Wild Houses of Shackleford Banks...

Shackleford Banks is one of the few places on the East Coast where wild horses can be seen. We were thrilled to see them as soon as we arrived.

According to the National Park Service, there are 110 horses on this barrier island, but we saw less than 10.

There are no humans living on the island, so the feral horses are free to roam as they please. Natural food sources and fresh or brackish water allow the animals to live off the land without human intervention.

Heading to Shackleford Banks...

Erika’s friend Beth was also in Beaufort for the weekend. We were happy to take her up on her generous offer to take us out on her boat.

Beth is hilarious! When she wasn’t expertly playing skipper, she was giving the girls dating advice. Veronica especially loved her deep North Carolina accent, which we rarely came across in Cary since it’s mostly full of Yankees.

Of course, Beth also came ashore, but she waited until she had the boat positioned exactly how she wanted.

The Duke Marine Center...

Like Ashlynn, Rachel is very interested in studying marine biology. When she found out that Duke University has a marine center in Beaufort, she contacted them to request a tour. One of their grad students was happy to show us around and explain the research she’s doing with sea snails.

Initially Ashlynn wasn’t too excited as she’s mostly interested in marine mammals, but found herself more engaged than she expected.

The site was definitely beautiful and would be a fun place to study for a few months.

Historical Beaufort...

One of Beaufort’s lovely churches on our walk to a yard sale.

Erika’s yard backs up to the Beaufort Historical Museum.

Erika and Michael’s Shotgun House

Old Burying Ground....

Directly across the street from Erika’s house is a church and next to that is the Old Burying Ground.

Deeded to the town in 1731, Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers are buried here. The original owner of Erika’s house is also buried here.

I was drawn to the graves of the young. This one was obviously from a rich family.

While I just assumed this one was from a poor family, it turns out the story is much more interesting. This girl supposedly died at sea during the 1770’s after visiting London, where she was born. Rather than burying her at sea, her father stored her body in a rum keg so he could fulfill his promise to bring her home to his wife.

It’s difficult to read, but this says: Little Girl Buried in Rum Keg. Her name has been forgotten, but her grave now attracts tourists who leave her trinkets so that she can be remembered.

The Shotgun House in Beaufort...

Last fall, Erika and Michael bought a vacation home in Beaufort, North Carolina. Friday evening, the five of us girls headed to the coast for a weekend getaway and to see their lovely new house. While it might be new to them, it’s not new at all as it was built in 1854.

It was a B&B for awhile, and was most recently owned by a doctor in Cary who gave the family room this nautical look before selling it and moving onto his sailboat.

When Erika described it as a shotgun house (with a narrow corridor, rooms off both sides and doors at both ends hence you could shoot through the house), I thought it would be small, but it’s actually quite spacious. It’s easy to see why she fell in love with the place.

Carolina Tiger Rescue...

On Friday, we headed out to the sleepy little town of Pittsboro to visit the Carolina Tiger Rescue. This wildlife sanctuary provides homes for carnivores (including tigers, leopards and cougars) in need of rescue. I wouldn’t have guessed that there was a large demand for their services, but they sadly have to turn animals away as they get more requests than they can handle.

The only way to visit is through a guided tour. The tour guides are all volunteers who explain about the species as well as how the animals came to be there.

I thought the white tiger was especially beautiful.

There was one tiger that was infamous for spraying visitors; we kept a close eye on his tail for the tell-tale sign that he was getting ready to aim at someone.