Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Our Vacation- Secret #1

For the past four years our family has made
the 12 hour trek to our favorite beach.
The name of the beach?
That is secret #2!

When we travel, we love to find places to eat
that are different than your average fast food fare!
We are also creatures of habit and if we find a place we love...
we return each year!

On the way to the beach we have found a wonderful
old fashioned drive-in root-beer stand called
Frostop Drive Inn in Huntington,WV.
How often do you find a root-beer mug on the roof?
Further south we were blessed enough
to stumble upon the historic town

Hillsborough is full of quaint shops, galleries and restaurants!
Our secret...
Located upstairs from the Court Square Shop,
the menu and fantastic owner, Colleen,
 has pulled us back year after year!
For the prior three years I have order the
scallop, white cheddar hamburger!
(this one belonged to my brother-in-law)
This year I was enticed by the special of the day
Shrimp and polenta...
I was not disappointed, it was delicious!
(sorry about the flash... I forgot to turn it off)
For dessert my brother-in-law ordered
this...
Coconut cake, which I was told was yummy!
After lunch I wandered downstairs to the gift shop
and found these adorable dessert plates.
Wendy, wouldn't these be perfect for Tony's someday bakery?
Before lunch we had the opportunity to browse
the local bookstore..
Actually we did more that browse..
..we had a lovely conversation with the
owner, Sharon Wheeler.  One whole wall in Sharon's
store displays countless published local authors!
The kids loved her children's room which housed books,
toys and an old bathtub turned into a reading couch!
We bought the older kids books!
It was neat this year, because we were able to
stop in Hillsborough both going and coming home from the beach!
I love a small town, in which I walk back into the
bookstore on our way home and was asked "How was my trip!"

If you ever find your way to this part of the country,
I highly recommend a stop in Hillsborough, NC!

6 comments:

Judy@judyfriendphotography.com said...

Coconut cake, yummy! I love coconut cake. The places you stopped for a bite to eat are making me hungry! Jude

Christine said...

What I found charming were the names of all your "vacation secrets", especially the Purple Cow. I'm really glad you took the time to break up the 12 hour drive, especially with all the "secrets" places. What fun to get to know the owners! Makes it more unforgetable.

Wendy said...

You are so sweet! They would be perfect for Tony's bakery or for a morning of coffee with a good friend :) Wish you lived closer!
Isn't it so much fun to find a secret place and visit it year after year!! Looks like a great place and the coconut cake looks delicious! Thanks for trusting your secret with us!!

Sue said...

Oh that food looks wonderful! We find special places and return to them too. I'm anxious to see where your beach is!

Katie said...

Oh Dee Dee, I would have stopped at that Root beer stand too, what a treasure!!

I love those dessert plates too & I'm going to guess that you went to Myrtle Beach in SC?? ;)

Jane said...

I loved the look of the Root Beer Stand...how cool was that? I think part of the fun of a good road trip is stopping in the small towns and seeing what they have to offer. They never disappoint!
Jane