Travel - Things to do in the Outer Banks!

After spending a long weekend in the picturesque villages along the Outer Banks, I can't believe it took me this long to visit!  Yes, it is a 10-hour drive from the north side of metro Atlanta, but it is truly worth every minute it takes to get there!  We only went for 4 nights but we should have stayed at least a full week - there was so much more to see!

On our first day, we went to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, which is located on Roanoke Island, in Manteo.  It was about a 15-minute drive from Kill Devil Hills. 

Earthen walls are all that remain of Fort Raleigh

Fort Raleigh is where the Lost Colony was last seen.  If you don't know this story, it is fascinating.  And over 400 years later, it is still America's longest unsolved mystery. 

Schedule your visit to the site so that you can take part in the Ranger talk.  The Ranger has great information about the history of the Fort and shares some of the possible theories of what happened to the Lost Colony.  You can walk out back and see the ruins of the original earthen walls of the fort.  The Visitor's Center has a wonderful exhibit about the history of the area, as well.  We spent about 2 hours there and enjoyed it so much! 

Down by the water, if you're there during the season, you can watch a live performance of The Lost Colony.  This Friday, May 31, they open for their 82nd season!  I hope to go back in the next year or two and see this! Here's the FB page for the play.

While you're on Manteo, visit the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. It's really close to Fort Raleigh.   The prices are affordable, and it's a great aquarium! We really enjoyed the Turtle rescue/hospital area, and the sting ray touch tank!  The jellyfish and sea horses are always my favorites at every aquarium, and this one didn't disappoint!  There are plenty of interactive displays for both little and big kids. 

Outside there is a long pier to walk on, a dinosaur fossil dig, and other cool things to see! A great place to visit for a few hours, for sure!!

I hope you enjoyed these fun things to do! Click the links for pages or websites to get all the information!

Thanks for stopping by!

Travel - The Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, GA (from Fried Green Tomatoes movie!)

Yesterday David and I took a fun road trip with our friend Crystal and her adorable son.  She wanted to visit the tiny middle-Georgia town of Juliette.  Now, if you don't know about Juliette, you may find that you actually do recognize it from Hollywood and the silver screen.  Back in the 1990's, a little movie was filmed there called Fried Green Tomatoes.  If you haven't seen it, you should find a copy to watch! The movie is based on the book by Fannie Flagg, called Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.  I need to finally watch the movie, and read the book again - it's been too long!

This tiny town got a makeover for the movie, and thus the Whistle Stop Cafe was born.  Located about 10 minutes off I-75, it's very easy to find if you are traveling to or from Florida or South Georgia.  Turn right on McCrackin Street and the cafe will be past the stores and on your left.  It's a small cafe, but you can make reservations online.  If you go during the week, like we did, it's not likely to be packed.  We left Crystal's house (near Cumming) around 9:30, made two fast stops along the way and still got to the Cafe about 12:10.  We did have to deal with some construction delays on Hwy 400 and again on I-75.

Entering the cafe is like going back in time!! First, the front porch is rustic and so cute.  Pull the old-fashioned handle on the door and you're inside the sweetest cafe ever!  The time-worn, wooden floors and white-washed planks on the walls and ceiling, old signs and pictures on the walls, and the safe built into the bar next to the cash register are a few details that make this place seem like a refuge from the busy world outside.  Ceiling fans lazily spin, and the lights are a little dim. It's just perfect!
There are booths along both walls, and a few tables for larger groups. There are also stools at the bar for additional seating.

The waitresses here are precious!! Never saw one of them without a big smile.  They greeted us and invited us to sit anywhere.  We chose a booth towards the back where we could see the railroad tracks. Not two minutes into our visit a train flew by our window!

You know we like our iced tea here in the South.  I am a huge fan of unsweet tea, so that was my choice, and D & Crystal ordered sweet tea.  Our drinks arrived in icy cold mason jars - wide mouth for unsweet, regular for sweet.  The girls kept our glasses full throughout the meal, which is always a plus when you are dining out.   There was no charge for refills or our to-go cups of tea, but sodas only come by the can, so if you want refills, you will pay for each. Remember you can click on the pictures to see a bigger version!  You can purchase the cute t-shirts the waitresses wear at the brick depot gift shop just down the street. (forgot to take a picture!)

The menu was two-sided and simple.  I ordered a basket of Fried Green Tomatoes to bring home to my husband.  He loves them, and no way would I let him miss the ones from this Cafe! Crystal tried one and said they were delicious.  D and I think tomatoes are disgusting, so we took her word for it!!

For lunch I ordered the Sampler - I thought we could share it.  It had two massive chicken tenderloins, a pile of onion rings, a pile of sweet potato stix and several more fried green tomatoes.  It also came with cups of honey mustard, ranch, a tangy horseradish sauce for the FGT, and the most amazing BBQ sauce EVER!! The chicken was seriously the best chicken I've ever eaten. Tender, moist and so flavorful.  I brought home so much leftover food though - that platter is massive!

David chose a grilled cheese - it looked so good - cheese melting over the edges and some kettle-style chips, plus a pickle on the side.

Crystal ordered the pulled BBQ pork.  She declared it delicious, as well as the slaw and the garlic mashed potatoes she chose for her sides.  Little Parker (he's under two) shared sweet potato stix and the bun from her sandwich.  Everyone was full and happy.

Of course we decided to share dessert! They had some delicious-sounding choices - pecan cobbler, peach cobbler, apple dumplings, and a hot fudge cake.  But we chose the lemon cheesecake and it was perfect. Light, sweet, and chilled from the fridge.  It was the perfect ending to our meal at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

We didn't have time to explore after lunch, since we wanted to get back to the North side of Atlanta before rush hour.   We left there at 1:30, dropped Crystal off before 4 pm, and were back home before 5.

However, if you'd like to explore the area, Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site is only a few minutes away and offers a museum, plus the chance to explore an 1800's cotton plantation. There are also some darling stores and such right there on McCrackin Street in Juliette. There is even an Opry House and Opry Land across the street from it.  Such a cute little town and well worth the drive!

The Whistle Stop Cafe is located at 443 McCrackin Street, Juliette, GA 31046. They are open 11 am to 4 pm daily. 

Travel - Love mermaids? You have to visit Weeki Wachee!

Last week my Aunt, my son and I went on a wonderful road trip to Florida to do a little exploring ~ it was so much fun.....

We started our adventure in Weeki Wachee, Florida - the city of live mermaids! It's about an hour north of Tampa.  I grew up in Jacksonville, so as a child I visited this magical place and it made quite an impression on me. No surprise then that I love to visit Weeki Wachee as an adult, even if it's 10 or more years between visits. It's still magical to me every single time!  David and I saw the Weeki Wachee mermaids perform at the Georgia Aquarium about a year and a half ago, and I've been wanting to take a trip back to Weeki Wachee ever since!

Aunt Anne had never been here, and David was a baby the last time we visited the park, so I couldn't wait to show them one of my favorite places.  There were three shows the day we visited, and we got there 20 minutes before the last show of the day started.  We stopped at the gift shop inside the park and picked out a few things, then it was time to go over to the Newton Perry Underwater Mermaid Theater. We took our seats, and watched videos on the monitor of Weeki Wachee's history since it began in 1947. You can read about the history of Weeki Wachee here - what a great story it is!

The theater quickly filled up and soon it was time for the show to start! We watched the mermaids appear as the curtains rose to display the windows into the spring.  There were several fish and two big turtles swimming in the spring with the mermaids that day - it was so cute to watch them!

The mermaids perform Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid.  There are two parts of the show that will likely scare little ones, so be aware! They do announce this at the beginning of the show, as well. If your kids don't like really loud noises, or flashing lights, you may need to take them out before the little mermaid and her true love come out to dance on the stage, and then leave quickly at the end of the show before the mermaids take their bows.

The mermaids are graceful and lovely, and they breathe underwater from air hoses that are placed throughout the spring.  The training they must have to be able to perform like this - wow!   It's a really beautiful show and we saw all people of all ages enjoying it when we were there.  

After the show, you can do several other things while you are there.  We still had a two-hour drive to our hotel, so we couldn't stay.  Try to give yourself enough time to enjoy the entire park when you go! Here is the park's map that shows everything.

There is a river cruise down the Weeki Wachee River, and an Animal Encounter Show that highlights Florida wildlife such as snakes and alligators.  They have several restaurants and gift shops, and a nice playground for your littles.  If you visit during the summertime, you can enjoy Buccaneer Bay - an awesome water park with slides, a kiddie pool and more.  The spring itself is open for swimming year round, but the water park is seasonal. 

Your ticket price includes everything - shows, river cruise, even Buccaneer Bay! And if a quick visit isn't enough, you can even register for mermaid camps! They have them for kids ages 7-14, and for adults 30 and over.  

You can learn more about Weeki Wachee at their website, on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and Youtube. 

If you have visited Weeki Wachee before, tell me what you love about it in the comments, please! And if you haven't been, I hope you'll consider it on your next trip to Florida.  It is definitely an attraction that everyone should visit at least once when you are down that way - so unique and lots of fun.

Stay tuned as I'll share our awesome trip to West Volusia county beginning later this week.  We saw amazing springs, some wildlife up close and personal, and much more  - it was fabulous and I can't wait to tell you about it! Oh, and a giveaway or two will be coming up soon, too! See ya soon....

Disclaimer: I received two passes to the park in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions given in this post are my own!