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Atlantic Beach and Morehead City: Crystal Coast NC

April 28, 2021 by Lisa Grable 5 Comments

Atlantic Beach and Morehead City, along with Beaufort are three lovely towns on the beautiful Crystal Coast of North Carolina. Beaufort, founded in 1709, is a sailing harbor town with a great view of the Rachel Carson Coastal Reserve. Morehead City, founded in 1860, is home to a large ship port and a fun fishing waterfront. Atlantic Beach, founded in the 1880s, is on the Bogue Banks between Fort Macon and Pine Knoll Shores. This is fifth in the series: Atlantic Beach, Morehead City, Beaufort NC dining; Atlantic Beach, Morehead City, Beaufort NC seafood; NC Aquarium Pine Knoll Shores: Crystal Coast NC; Beaufort and NC Maritime Museum: Crystal Coast NC.

Atlantic Beach and Morehead City has been a vacation destination for North Carolinians for many decades. In Morehead City, the major state port and the fishing docks along Evans Street lend to the atmosphere. Morehead City is also home to marine research labs for the state, NC State University, and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. (The Duke University Marine Lab is in nearby Beaufort.)

A historic neighborhood in Morehead City, Promise Land, runs from 10^thto 15^thStreetand Bridges Street to Bogue Sound. The wooden cottages belonged to the pioneers and whalers from the tiny villages on the Shackleford Banks. After a huge hurricane in 1899 they had to leave “for the promised land”. Many moved their houses on barges across the sound to Morehead City.

Atlantic Beach and Morehead City are connected by the Atlantic Beach Bridge from Morehead City to Atlantic Beach on the Bogue Banks. The beach faces south, with the Atlantic Ocean on the south side and Bogue Sound on the north side.

The Circle is the ocean beach that is directly across from the bridge. There is a boardwalk and an expanse of white sand beach. The 4 Corners Diner is nearby, along with several other places to eat, a night spot, and shops.

At the east end of the island is Fort Macon State Park. The fort was built by the army in the early 1800s and saw action during the Civil War. You can visit the museum and fort to learn about soldiers’ lives in the 1800s. There is also a beautiful beach and wildlife. The location often hosts archaeological research digs.

Map of Crystal Coast

Resource links for Atlantic Beach and Morehead City

https://www.morehead.com/morehead-history.html
- Morehead City History from Crystal Coast Visitors Guide
https://www.nps.gov/calo/planyourvisit/horse-tours.htm
- Horse Sense and Survival Tours of Shackleford Banks from the Cape Lookout National Seashore
https://www.ncparks.gov/fort-macon-state-park
- Fort Macon State Park
https://www.4cornersdiner.com/
- Four Corners Diner Atlantic Beach
https://www.beaufort-nc.com/the-circle-at-atlantic-beach.html
- The Circle at Atlantic Beach from Crystal Coast Visitors Guide

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Beaufort and NC Maritime Museum: Crystal Coast NC

May 14, 2018 by Lisa Grable Leave a Comment

Beaufort and the NC Maritime Museum are great places to visit on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina.

Atlantic Beach, Morehead City, and Beaufort are three lovely towns on the beautiful Crystal Coast of North Carolina. Beaufort, founded in 1709, is a sailing harbor town with a great view of the Rachel Carson Coastal Reserve. Morehead City, founded in 1860, is home to a large ship port and a fun fishing waterfront. Atlantic Beach, founded in the 1880s, is on the Bogue Banks between Fort Macon and Pine Knoll Shores.

Beaufort, NC is pronounced “bow-fort” (you may have heard of Beaufort, SC, founded in 1711 and pronounced “bue-furd”). It’s a charming sailing town. Beaufort is home to the Rachel Carson Reserve that encompasses several islands in the Bogue Sound. It’s a treasure of birds and other wildlife.

I love to visit Beaufort and stroll through downtown and along the docks. Some of the restaurants you might want to try are Beaufort Grocery, Dock House, and Clawson’s 1905.

Shopping is fun along Front Street. I also enjoy visiting the old post office, now the Cape Lookout National Seashore visitors center, to see the WPA murals and visiting the Old Burying Ground next to the Methodist Church.

Every visit, I like to go to the NC Maritime Museum. This small museum is fantastic for adults and children. You can learn so much about the history and culture of the coast. And this is the central place to learn about Blackbeard the pirate and his famous ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge.

The museum has a wonderful library (I wish I could have one like this in my house!) and gift shop. Exhibits include surfing, the fishing industry, lighthouses, and life saving.

The Blackbeard section of the NC Maritime Museum tells the story of the pirate through the artifacts found in his ship. The everyday life of a pirate is such great content for learning science, history, and language arts! Edward Thache became Blackbeard the pirate in the early 1700s. His crew captured ships and booty from Delaware to the Caribbean, including a famous blockade of Charleston, SC. The ship ran aground at Beaufort in 1718. The ship was found in 1996 and the state of North Carolina has been exploring the site and recovering artifacts ever since.

Map of Crystal Coast

Resource links for Beaufort and NC Maritime Museum

https://www.beaufort-nc.com/downtown-beaufort.html
- Downtown Beaufort from Crystal Coast Visitors Guide
https://ncmaritimemuseumbeaufort.com/
- North Carolina Maritime Museums Beaufort
http://www.beaufortgrocery.com/index.html
- Beaufort Grocery Company
http://www.nccoastalreserve.net/web/crp/rachel-carson
- Rachel Carson Reserve – NC coastal reserve and national estuarine research reserve
http://beaufortartist.blogspot.com/2008/07/post-office-murals.html
- 1939 Post Office Murals from artist Mary Warshaw
https://www.qaronline.org/history/blackbeard
- Queen Anne’s Revenge Project

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NC Aquarium Pine Knoll Shores: Crystal Coast NC

April 6, 2018 by Lisa Grable 4 Comments

The NC Aquarium Pine Knoll Shores is one of the great things to do on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. Pine Knoll Shores is one of the areas on the Bogue Banks between Atlantic Beach and Salter Path, below Cape Lookout.

The aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is one of 4 North Carolina aquariums. The facility includes a modern building with a massive deck and a nature trail through the marshes on the sound side. The aquarium is open 9 to 5 just about every day of the year. Admission is $10.95 for adults and $8.95 for children. The parking lot is spacious. The facility is wheelchair accessible and some wheelchairs and strollers are available for check out.

I enjoy spending some time at the entrance. They have some excellent native plant gardens and sculptures. Sand art is another fun thing to see and study.

Inside exhibits begin with the Mountain Gallery which highlights trout and fresh waters of North Carolina. The Piedmont Gallery has river otters! The Coastal Plain has details of swamps and lowlands with alligators and snakes. As you travel through you can touch manta rays and other tidal creatures, learn more about loggerhead turtles, and the famous pirate ship Queen Anne’s Revenge. The Ocean Gallery has a giant tank showing how fish and other plants and animals live around a shipwreck. The Little Minnows play area is wonderful for toddlers and preschoolers to play and dress up in ocean creature costumes.

Outside a boardwalk nature trail takes you into the marsh to see plants and birds. For big kids, the Tree-mendous Nature Play is a playground built all around a huge tree. (I wouldn’t take little kids there, it could be hard to follow them around on the swinging bridge, climbing net, etc.)

The NC Aquarium Pine Knoll Shores is a great place to spend a couple hours learning more about the abundant wildlife of North Carolina.

Map of Crystal Coast

Resource links for NC Aquarium Pine Knoll Shores

http://www.ncaquariums.com/pine-knoll-shores
- North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
http://www.ncaquariums.com/
- North Carolina Aquariums – 4 locations around the coast
https://www.crystalcoastnc.org/region/pine-knoll-shores
- Pine Knoll Shores from The Crystal Coast
https://www.visitnc.com/crystal-coast
- Crystal Coast from Visit NC
https://www.carteretcountync.gov/297/History-of-Bogue-Banks
- History of the Bogue Banks from Carteret County

Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Atlantic Beach, Morehead City, Beaufort NC seafood

February 23, 2018 by Lisa Grable Leave a Comment

Eating fresh seafood is a major activity for me when visiting the Crystal Coast. I always try to make time for dinner at Amos Mosquito’s in Atlantic Beach. This restaurant and bar is located on the sound side and is open Tuesday through Saturday at 5 pm. I like to sit in the comfy booths in the bar, but the restaurant has fun décor and a view of the water. Crab, shrimp, oysters, and tuna all have beautiful spots on the appetizer and entrée menus. The cooking is eclectic with Southern, Asian, and Latino spins. It’s really fun to go with enough people to be able to order all the appetizers! Local beers on draft, a nice wine list, and fun cocktails round out the offerings. The restaurant does not take reservations, and the line starts forming well before 5 pm. http://www.amosmosquitos.com/

A great place for lunch is the Big Oak Drive-In in Salter Path. Head west on Fort Macon Road and Big Oak is on the ocean side. You get out of your car and stand in line at the order window. You can choose North Carolina pork barbecue, hamburgers, corn dogs, or a fried seafood plate. Plates come with hush puppies, coleslaw, and French fries. The Big Oak is famous for their shrimp burger, a North Carolina specialty. A nice hamburger bun is coated with tartar sauce. A layer of coleslaw is added, then fried popcorn shrimp, and a touch of ketchup. We enjoyed ours by driving across the street to a parking lot with a view of the sound, rolled down the windows for some ocean air, put some beach music on the radio, and enjoyed this wonderful mixture of flavors. There is something about eating just-fried fresh shrimp at the beach that can’t be beat. http://bigoakdrivein.com/

The Oceanana Fishing Pier is the only fishing pier in Atlantic Beach. The Pier House serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Lots of sandwiches and seafood are the highlights. You can get fried, blackened, or grilled seafood. The seafood tacos are good as is the fried shrimp basket. It’s simple beach food in a beachy venue. You might enjoy fishing in the moonlight from the pier! http://www.oceananapier.com/

I’ve been enjoying dinners at the Sanitary Fish Market my whole adult life. This mainstay of the Morehead City waterfront was opened in 1938 and named Sanitary to let people know how clean it was! Shrimp, scallops, oysters, crab, and fish are available in all kinds of preparations. Many folks just stick to the Shore Dinner which has some of everything! Sanitary’s stuffed potatoes are really delicious. The restaurant is surrounded by large glass windows and I’ve always liked watching the boats come and go while relaxing with a good dinner after a long day at the beach. https://www.sanitaryfishmarket.com/home

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Next time I plan to go to Tight Lines Pub in Morehead City and Beaufort Grocery in Beaufort.

Map of Crystal Coast

Resource links

http://www.emeraldislerealty.com/area-info/dining
- Dining in Emerald Isle Area
https://www.crystalcoastnc.org/
- Discover the Crystal Coast
http://www.coresound.com/shop/books/a-little-taste-of-heaven-the-morehead-city-heritage-cookbook
- Morehead City Heritage cookbook
https://www.deegees.com/
- Dee Gee’s Gifts and Books

Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Atlantic Beach, Morehead City, Beaufort NC dining

January 26, 2018 by Lisa Grable 2 Comments

It’s no secret that I love breakfast and eating at the beach is one of my favorite things! Grumpy’s is in Morehead City, right on Arendell Avenue near the city library. Open at 6 am each day but Monday, this casual diner serves Southern style breakfast. They have biscuits, pancakes, country ham, and grits, but they also have homemade corned beef hash and home fries. http://grumpysmorehead.com/

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The Banks Grill is in Morehead City a few blocks to the west of the Atlantic Beach bridge. The grill is open daily at 7 or 7:30 am. If you like sweets, you have to try the jumbo cinnamon roll. It’s topped with a pecan praline topping. Sticky and yummy! The lighthouse benedict has a biscuit, crabcake, egg, and tomato gravy. The banks omelet has shrimp and pimiento cheese. Check out the meats list: bologna, fried chicken, pork chop! This is our favorite place to get breakfast when we are in the area. http://www.thebanksgrill.com/