By Samuel Strait – November 2, 2022 Saturday in New Bern, just to stroll around this bustling small town. A meal at a nice restaurant, then down to the corner where the home of Pepsi Cola was born. Plenty of memorabilia, shopping, and fine dining. Saturday afternoon the main streets are closed to traffic and restaurant, businesses, and visitors move out in the streets. Live entertainment from three in the afternoon until the streets are returned to normal. Great fun and something visitors can count on whether close to New Bern or all the way across the country. Chatted with people from up and down the East Coast and as far west as Ohio. The history of the North Carolina Colony began in 1585 when the first settlers arrived from England and gradually moved inland over the next half century. For a time New Bern was the seat of government until later when it was moved to Raleigh. Important as a seaport both to ship goods to England or Colonies in the Caribbean, it became the Colony's link to the outer world. During the Revolutionary War, it was an important staging area for British troops to control the Southern Colonies. Three quarters of a century later, North Carolina became key to the end of the Confederacy in the Civil War. Union landings in the outer banks, followed by the Battle of New Bern allowed the Federal armies to end much of the material support for the Confederates in Virginia. Most of the State was turned into a constant battlefield for the last two years of the War Between the States and is loaded with early American history from the original English landings in 1585 to the present day. Earlier trips to New Bern included much of the surrounding area, so for me returning to sites previously visited was more about seeing the changes that had occurred since the last time I was here, and they were many. Kill Devil Hills on the outer bank where the Wright Brothers made their first historic powered flight is always a favorite, Roanoke, the first settlement in America that subsequently vanished without a trace, and one of three Aquariums found on Coastal Carolina's outer banks. The Cape Hatteras light house, Grave Yard of the Atlantic and historic Cape Lookout, site of many a ship wreck on this dangerous stretch of the Atlantic. Day Fourteen Coming up. We started Day Fourteen with the slow cooking barbecue of a humongous piece of pork in the Eastern Carolina way. I'm not sure what the difference is between the way they cook it and that of Western Carolina, but I am assured that it is the only way to properly cook a pig. Something about no "sauce". I will report back on the results at the end of the day, for we are off to the site of the Battle of New Bern. I had done the hike around the Battlefield some years ago, but since then the powers to be have added substantially to the signage, the infrastructure and the access to much more of the Battle site. Most of the Battle was fought among pine forests and very swampy ground. Without the new signage on my previous trip it was difficult to visualize how things happened. The improvements not only describing the course of the battle, but a vast improvement of the trail system made for a lengthy stroll around the site. At a well kept visitor center, more signage gave a brief history of New Bern and the surrounding area, as well as plenty of information about the early history of the area and its prominent citizens. All in all it was an educational experience coupled with plenty of walking in a very beautiful area. The remainder of Day Fourteen was spent visiting with relatives, before gearing up for pre Halloween festivities. The slow cooked pig was the beginning of the evening, and it was tasty. They take their gatherings very seriously around here, especially in the neighborhood. Bob, a retired marine, a local retired school teacher, and a retiring couple from none other than California. Seems they couldn't even wait to retire before getting out of the State. Early evening for me, as we are headed to Beaufort in the morning to see if we can spot wild horses on one of the off shore islands that have managed to live there since the seventeenth century, then a quick visit to a museum that houses relics from the Queen Ann's Revenge, Black Beard's famous ship. Stay tuned.