Down By The Sea
Mrs. Cleek and I went down to Beaufort, NC a couple of weekends ago, for our yearly Beaufort weekend.
We stayed at the Pecan Tree Inn (brown-roofed building in back of the big hotel on the waterfront, right side of the picture). We've stayed at almost all the B&Bs Beaufort has (not many, given that the whole "Historic District" is just 2x4 blocks) and this one is pretty typical: old house, redone sometime in the past decade, hit-or-miss breakfast served too early for young kids like us, sign near the toilet asking that we be kind to the pipes, birds nest behind the metal plate in the unused chimney on the wall by the bed full of screechy little birds, etc.. Though they usually cost a bit more than a hotel, I much prefer having a room in an actual house, instead of one of a hundred identical units in a hotel. There's something about those fire-proof doors, industrial carpet and omnipresent disinfectant smell that rubs me the wrong way.
Beaufort's a tiny little town, or at least the historic district where we hang out is, and we usually don't bother driving anywhere. We just walk back and forth between the three good restuarants and the three good bars, avoiding the "family" places, cause why would we pay to hang out with screaming kids if we don't have to?
For a few bucks, you can get the water taxi out to a nearby undeveloped island where you can hang out for as long as you like, away from things like life guards and rescue personnel, bathrooms and beer vendors. Just you, some wild horses, and the Atlantic Ocean. A good time, though. Or, you can sit on the boardwalk and point at the huge yachts that people park there; there's always two or three there of at least 100' tied up at the docks (this beast was there this time).
But, that's about it - after you've seen the handful of shops and driven up the Cape Lookout lighthouse, there's nothing but eating and drinking. And that's the way I likes it.
We stayed at the Pecan Tree Inn (brown-roofed building in back of the big hotel on the waterfront, right side of the picture). We've stayed at almost all the B&Bs Beaufort has (not many, given that the whole "Historic District" is just 2x4 blocks) and this one is pretty typical: old house, redone sometime in the past decade, hit-or-miss breakfast served too early for young kids like us, sign near the toilet asking that we be kind to the pipes, birds nest behind the metal plate in the unused chimney on the wall by the bed full of screechy little birds, etc.. Though they usually cost a bit more than a hotel, I much prefer having a room in an actual house, instead of one of a hundred identical units in a hotel. There's something about those fire-proof doors, industrial carpet and omnipresent disinfectant smell that rubs me the wrong way.
Beaufort's a tiny little town, or at least the historic district where we hang out is, and we usually don't bother driving anywhere. We just walk back and forth between the three good restuarants and the three good bars, avoiding the "family" places, cause why would we pay to hang out with screaming kids if we don't have to?
For a few bucks, you can get the water taxi out to a nearby undeveloped island where you can hang out for as long as you like, away from things like life guards and rescue personnel, bathrooms and beer vendors. Just you, some wild horses, and the Atlantic Ocean. A good time, though. Or, you can sit on the boardwalk and point at the huge yachts that people park there; there's always two or three there of at least 100' tied up at the docks (this beast was there this time).
But, that's about it - after you've seen the handful of shops and driven up the Cape Lookout lighthouse, there's nothing but eating and drinking. And that's the way I likes it.
posted by cleek at 2:09 PM
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