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.