Looking across Taylor’s Creek towards the Rachel Carson Reserve

On visiting Beaufort, your eyes are immediately drawn to the water.

Whether you’re crossing over Gallant’s Channel coming into Beaufort from points west, or strolling along Front Street and gazing across Taylor’s Creek – you’re confronted by water.

From nearly every point along Front Street, you’re faced with that collection of islands, marshes, and strips of sand that offer Taylor’s Creek its southern border, and its very definition as a body of water distinct from the surrounding rivers, channels, and sounds.

As we all know, that collection of islands, marshes, and strips of sand bears the name Rachel Carson. [Read more…]

Enjoying the Inlet Inn’s view after a day on the water

While I cannot seem to recall the exact date, our first stay at the Inlet Inn only came sometime in the last five years. We weren’t avoiding the Inlet Inn, we just had so much fun staying at other spots.

Then the kids came along…all three of them (not all at once, which would have been infinitely more challenging, but over about 4 years).

We found out quickly that many hotels will not accommodate five people in a single room.

The Inlet Inn will. [Read more…]

Looking towards Town Marsh at sunrise

At first glance, Beaufort’s accommodation choices are pretty limited: a few small hotels, inns, bed & breakfasts, and a few vacation rental homes.

Earlier this year we started compiling notes taken over the years on places to stay in and around Beaufort.

We’ve written about some in our Beaufort Accommodations Guide – A Quick Introduction and Beaufort Accommodations Guide Part II – A Guide to Beaufort’s Small Hotels.

We had planned on posting a few more parts, maybe compiling it all on one page, and wrapping it up.

As we started to dive a little deeper into Beaufort’s accommodation choices, we discovered that the choices are anything but limited, and represent an eclectic mix of great places to stay!

We’re going to start featuring some of those choices.

Today we’ll begin with one of the most interesting accommodation choices in town: [Read more…]

For those of us not fortunate enough to live in Beaufort year-round, but who visit the town regularly, the drive down to Beaufort becomes memorable, or at least familiar.

If you’re headed to Carteret County from places west, especially the Triangle and the Triad, that drive down 70 is both a curse and a blessing.

A curse because it’s long – though not nearly as long as it used to be. [Read more…]

Looking east on Bird Shoal

“Like the sea itself, the shore fascinates us who return to it, the place of our dim ancestral beginnings. In the recurrent rhythms of tides and surf and in the varied life of the tide lines there is an obvious attraction of movement and change and beauty. There is also, I am convinced, a deeper fascination born of inner meaning and significance.”
Rachel Carson from The Edge of the Sea

With all the changes that the National Park Service has made in getting visitors over to Shackleford Banks, many Beaufort locals and visitors have been looking for an alternative.

Bird Shoal is that alternative. [Read more…]

Beaufort is a North Carolina constant.

It has a long, deep past, and thankfully seems to be headed for a bright future. That said, things are changing. If you’re visiting Beaufort soon after an absence of 6 months or more, you’ll have some new sites to see.

What’s new in Beaufort?

Things like…

Roses, with the Carteret Academy in the background

It is springtime, and Beaufort seems to be covered in roses!

Up and down the boardwalk and Front Street, roses are the theme of the day. They won’t last forever though, so don’t miss them.

Get yourself to Beaufort, soon! [Read more…]

If you wander along the north side of Ann Street between Turner and Craven Streets, tucked between the Methodist and Baptist churches you’ll see an iron and masonry fence and gate.

[Read more…]

For those of us leisure travelers to Beaufort, it’s easy to forget that the surrounding waters are an economic driver – really the economic driver – for Beaufort and Carteret County.

Seeing all the commercial fishing boats around Beaufort should be a good reminder. [Read more…]

The boardwalk and the flags on a late summer afternoon

The nautical flagpole near the center of Beaufort’s boardwalk has to be one of the most photographed spots in town.

The maritime signal flags that stretch the vertical length of the pole spell out Beaufort – a fact that took me much longer to figure out than it should have!

Check out the entire array of signal flags.

It’s a familiar scene that looks best set against a crystal blue sky. [Read more…]