Vacation Bears

My parents have a time share in Orlando, and when they decided they weren't going to use it this summer, I traded it in last minute for whatever I could find that looked sunny and near the water.

I ended up in North Carolina staying in a complex near the mouth of the Neuse River.

It was a good spot for anyone who wanted to dock their boat or set sail!

One of the cities right near by was New Bern. 

There are a lot of things I didn't know about New Bern. 

It's the second oldest town in NC.

It has a palace--Tryon Palace (named after the same Tryon family who moved up to NY and are the namesake of the park near my apartment).

Pepsi was invented here.

Oh and they have a Pepsi museum which includes cans from other countries.

Nicholas Sparks lives in New Bern. The Notebook and several of his novels were set here. 

Since I'm a creeper, I'm also pretty sure I have guessed which house belongs to him. There is a beautiful house on the river that I think gets credit as "the best house ever" so it must belong to the Sparks family.

And it's home to many bears. (Bern is the old Germanic name for Bear, and the town is named after Bern, Switzerland)

There's even a Bear Plaza.

This is just a fraction of the bears but you get the idea.

My sister, her husband, and the boyfriend (or should I be calling him the fiancé?) came to New Bern with me. 

Here are a few of our highlights:

Drinks and a game at Prohibition.

High tide at the river's edge.

Seafood dinner on a rooftop

The best brunch ever at The Baker's Kitchen.

And a late night walk along the dock.

All in all, a great trip.