5/2/23 Plymouth to Elizabeth City NC

We had a great day!  Again- a cool morning with a breeze coming from the west. Since we were typically cycling east  or northeast, the wind was at our side or at our back - blowing us along. 💨 

Plymouth has a black bear festival every June. It’s been determined that the largest and highest concentration of black bears on the planet are found on this peninsula in North Carolina! 

We really enjoyed how quickly the miles flew by, passing lots of swamps, forested areas, wheat and corn fields and the occasional lumber yard. 

There was one challenge that took some energy… a 3.5 mile bridge going over the Albemarie Sound. The challenge was the 20 mph side wind, the seemingly low concrete wall and the amount of vehicles that traveled this less popular bridge. All said and done… we were so pleased to reach the other side.

It was 11:11 when we sat down at the 252 Grill in Hereford happy to be out of the cross. wind and ready for a light lunch. It was great stop!

When we arrived in Elizabeth City we chatted with some locals and they had some good suggestions for us.  Since our room wasn’t available yet we decided to check out the museum. It really had a wealth of information about a a variety of topics and time frames, but all about this area. 

Our overnight is at a vrbo loft apt. that  once was “The Big Store” on te corner of Main and Poindexter. It was a perfect walking to the a renovated waterfront and downtown with 2 breweries. 

The 7 Sounds Brewery was right on the waterfront.  We enjoyed the beer, the vistas, watching the boats proceed through the causeway bridge at exactly 5:30, and meeting David who now lives overlooking this beautiful spot.

The conversation was so fun we decided to have dinner together at Hoppin’ John’s. Delicious food and entertaining stories to share. David is British, born in Southern Africa, Merchant Marine,  world sailor, and total adventurer. When we talked about not seeing an alligator on our trip, he shared a crazy experience about participating in a research expedition to count alligators eggs (as many as 80 on one nest) while the other person sits on the huge alligator. No sedation… but there is more to the story. This is a picture of David holding the gator. 

We hope to cross paths with him again some day.

 

Next stop was the other brewery…Ghost Harbor Brewing.  Things were super lively when we entered and the music was fun… but inconsistent.  Then we realized there was a special game of bingo happening. We got our flight and our bingo card with names of songs from one decade. As the song played many patrons would begin singing along for 30 seconds to a minute then the next song would play. Everyone had a colorful dauber to mark their card. A win is a blackout. 

By the way… no flats! 62 miles and an overall great day.