Having booked a week at the New Bern Grand Marina & Yacht Club for the crazy reasonable rate of $4.50/foot/week (plus electricity) we had plenty of time to explore, even with some crappy weather in the forecast! The dock we were on led right onto one of the main streets in old downtown New Bern which made it super easy to pop out for a walk in the morning.
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| The sunset views from our dock were pretty nice! |
The town has a rich history as one of North Carolina's colonial capitals (and the last one before the Revolutionary War) and celebrates that history with placards throughout town and via the North Carolina History Center at Tryon Palace. We spent an afternoon touring the replica palace, some of the original buildings, and the amazing gardens. We also explored some of the darker history of New Bern with a Ghost Tour! I know, I know...touristy...but it's also a fun way to learn some actual history among the ghost tales. It was super windy and a little rainy the night we went, but it was still fun! And we even visited the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, “the taste born in the Carolinas.”
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| Tryon Palace and Gardens |
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| Kind of neat to see where a global icon started! |
I also stumbled across an event at the local Civic Theater while I was looking for things to do--Rock of Ages was opening the weekend we were in town! The Skipper and I went to opening night and had the most fun we've had on a Friday night in a long time! The venue was old and a little rough around the edges which worked perfectly for Rock of Ages, the music was awesome, and the cast was AMAZING! They can really sing and perform! We loved that the male lead was a local junior high science teacher...I love that community theater is neighbors coming together to put on a show. SO much fun!
We added to the fun factor by stopping at Beary the Hatchet for a night of axe throwing! It was actually "Broke Axe Monday" so an hour of throwing was only $15 each. There was great music, a really good beer lineup, and axes! What's not to love?
This town also hits some good food notes, and the portions are "13-year old boy approved." We went to Baker's Kitchen for their amazing cinnamon rolls and southern fare (a few times!), Captain Ratty's for a teenager-satisfying breakfast buffet, MJ's Raw Bar & Grille for super fresh seafood (a few times!), the Cow Cafe for a casual lunch stop, Bella's Cafe for morning coffee, and the Chelsea for a slightly more upscale southern evening. Yeah, I didn't cook a ton, and there are other places that we would like to hit on a return trip. There was also a really good farmer's market only a block from the marina on Saturday where we got some beautiful vegetables (and pork cracklins!).
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| I added lots of reviews to Google Maps while we were here! The Crabby Bloody Mary at MJ's was awesome; the farmer's market was lovely; and the cinnamon rolls at Baker's were HUGE and yummy! |
This made a good "cruiser stop" for me for quite a few reasons. The marina was reasonably priced (actually, cheap!), had good wifi, had cable (WOO HOO, FOOTBALL!!!), everyone on our dock was really nice, staff was super helpful, bathrooms were clean, it was easy to get mail shipped here (we got some parts!), laundry machines worked (and took credit cards), they had pump-out options, and they had recycling. Only thing missing was fuel (but another marina had it). I was also able to get a grocery run via Instacart from Publix right to the head of our dock. The fact that the town was super walkable won me over instantly, but the fact that there were great businesses within that walkable area was really nice. There is a health food grocer just a few blocks from the marina that even had a live aboard discount! And of course, the cultural offerings were great, too. Don't be surprised if we go "off the path" to stop by New Bern again sometime in the future!
~ Jo, 1st Mate
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