We traveled from Beaufort, NC through Morehead City and finally down into Pine Knoll Shores, NC where our hotel was located. Every single little town here it beautiful! It truly is like being in paradise!
We stayed at the Hampton Inn there and it was lovely.
Large comfortable room with an awesome view and loads of amenities.
Our view!
Pine Knoll Shores, NC
We were exhausted but decided to head out for a seafood dinner. You can't go to the coast and not eat seafood!
After a quick google search we headed down to The Crab Shack. It has been open there for 50 years and when we arrived we realized just how popular it was! The line was out the door and the wait time was 45 minutes!
We had a delicious meal there and the service was excellent. The restaurant is right on the water and had beautiful views!
Day two was going to be our last day here before heading home but we had a lot to pack into the day.
We were heading to Fort Macon which was in Atlantic Beach, right up the road about 15 minutes. It was on the North end of the island.
Fort Macon is a part of the North Carolina State Parks and is the smallest of them all at only 424 acres. However it is the second most visited with over 1.3 million visitors a year!
The battle of Fort Macon was fought here in April 1862.
Here is a little history on Fort Macon.
Five-sided Fort Macon is constructed of brick and stone. Twenty-six vaulted rooms (also called casements) are enclosed by outer walls that are 4.5 feet (1.4 m) thick.[3]
and other infamous pirates were known to have passed through Beaufort Inlet at will, while successive wars with Spain, France and Great Britain during the Colonial Period provided a constant threat of coastal raids by enemy warships. Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge "QAR" is thought to have been discovered in shallow water right off the park in the Atlantic Ocean and is being recovered. Beaufort was captured and plundered by the Spanish in 1747 and again by the British in 1782.
North Carolina leaders recognized the need for coastal defenses to prevent such attacks and began efforts to construct forts. The eastern point of Bogue Banks was determined to be the best location for a fort to guard the entrance to Topsail inlet now identified as the Beaufort Inlet.
During the Reconstruction Era, the US Army actively occupied Fort Macon until 1877. During this time, because there were no state or federal penitentiaries in the military district of North Carolina and South Carolina, Fort Macon was used for about 11 years as a civil and military prison. The fort was deactivated after 1877 only to be garrisoned by state troops once again during the summer of 1898 for the Spanish–American War. Finally, in 1903, the US Army completely abandoned the fort.
In 1923, Fort Macon was offered for sale as surplus military property. However, at the bidding of North Carolina leaders, a Congressional Act on June 4, 1924, sold the fort and surrounding reservation for the sum of $1 to the state of North Carolina to be used as a public park. This was the second area acquired by the state for the purpose of establishing a state parks system.
During 1934–35, the Civilian Conservation Corps restored the fort and established public recreational facilities, which enabled Fort Macon State Park to officially open May 1, 1936, as North Carolina's first functioning state park.
We were excited to explore this awesome piece of history!
They have an inside museum upfront with lots of information on the area.
I didn't take many photos inside but the exhibits were really interesting and interactive!
The staff was extremely knowledgeable about the history of this awesome place. We arrived at the perfect time.
There was a planned demonstration of a firing of a gun from the 1800's. The guy shooting the gun was dressed in the gear worn from that time period and he knew everything there was to know about Fort Macon.
Hensley even got to grab one of the shell casings to keep!
The boys both loved seeing all the guns and old ammunition!
There were a ton of little rooms to enter and you never knew what was going to be behind the door. Each one showed a different part of the history!!!
Fort Macon is a kids dream place to play hide and go seek! There are so many little nooks and crannies to crawl in and hide!
We headed outside to take in the views!
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| This was one of the items used to fire the cannon balls. |
Fort Macon was a wonderful learning experience! I loved how interactive it all was!
After Fort Macon we had one last thing to do. Hensley had asked since the night before if we could just have a few hours on the beach. Nothing to do but swim and have fun! So we did.
We took the 2 minute drive up to the beach and had an afternoon of swimming and boogie boarding. It was perfect!
But it was time to head home.......
This trip was one we had waited to take for a long time and I am so glad we finally got the chance to take it.
North Carolina has so many amazing little hidden gems that offer such amazing experiences!
Seeing more lighthouses is at the top of our future adventures list!
