestones. It is a sobering thing to do, reminding us that our time on earth is limited.