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We arrived in Beaufort, NC on May 28, 2004 after a three-day passage from Ft. Lauderdale.  The boardwalk along the marina and waterfront is a popular place.

A short drive from Beaufort is Fort Macon.  Constructed between 1826 and 1834, it was one of 38 forts built to protect the US coastline.  Usually occupied only by a caretaker, it was primarily used during the War Between the States (1861-1865), the Spanish-American War (1898), and World War II (1941-1945).  The fort presented a low-profile to bombardments, with a moat and an interior fort with rooms built into those walls.  Fort Macon opened as North Carolina's first functioning  state park on May 1, 1936. 

A park ranger demonstrated the firing of a Civil War rifle, above,  and, in another demonstration, wore a World War II uniform and fired a weapon, to the right.

Belhaven has an unusual museum.  Originally the personal eclectic collection of Mrs. Eva Blount Way, it was used to raise money for the American Red Cross in 1940.  As Miss Eva's reputation spread, people began to give her their own treasures of Americana to exhibit in her home.  Upon  her death in 1962, the collection was purchased and the museum opened in 1965 on the second floor of Belhaven's historic Town Hall.

One of the original photographs is Miss Eva holding a rattlesnake she had killed beside a collection of other rattles, evidence of the many snakes she had previously killed and kept their rattles as trophies.

Artifacts from 1800-1960 include Brownie cameras, buttons, clothing, shoes, typewriters, farm implements, marine items, shells, clothes, hats, an eight-legged pig in formaldehyde, farm implements, etc.  These items may be viewed in the dusty museum, reminiscent of someone's attic of treasures.