93. Pender County -- Burgaw -- 5/31/08

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pender_County%2C_NC

As May was coming to a close, it was obvious that it was time to do what people do when May is coming to a close--go COURTHOUSE CHASING! Hooray! Somehow, I was able to hoodwink 3 others into participating...first, Willy T, then Steve, then Martin. The picture of the Pender and Brunswick County Courthouses are the last pictures of Steve in an unmarried state. That's right: North Carolina is not married! Haha, I made a funny. Get it? Unmarried STATE?! Who do you think NC would be married to if it could? I'm going to not go with South Carolina, because I think NC is smart enough to let the tree fork a bit. Having the same last name can sometimes be a giveaway that there may be something wrong with the picture (unless you're a Smith, Williams, Johnson or some other common name in your locality where it just happens to be coincidence). Ok, well anyway, there may be some more pictures after this one out there showing a single Steve, since his wedding is June 21. But still, he's still single here, so go get him, ladies! He's the one in the pink shirt. I don't know how he got to be lifted up in the picture, maybe because he's short. Somehow, I ended up blocking out Steve and Martin in the top picture.

For this trip, I went back to my amazing, autographed copy (thanks to meeting the author randomly while Courthouse Chasing in Dare County), A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Eastern North Carolina to find some fun things to do for this wild road trip. Since the 4 of us are all UNC grads, when we got to Pender County, we had to do what all UNC grads would do--visit the most famous UNC grad...Michael Jordan! Ok, not quite. Hinton James! We stopped north of Burgaw in the vicinity of Watha, at Hopewell Presbyterian Church. It's set a good bit away from the road, and you have to drive through some good ol' Eastern NC fields a ways. It was a hot day, but it was flat and beautiful. It's a small white church with a quaint cemetery. Hinton James not only has a headstone, but he gets a stone that practically says the same thing on the ground over where he's buried, I guess to let you know that he's da man. He even gets an NC historical marker at the road, letting you know he's buried there. I was surprised that there weren't a million people here coming to check him out. I learned in my book that he became an engineer, mayor of Wilmington and a state legislator. They don't tell you that at UNC. They just tell you he walked from Wilmington to Chapel Hill and was the first student. I bet beating Dook in Basketball in 1795 when there are only like 5 students wasn't as cool as it is now.

We got back in the car, and headed down to "Bur-GAW!" You have to read that like you're a chicken. Now you give it a shot. Good! That's pretty much what we did a lot, though people in Pender County don't always say it like a chicken, though it's fun. Speaking of pronouncing things correctly, most people that go to Pender County are heading for "Topsail" Beach. When you go there, you have to make sure you say it like a local so people don't make fun of you. It's pronounced "Topsull". Good job again! The last time I went there was in 11th grade when my environmental studies teacher got a permit so we could walk on the dunes and study the flora and fauna of a barrier island ecosystem. I have to give props to Mrs. Jenkins and to my high school...that was a pretty cool trip. We even got to go in the ocean. Rest assured, typical field trips of mine weren't to that extreme, so don't get too jealous! Topsail Beach is famous for its buildings that are still around from the time when the beach was used for Operation Bumblebee, a "top-secret, experimental project to develop and test ramjet missiles, which heralded the nation's jet aircraft and missile programs" (thanks again, book!).

We didn't go to the beach in Pender County this time...but you should. But this was the first time I have actually hung in Burgaw. The town sits on a little grid, and the streets seemed pretty wide. I needed some gas and some new brake lights, so our first stop was Advance Auto Parts. Then, we went into town.

Our first stop in town was at the old train depot. The depot has train tracks which no longer go anywhere, but there's a caboose. You can see where the NCDOT put up signs that tell you not to walk on the former railroad track right-of-way. I hope it gets turned into a rails-to-trails venture! There was an art show (kinda) going on in the depot, and I was told they're trying to bring back the grandeur of the station. I love that kind of stuff. Steve and Willy T staged a picture similar to Snidely Whiplash from Dudley Do-Right on the railroad tracks. Kids, don't play on railroad tracks. These were only ok because, like I mentioned before, they didn't go anywhere. So it's ok to take a picture. A woman stopped by to ask Willy if he had fallen and needed help getting up, since he was lying on the tracks. It was funny, and I think that means 100% of people in Burgaw are nice.

Then, we walked around the courthouse and saw the non-working water fountain that somehow ends up at all old courthouses, a Confederate Monument with our friendly Mr. Pender on it, as well as a nice veterans memorial. The courthouse green was fairly large and relatively open. Of course, it has sandy soil, since the ocean used to be here millions of years ago. We took a picture of the longer and shorter sides. I met a nice couple from NY who took the first picture of us. They wished me luck. I didn't think I'd find tourists from NY in Burgaw, but there ya go!

We walked to the other side, and took the second picture, which came out a bit better. Along the long side of the courthouse, it has many windows, and I bet that's the main courtroom, which I'd love to check out the view. But, that's probably one of the last things on your mind if you have to be in there, though I'm sure it's nice.

We looked for a place to eat, and there wasn't too much on a Saturday. We ate at Harvey's Deli and Tavern, which, according to their menu, has the bar featured in the movie "The Summer of Ben Tyler" that was filmed in Burgaw and the ceiling from "28 Days". I was pretty excited about that. There was only one person working the bar AND the tables, and he did a great job while serving 15 people at a time.

After we ate, we grabbed the only geocache in Burgaw (which was near Advance Auto Parts) and headed off to Bolivia!