Jacksonville/ New Bern

Day 24
Destination: Jacksonville, New Bern, NC
Route: Highway 17
Miles Ridden: 177    Total Miles: 177

Points of Interest:

• Historic Buildings of New Bern

Before leaving for Jacksonville, NC, we took a walk along the beach of Myrtle Beach, SC. Myrtle Beach runs north and south for miles, so we only got a glimpse of the beach. We snapped a few pictures, loaded up, and off we went. The ride to Jacksonville was pretty congested, but there where spots were traffic eased and we were able to push the speed to 50-55. We had learned that Myrtle Beach had a city ordinance which required everyone to wear a helmet, even though state law did not require helmets if you are over 21 years old. When we got to Jacksonville, we began looking for lighter, legal helmets, since we were also told that the local popo would write you a citation if wearing the peanut helmets two of us were wearing. As we found the helmets, but we were met with rain. Our mojo was beginning to run thin.

We decided to keep traveling north, and made our way to New Bern. New Bern is a great town. It was founded in 1710, and was the original state capital. We saw some beautiful homes and buildings dating back to 1800. We met the clerk of the US District Court, who told us of the "War of Northern Aggression" (we call it the Civil War, and he refered to us as "Yankees" for doing so), and pointed out holes in a church steeple from the Union soldiers' muskets who had captured the town during the war. We had dinner at Morgan's Tavern and grill. The food was excellent, and the service even better.
 

New Bern is also the birthplace of Pepsi Cola, which was invented by a Pharmacist in 1898, who called it "Brad's Drink".