North Carolina Coastal Cities

Last month, we spent a week in North Carolina.  The bulk of the time was spent in Raleigh, where hubs attended a conference.  I toured some of the surrounding towns and we managed to take a quick trip to the coast.

Our first stop was Wilmington and Carolina Beach.  Wilmington seemed to be a very industrial city and reminded me of Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The downtown area appears to be starting a 'comeback;' however, there is still room to grow.  After a quick walk on the boardwalk next to the Cape Fear River, we drove to Carolina Beach.   What a lovely area!  The sandy beach is great for walking...unlike Cancun beaches where each step results in sinking about 8 inches!  A few pictures from Carolina Beach...

 

We also made our way to OBX, the Outer Banks.  North Carolina has some wonderful beaches. I think I managed to find no fewer than 5 homes that I wanted to buy.  Homes on stilts with beautiful sand dunes and soft sand beaches are absolutely lovely.  Here are a few pictures from Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Cape Hatteras National Park...

Sunset near Kitty Hawk

 Sunset near Kitty Hawk

 Nags Head beach

Sunrise in Kitty Hawk

 Sunrise from our hotel balcony in Kitty Hawk

Balloon Ride in Galena, Illinois

We were up at the crack of dawn, literally.  We were up at 4am, at the balloon launch site by 4:50am, and up in the air by 5:10am.  Our pilot/captain was Andy from Buy a balloon ride.  He and his staff were very friendly and professional...and kept us safe, which is always a good thing!

The basket can hold 14 people, plus Andy; however our group was 4 on one side and 6 on the other.  It would be quite crowded at 14 people, so hopefully your group is 10-12 people so everyone has a little extra room.

The early morning flight is nice, but I think I want to try an evening/dusk flight as photographic conditions and lighting are usually a bit better.  It was hot and humid, so several of my pictures have a bit of a 'haze.'

Watching the balloon inflate 

 Celebratory champagne toast after landing (and the basket)

 The balloon's shadow

The morning sun peaking through the clouds

Plantation Alley in Louisiana

I had hoped that the weather in April in New Orleans would be mild, but it was a bit hotter than anticipated.  Hot would have been fine, but mix in high humidity, no breezes and a smell that rivaled Venice (peee-ew!)  and it was just too much.  So we hopped in the air conditioned car and drove through Plantation Alley.

Houmas House is a beautiful old plantation house and surrounding gardens located about an hour west of New Orleans.  I could hang out here all day!

Oak Alley Plantation is the one that is always used in the movies.  You know, the walkway lined with huge oak trees....Here it is.  The oak trees are something spectacular.  The last picture shows a metal 'support' holding up one of the branches.

Along the way....

We stumbled upon this...

and ironically, a church is located at the intersection.  hmmm.

Verde Canyon Train Ride

Typically, I plan ahead. That's obviously a precursor to my next phrase....however, on this particular day, I had nothing planned. I gave Chuck several options of things to do and he chose riding the train in Verde Canyon.

What are the odds that they would be completely booked on a Wednesday? Not only were they completely booked in First Class, but they were OVERbooked. We could either ride coach (outdoors) or rent the caboose. Why not? We rented the caboose.

Ferman was our personal naturalist. Although, I could be a bit stuffy and say he was our butler, because, well, he was :-) The caboose is designed to accommodate six adults, but we were only a party of 2, so we had Ferman and the caboose all to ourselves. Ferman pointed out rock formations like turtles, angels, Abraham Lincoln, wildlife, Native American caves, and bald eagles.

The train as it snakes through the canyon

"Abraham Lincoln"

A bald eagle

Chuck outside our caboose.

Chuck inside our caboose.

The Red Rocks of Sedona

Next stop....Sedona, Arizona. After leaving the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, we drove west to Sedona and stayed at the Hilton in Oak Creek. It was a lovely hotel, located about a 10 minute drive from all the action in downtown Sedona. My only mistake...I should have planned to stay 2-3 days in Sedona, but that just means we get to head back there at some point in time.

Here are a few pictures of the amazing Red Rocks.

Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

After a night at the Globetrotter Lodge, we headed out to explore the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.

Yes, that is the Petrified Forest. There's not much to see. Apparently there has been a lot of stealing from the park. Nice.

Mesa Verde in Cortez, Colorado

After leaving Monument Valley, we headed northwest toward Cortez, Colorado to Mesa Verde. Along the way we stopped at the Valley of the Gods...

And, then we drove to Cortez. Once you enter Mesa Verde it takes another 45 minutes or so to drive all the way to the southern end of the park to actually see the cliff dwellings. But, it is well worth the visit.