New to New Bern

With our long weekend, we decided to take a day to explore nearby New Bern, NC. As a Nicholas Sparks fan, this little town has been on my bucket list since moving here. Thankfully it's just an hour away, totally doable as a day trip with the kids. We did have to bundle up since the temperature didn't get out of the low 30s all day! brrrr....

The downtown is super cute and easy to walk around. Most everything can be found on two main streets. We did drive by Tryon Place, the first capitol/Governor's mansion of the Carolinas, but we decided against doing a museum with the kids this time. Call me crazy, but paying $50+ for the kids to just run around and try to climb on things they aren't supposed to didn't sound like such a great time. ;) Snap Dragon was the first shop we went into, and it was by far our favorite! So much fun. This little toy shop has all our favorite toy brands and plenty we hadn't seen before, and I think the kids could have spent all day in there. They each picked out a small souvenir, and I even bought the old Guess Who game for myself. ;)

Lunch was at Baker's Kitchen. I highly recommend it. It was true southern cooking with breakfast served all day, and the service was pretty much the epitome of Southern hospitality. They interacted with/played with the kids, took time to tell us about the building, and even brought out free dessert because our meal took longer to come than they'd like. 

New Bern is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, invented by pharmacist Caleb Bradham in the late 1800s. We stopped by the pharmacy turned soda fountain for some "special drink," as the kids call soft drinks. I'm not a huge Pepsi fan (shhhh...), but Phil and I did try Dew Shine, a cane sugar twist on Mountain Dew (also owned by Pepsi). It was pretty tasty, but the real treat was when they rolled in just a few boxes of Caleb's Kola, and we managed to snag a bottle. They can't keep them in stock here in New Bern, and they are only sold in two other places, New York City and Washington D.C. It was by far my favorite!

We took a peek in Mitchell's Hardware and snagged a few dog treats for Bailey at Nauti Paws Pet Boutique and Bakery. I longingly eyed several cute consignment stores, art galleries, and women's clothing boutiques, but those will have to wait for another (kid free) visit. 

 Last stop was Kidsville Park. This place, with all of its wooden structures to run through and climb on, reminded us a lot of Benny Russell Park near our old house in Pace, FL. Even though it was super cold, there were still plenty of kids out to play, and we bundled up and had a great time. Avery met several new friends (isn't that neat how kids do that so fast!?), and he was not a happy camper when it was time to thaw out leave. It was nice to let the kids run off some energy before our drive back (they fell right asleep!). 

 After putting the kids to bed, Phil and I enjoyed our Caleb's Kola and a few rounds of Guess Who. I can't wait to visit New Bern again...although maybe we'll wait until it warms up a bit. ;)