Southeast States Trip Day 2

Southeast States Trip Day 2 Tuesday May 26, 2015

Today's route is from Raleigh, NC to Wilmington, NC
Will be passing through Fayetteville, NC
I traveled there often many years ago for business

Places Visited Along The Way, Photos, and Notes

Red Roof PLUS+ Raleigh NCSU - Convention Center 1813 S Saunders St
A good (not great) place, but nowhere to eat for quite a distance and me on foot.
See more explanation on TripAdvisor.com

Ray Price Harley-Davidson 1126 South Saunders Street
From the hotel I hoofed it up the street.
It was only 0.7 miles, but by the time I got there, dragging all my luggage,
I was tired and all sweaty.
A nice fellow named Vic (Victor) helped me out.
I loaded up the bike and he is storing my suitcase for me.
He watched me ride up the street and then make a u-turn
to make sure I can ride and then waved me on my way

I rode into Raleigh, Wake County, NC and found the state capitol
(I never know when to use capital or capitol)

It is surrounded by many statues.
The second one below is an obelisk to "Our Confederate Dead"
How can people not know that that is offensive to all but bigots?

Raleigh has allowed their majestic capitol to be surrounded
(overshadowed, literally) by tall skyscrpers

I found the Wake County Courthouse 316 Fayetteville St
and was able to get a photo for a "W" county for my ABC's

I hit the road. At first the day seemed really nice
Then the clouds got a bit darker.
I was sprinkled on half a dozen times and rained on pretty good for about 5 minutes

I was on I-95 for a while. and I saw a familiar sign for "South of the Border"

South of the Border (SOTB) is just across the South Carolina state line
Fireworks! In NC they are illegal. In SC, all kinds are legal.
The only reason SOTB exists is to sell North Carolinians fireworks.
When a bunch of us old timers worked in Fort Bragg many years ago, we make a trek to SOTB
We bought tons of fireworks and just stuffed them into suitcases to fly them back to California
I don't think people can get away with that kind of thing now.

Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina is the home of Fort Bragg Army Post
Fort Bragg is the home of the Airborne 82nd and of special forces.
If you see Army guys on the news doing something heroic, they may well be from Fort Bragg
When we worked there, Bragg Boulevard was the major road onto the base.

Cape Fear Harley-Davidson 3950 Sycamore Dairy Rd has had a very recent ownership change
It is now Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson
As a result, they did not have any dealer pins. Poop! Well, I will just have to order one later via mail.

The Fort Bragg Army Base has changed so much in the past 40 years that there are no landmarks
that I once knew and loved remaining to be seen.

Some happy memories are no longer in the physical but in the smoke of times past.
I have learned that "You all come back and see us some time"
can sometimes be as much a curse as an invitation.

In the heart of Fayetteville there was a rather seedy area around Hay Street
One of our crew, Leonard, a 33 YO very shy fellow who lived with his mother and never had a date in his life
came in one morning with an uncharacteristic smile on his face from ear to ear
we inquired why so happy and he replied that he had had a good time on Hay Street the night before
Hay Street is now completely redone and lined with boutiques and yuppy cafes

One of the only places that still looks like I remember is the Fayetteville Regional Airport 400 Airport Rd

A bit off the highway is Elizabethtown, Bladen County, NC
I wanted to get a photo of the Bladen County Courthouse 106 E. Broad Street
but it was not well marked. Fortunately, I found a sheriff's building with an appropriate sign

I stopped in a little town the name of which I do not recall just north of Wilmington.
I had to get off the bike and a bit of food was sorely needed.
I had seen several chain restaurants named Bojangles so I tried one out.

While I was chowing down on a fried chicken breast, a fellow walked over and sat down near me
He had a big gun on his hip and I wondered if NC was an open carry state
but then I saw a badge on a lanyard around his neck Soon another armed fellow joined him
As I was about to leave, I stopped by and told them that they did not
fit the profile of Andy Taylor and Barnie Fife. We talked for a while and they let me take their photo
They were very nice guys

Final city for the day is Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC
I rode through the historic residential and downtown areas. Really picturesque
So much history has happened aound here and people are very patriotic

I stopped by the New Hanover County Courthouse 316 Princess St

Carolina Coast H-D 6620 Market Street
Open Tuesday - Sunday, Closed Monday

Hotel
Best Western us Wilmington/Carolina Beach 5600 Carolina Beach Rd
This is so much nicer that the one last night.
The only thing is that right across the highway is a large number of shops and restaurants
but there is absolutely no way to get there on foot.
No cross walks, no signals. I guess you just have to be born on one side or the other.