Monday, September 25, 2017

COROLLA, NORTH CAROLINA TRIP - EIGHTH DAY - 9-8-17 - ELIZABETHAN GARDENS


Corolla, North Carolina Trip 
Eighth Day
Friday, September 8th, 2017
Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo



Gregg and I left the house at 10:15 a.m. This is our last day as we are leaving tomorrow.  It has certainly been a wonderful holiday, in large part due to the generous spirit of Gregg's sister and her husband, who invited us to spend the week with them.  We had also been invited to the engagement party of our mutual friend's daughter.  It was a wonderful week being with the family and seeing our dear friend.




12:23 p.m. and we are sitting at one of the picnic tables in the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo.



It is a lovely place.  You enter the garden through their gift shop and pay an admission fee of $9.00 per person.  



There are pathways leading to lots of wonderful areas, with one taking you down to the water's edge.  



I was pleased to see many pretty flowers still blooming.  I can only imagine what this place looks like in the height of growing season.  



There are Argiope spiders making their decorative webs.  


There are lots of butterflies.  



I see only three types today, Swallowtails, 



 Clouded Sulphur Butterflies 
(with my grateful thanks to David of Travels with Birds for the correct spelling of the spider and the above).



and Skippers, but there are many of them.



And the bees were very busy today, and way too fast for me but I managed to get one as it flew in front of me.  It was a complete surprise, taken with my cell phone and only found when I cropped the photo and saw it on my laptop.



There is a magnificent statue of Queen Elizabeth I.  It is beautiful!  I intend to do a stand-alone post for her later, but here are a couple to be going on with.



There are many more photos to share from the garden, too many for one post.  More to follow.



Walking by the window I noticed it would make a great reflection shot of the two of us.  



We couldn't leave without a look at all the lovely items inside the gift shop.  I guess that would be me and the mouse in my pocket, but Gregg is always a good sport about it.



Pretty angels,



pretty ceramics



and beautiful glassware in all kinds of shapes.



A delightful gift shop, with my thanks to the lady behind the counter who gave me permission to take these photos.



We took our stickers off and knew this wouldn't be our last trip to the garden.  One day we will be back.



Next stop was a walk along the waterfront, still in Manteo.  It was lunch time and we saw Poor Richard's Sandwich Shop.    



Their sandwiches were very good and I enjoyed the artwork on the walls, including a mural,



 a crab



and this handsome old truck.



On our way back to the car we walked along all the boats.



We weren't the only ones. This sweet family made a pretty picture.



When we reached the bridge we walked up the steps, across the road and back to our car.



6.45 p.m. We are at the house and have enjoyed eating leftovers, using what is left in the fridge before our departure tomorrow.



We enjoyed one last game of Trivial Pursuit but we were all very tired and beds were calling.  Everything is packed in the car, except for our clothes for tomorrow and an overnight bag.  We will be on the road between 8.00 and 8.30 a.m.  Our vacation in Corolla is almost over.



36 comments:

  1. You have taken great photos and I enjoyed them all. Great place to visit and I like your photo of the reflection on the window.

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    1. I am happy you enjoyed my photos Nancy, thank you :)

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  2. I love the Queen Elizabeth statue! And the wonderful gate to the water! Is there a drop off on the other side, then the water? Your butterfly pictures are beautiful. And you actually stopped the bee in mid-air! He is frozen perfectly clear! The wall mural in the sandwich shop is wonderful! The gift shop is stunning with those big arched windows.

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    1. Thanks Ginny, I was in awe of that statue, it seemed to tower above me. The gate had a drop-off. There may have been steps originally but if there were, they have long gone. I kept trying to imagine those original settlers, the Lost Colony, walking up that beach after they were rowed to shore, what must have been going through their minds. Glad you enjoyed everything in the post.

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  3. You do go to some wonderful places.
    I suspect that when I got home I would have to take things very, very quietly for some time.

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    1. Yes, I have been resting up since we got back EC :)

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  4. It must have felt like a short trip back to England for you :-) The gardens must be beautiful in summer. Love the art work in the restaurant. I have not played Trivial Pursuit in years, I was useless at it anyway while my husband was brilliant. Take care and drive home safely, Diane

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    1. In a way, yes, especially when we came across a gazebo that had been thatched by a Welshman :) I won’t say that I was that good at Trivial Persuit Diane, but I had fun playing it.

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  5. Looks a lovely area. I liked the picture shot of you and Gregg and the others were definitely up to your usual standard.

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  6. May I respectfully point out that it is an Argiope spider not an Agiope, and a Clouded Sulphur not a Cloudless Sulphur.

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    1. Thank you David, I appreciate the help. My mind was obviously still on holiday when typing this up :)

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  7. this is all amazing, I love the glassware, and I love the statue of her. I love the gate to nowhere, and the old car on the wall. your photos are just beautiful

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    1. Thank you Sandra, very happy you enjoyed this post.

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  8. The gardens certainly are beautiful! Great timing catching that bee!

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  9. I am glad you enjoyed your stay with your in-laws. Always nice to spend time with friends and family.

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  10. Hello, Denise! What a pretty garden to visit. Love the flower, butterflies and other insects. The mural is beautiful, I also love the crab. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!

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  11. Hi Denise and another wonderful place to visit, some super butterflies and you did very well catching the bee in flight, sandwich shop also looks very interesting and what an interesting mural, all the best to you both, John

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  12. The gardens are just gorgeous as are your photos of all the insects! IVe not seen one of those spiders before.
    The statue is well worth seeing too! Really enjoyed the photos by the boats. This is a lovely spot!

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  13. Love the statue and it will be fun to see a future post on it. What lovely grounds these are. That bee capture is something else!!

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    1. Thank you Ellen, and I will try and get that post done relatively quickly :)

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  14. I visited there years ago with Mom & Dad...it was so lovely. We enjoyed it very much. Looks like it was a highlight for you as well.

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    1. How lovely Marie, it certainly was a highlight.

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  15. I love the boardwalk, the beautiful views and all the items here, Denise! I think your photography is amazing, I have such trouble photographing insects...the bee and butterflies are gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing.

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  16. Enjoyed your garden tour, wonderful photos thanks for sharing!

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    1. You are very welcome Christine, and thank you :)

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  17. this is north carolina, in the united states??? what a beautiful area!! my son lives in chapel hill and we visit him often, i will have to remember this!!!

    i have many favorite pictures, but my very favorite is the reflection of yourself and greg!!!

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    1. Thank you Debbie, and yes it is in the US. I will have to look up Chapel Hill. I enjoy learning about places.

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  18. I enjoyed your photos from Manteo. We visited there as well. We didn’t visit the Elizabethan Gardens this year, but did one time on another OBX vacation. I would like to see the gardens during the height of the growing season. It would be beautiful, I am sure. We ate one time before at Poor Richard’s. It does have good sandwiches. This year we ate at Big Al’s.

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    1. It feels good that we trod in each other’s footsteps. Big Al’s was a fun place.

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