Day Trip of the Month: Historic Salisbury

Salisbury, North Carolina is a feast for the eyes in all things historic. One of the older established towns in the state, Salisbury enjoyed prominence and growth during the Colonial era as a center of trade and later on in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries continued its prominence in the areas of business and manufacturing. I would highly recommend visiting one of Salisbury's local museums or historic sites if you visit this town (http://www.historicsalisbury.org/landmarks.htm).

Downtown Salisbury contains a whopping thirteen National Register historic districts, and its neighborhoods full of antebellum estates, graceful Victorians, Colonial Revival's, charming bungalows, and vernacular cottages are delightful to walk through. The downtown offers great shopping and dining, and you can't beat the amazing variation of architecture.

Here are a few photos I snapped while there:

Innes Street

Holmes Place

Rowan County Courthouse

Kress Plaza- in process of rehabilitation

corner of Main and 11th Streets

Salisbury also has one of the best custom brick manufacturers in the country--making bricks the old-fashioned way--by throwing them into wooden molds before the firing process. The Old Carolina Brick Company, producers of fine handmade brick, has a variety of brick colors and patterns but can also custom match the brick that you need. This is especially nice for rehabilitation or reconstruction projects.


Have any of you ever visited Salisbury or taken any day trips lately to somewhere interesting?

Day Trip of the Month: Savannah, GA!

During our family vacation to Hilton Head my husband and I were able to slip away for a couple of days to one of our favorite places: Savannah!  

The Paris Market: an antique and home accessories shop with french-inspired
goods and decor. There is some serious eye-candy in every inch of that store. Love it!!

Love these Federal style and Greek Revival row houses. The cast iron fences, gates,
 and stair railings are so stunning. Reminds me a little bit of New Orleans.

One of the brick residential streets sheltered by a canopy of live oaks. Beautiful!

An alleyway between the row houses. What a great spot for an herb garden!

Of course we couldn't visit Savannah without going to Forsyth Park in Forsyth Square!

Me and the hubby before heading to our anniversary dinner at Alligator Soul.
It was sooooooo yummy. I had the shrimp and grits :)

As you can see, we had a wonderful time exploring the beauty of Savannah. Awesome shopping, fascinating history, incredible food, and stunning architecture all in one place.

Day Trip of the Month: Edenton

Edenton, North Carolina: DEFINITELY my kind of town!

If you have never visited Edenton, it is an adorable, quaint historic village on the Albemarle Sound that today is a leader in small town preservation. Even though it is a North Carolina waterfront community, it is geographically located fairly far inland compared to some spots on the Outer Banks.

In its Colonial days Edenton prospered not only as an early port city, trading center, and fishing hub, but garnered a significant amount of wealth from the plantation economy so dominant in eastern North Carolina. Settled and established in the early eighteenth century, Edenton at one time was considered the "Capital" of North Carolina, and the by the time of the Revolutionary War the community's population had reached around one thousand. Much of the early street grid pattern in downtown Edenton has remained the same and many of its eighteenth century buildings still survive, a rarity for North Carolina.

 The Cupola House, built in 1758, is one of the centerpieces of the town's architectural legacy. It is certainly one of North Carolina's finest early homes, exceedingly rare and unique for its day. Formal gardens as well as a kitchen garden enhance visitor tours of this historic site.

check out that massive double-shouldered exterior chimney

The Edenton courthouse is one of the finest examples of classic Georgian architecture in the South and is still in use today. Unfortunately, I missed getting a photo opportunity for it. Below is St. Paul's Episcopal Church and cemetery, with massive old growth magnolia trees shading the brick walk.

Factors such as the construction of the Dismal Swamp Canal and the closing of the Roanoke Inlet in 1795 put a damper on Edenton's trade and industry, sending the city into a period of economic downturn. Additionally, the railroad bypassed Edenton during the mid-nineteenth century, limiting trade and business. Nevertheless, the plantation economy during sustained many families within the Edenton vicinity, with planters managing to amass great wealth from the cultivation of tobacco and cotton among other exports. Fisheries also provided a boost to the local economy. The Civil War had a devastating effect on Edenton, as it did for communities all over the South. However, Edenton would slowly recover with new industries such as steamship operation and manufacturing as well as the railroad's arrival to the town in 1881. These new industrial developments spawned residential development, extending the grid system to the north. Edenton's downtown also grew westward, with new housing needs for Edenton's working class and African American populations.

St. Paul's is a striking Georgian style church built beginning in
1736 but not completed until forty years later. 

St. Paul's cemetery, used by the community and not merely
church members starting in the mid 18th century,
 holds some 700 graves the majority of which are unmarked. 

The Edenton Cotton Mill reflects the community's later industrial heritage, and today the former mill and houses have been rehabilitated into a bustling housing community and an excellent example of adaptive reuse.

this early headstone features a "death's head" with angel wings

I can't go to a historic town without visiting its early cemeteries, can I? 

As you can see, I greatly enjoyed visiting Edenton for the day and I plan to go back sometime for a long weekend trip. What fun day trips have you taken lately?

Day Trip of the Month: Asheville, NC

 I. love. Asheville.

It is such a cool town- the downtown is wonderfully preserved and with much of its historic building stock rehabilitated and vibrant. I can't tell you how many cool shops, studios, galleries, music venues and other establishments I wanted to visit but was unable to due to time constraints. The historic districts are lovely and of course the setting with the mountains provides for breathtaking views all around.

Antiquing at the Antique Tobacco Barn

Antiquing in Asheville is some of the best I've experienced anywhere, with tons of shops and some huge spaces with row upon row of vintage eye candy. We visited the Antique Tobacco Barn, with over 77,000 square feet- you can easily spend an entire afternoon there! I came home with a much-desired antique split oak tobacco basket that I hope to hang somewhere in my house.

Our Bed & Breakfast

And don't even get me started on the food. Everything we ate last weekend in Asheville was phenomenal. I'd go back just for the food alone every year. We enjoyed three-course gourmet breakfasts every morning at our B&B (which featured dishes like bananas foster homemade waffles, cranberry & cream cheese pastries, apple crisp, and baked cheesy crepes with spinach, ham and peppers with eggs on top. Yum!) We also dined at Tupelo Honey Cafe, Nine Mile, and the Bistro located on the winery at the Biltmore Estate. Each was excellent in its own unique way.

Of course, we couldn't leave Asheville without spending a day at the Biltmore. Constructed for George Vanderbilt in 1895 and designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt, the Biltmore Estate embodies all of the opulence in fine art and architecture so sought after by the wealthy during the Gilded Age. The grounds consist of numerous gardens, preserved forests, various outbuildings for gardening, riding and hunting activities, and of course the grand mansion itself. Visit the Biltmore Estate website to learn more.  I'll leave you with a few snapshots of our time at Biltmore:

stopping to smell the roses in the rose garden

One of the ponds in the Italian Garden; notice the reflection of Biltmore House.

A breathtaking grape arbor and pathway lined with fountains lead
up to the main house.

The Conservatory, where the tropical varieties live

The Walled Garden

If it's not too far of a drive, I highly recommend a weekend getaway to Asheville, NC- I promise it will not disappoint!

Day Trip of the Month: Hillsborough, NC

This past weekend we took a little day trip to one of my most favorite places in all of North Carolina: the charming, historic town of Hillsborough (formerly spelled Hillsboro). If you are a history buff, enjoy North Carolina Colonial architecture, or love quaint beautiful southern towns, then you will adore  the town of Hillsborough. I must admit I am a little biased since I used to work in Hillsborough both for the Burwell School Historic Site and at the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough.....can you tell I miss this town and its people dearly?

Founded in 1754, Hillsborough was an early political and cultural center in the state of North Carolina. The town has served as home for several royal governors, an original signer of the Declaration of Independence, a former enslaved seamstress who became a successful businesswoman and the personal dressmaker and close confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln, and countless elected officials and educational leaders. Key events of both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War occurred in Hillsborough.  Named one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2007, today Hillsborough is home to a number of artists, famous writers, and a variety of other townfolk who appreciate the charm of a small town with a vibrant and healthy downtown with lots to offer. For more on the town's history, click here.

On our walk through Hillsborough's historic district, we visited the Old Town Cemetery, containing the graves of some of the town's most noted individuals and families. The cemetery sits behind the Presbyterian Church, which is believed to be the oldest Presbyterian building in continuous use in the state of North Carolina. 

Old Town Cemetery behind the Presbyterian Church



Old Town Cemetery

First United Methodist Church of Hillsborough


Hillsborough contains fabulous Colonial and Antebellum architecture, which, is sometimes rare to find intact North Carolina, especially for a small town. Most of these early homes have been lovingly restored and cared for, many with early gardens and heirloom English boxwoods still flourishing.

"Twin Chimneys" (notice the lovely blue color of the porch ceiling)

The Colonial Inn (formerly a restaurant and inn, it is undergoing rehabilitation work)

The Masonic Lodge, a stunning example of Greek Revival architecture in Hillsborough

The Burwell School Historic Site, (c. 1821, 1846) home to Margaret Anna Burwell and Robert Burwell, their twelve children and the enslaved members of their household. They operated a school for girls at their home in the two-room brick building behind the main house. Elizabeth Hobbes Keckly lived as a young enslaved woman at the Burwell household who later went on to purchase her freedom and became a successful businesswoman, talented seamstress, and personal dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln. 

I encourage you to make the day trip to visit Hillsborough, NC. Visit here for more information and a calendar of events. If you don't live close enough to visit Hillsborough, then get out and discover a historic town near you!

Day Trip of the Month: Sequoia National Park, CA

Greetings from the Sequoia National Forest! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted on any “day trips,” so I thought I’d slip one in for you from the giant Sequoia trees in the mountains of California (although it’s more like a “week” trip than a “day trip for sure!). 

My husband and I are here with our family for his sister’s wedding, and it couldn’t be a more beautiful backdrop for a wedding ceremony. Since our arrival we’ve enjoyed hiking, family meals, sightseeing, fishing, and catching up with loved ones we haven’t seen in a while!

hiking to Tokopah Falls

Wuksachi Lodge

one of the many breathtaking views on our hike
to Tokopah Falls

The giant Sequoia trees were one of my favorite things about the park.  I also loved the lime green moss that grows on the trunks of the spire top Sequoias. We even spotted a bear in one of the meadows!

The General Sherman Tree, the world's largest tree by volume and
one of the "monarchs" in the Giant Forest

That's me on the far left of the tree trunk- just for scale to demonstrate
how enormous the trees are! 

We couldn't have had more breathtaking views and a more perfect setting for the wedding day! 

We will be traveling home tomorrow back to our little homestead, grateful for our chicken sitter who watched our flock while we were away (can you guess that I've missed my chickies?).  Until then, have a wonderful week and enjoy the great outdoors!