June 15, 2016
Finally heading North
According to a compass we have been heading North ever since we left South Florida. In terms of culture that has not been the case. Northern Florida is definitely more southern than South Florida, Georgia is more southern than Florida and South Carolina felt more southern than Georgia. However, once we crossed from South Carolina to North Carolina we started feeling like we were heading North both geographically and culturally.
That is not to suggest we have left the South. We still have access to good BBQ, boiled peanuts (perfect electrolyte replacement if you are running low on salt) and sweet tea (perfect if you are running low on sugar).
Three advantages if riding in North Carolina are excellent shoulders (no rumble strips!), marked bike routes, and Lowes food stores.
After a nutritious breakfast (donuts AND muffins were available), our ride started under overcast skies. We skipped the usual morning application of sunscreen and soon removed our arm coolers.
Crops of the day were corn, tobacco, and blueberries.
We made it to the Cape Fear river in time to catch the 10:45 ferry.
Swarms of seagulls make their living by following the ferries back and forth across this river. At least a few people on each boat are willing to feed them. They are experts at hovering right above the heads of passengers, swooping in to grab food from an outstretched hand when the food is held or in midair when the food is tossed.
When we reached the North bank of the Cape Fear river we planned to go to the North Carolina aquarium which is not far from the ferry terminal. Before we went even a mile, we came across a very tempting bike path which we decided to follow, even though we had no idea where it lead. It turned out to be a short cut leading directly to the aquarium. We locked out bikes to a fence, stored some valuables in free lockers and spent some time enjoying the aquarium.
Just North of the aquarium is the site of Fort Fisher which guarded the Cape Fear river during the civil war. The fort was destroyed by Federal navy bombardments in December 1864 and January 1865 that involved an incredible 58 warships.
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There is a museum next to the site of fort Fisher. We had to decide if we would visit the museum or make a run for the hotel 15 miles up the road. The sky was getting dark and we could hear thunder, but we decided that since the wind was mostly a tail wind we could stay in front of the weather if we left immediately. This was a good call since it started pouring rain about 15 minutes after we made it to the hotel.
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