Highlights from the Crystal Coast ~ Food & Fantasies

I know you've been dying to know where I disappeared to for a month, so here's part of the story.  We made a quick, but fabulous, trip to the southern coast.  The Crystal Coast in North Carolina, to be exact.  There were a couple of reasons for heading out that way, but the one dearest to my heart is that I'm one of the biggest, girliest, sappiest fans that Nicholas Sparks has, and because I'm in love with all of his books (and movies based on them), I just had  to visit the region they all take place.  How lucky am I to have a husband that likes to entertain my crazy dreams?!  I know.  As luck would have it, we also got to eat some of the most DIVINE cuisine my lips have ever encountered.  You're in luck, too, my foodie friends!  Because you know this girl doesn't take a trip without taking just as many pics of her food as she does of her adventures.  Here are some of both:

Fresh fresh FRESH seafood dinner of shrimp & scallops in an ocean of butter.

Is it still considered sailing if the wind isn't blowing? 

Well, I'm sitting on a sailboat & loving every minute of it.



Bar. B. Que.

This is how its done, my friends.

L - R:  Hush Puppies (my fave!!!), smoked pulled pork, chicken, slaw (eh), fries (I didn't even give them a thought after tasting the puppies...french what?)

First souvenir of the trip?

You know it was some of Moore's famous sauce!

A HUGE omelet and french toast at The Baker's Square in New Bern. 

Breakfast of champions.

My favorite guilty pleasure is the tv show One Tree Hill (you can laugh all you want, but I'll still be watching it every week - been w/ the Ravens since day one back in 9th grade, so there's just no turning back).

My BFF, RJ, looked up some addresses of where they film the show in Wilmington, and Dick was kind enough to chauffeur me to a few.  So fun!

B. Davis's store, Clothes Over Bros - I wish it was real!

Met some fellow fanatics @ the River Court.  No kidding.

On the pier where many a One Tree Hill & Dawson's Creek scene have been filmed.

Waiting to be seated at The Chelsea, a restaurant that is in the book The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks, that just so happens to really exist.

I only know because I'm a stalker.

Fried Green Tomatoes.

I've never liked tomatoes, but this was all it took to convert me.

All I remember about this pasta was that there was crab, shrimp, and lots of veggies.

Oh, and that I loved it.

This was called South African Bread Pudding.

Call it whatever you want...it was the perfect ending to my perfect day.

Dick thought it was too rich.  I don't even know what that means.

You can't tell because of the awesome flash in the window, but we had the best view of downtown right from our table.  Seriously felt like I was right in the book.

Proof.

Remember in The Notebook when Ally and Noah lay in the middle of the street?

Dick is seriously my soul mate. 

And such a saint for reenacting it with me!

We asked around for a new place to have breakfast the next day, but the only thing anyone told us was to go back to The Baker's Square.

So we did.

This butter syrup was heav-en-ly, I tell you.

Did you know New Bern is the birth place of Pepsi Cola?

Now you do.

On the ferry out to Hammock's Beach on Bear Island.

Frolicking in the sand dunes...just like in Dear John. 

This was seriously our 3rd basket of hush puppies.

Enough to make me want to cry when I think of Jamie Oliver burying that family's Fry Daddy.

Who knew deep fried cornbread could be so dangerously addicting?  I'm hooked for life!

We both are.

My first bite of soft shell crab.

Yummmm.

Last minute stop at the Waffle House.

I did have the apple cinnamon waffles, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Another delicious trip crossed off my list of dream vacations.

Thanks to this guy.

Love ya, babe!

Coming up:

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin