Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium

Sunday turned out to be a thoroughly rainy day, but we made the most of it. The morning started with just a light drizzle, so I took Amaroq for an early beach walk. We strolled several miles in both directions, reaching the piers and lingering a bit past sunset.

The overcast skies kept things quiet, with not much wildlife or activity to spot, but the fresh air and steady pace felt refreshing.

After our long walk, we headed back and enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Banks Grill. By then the rain had picked up, so we decided on the perfect indoor alternative: the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, an ideal rainy-day outing.

The aquarium beautifully traces North Carolina's aquatic journey from mountains to sea.

We began in the mountain region, passing an impressive artificial waterfall and exhibits featuring pickerel, bass, and other freshwater fish.

Moving into the Piedmont section, we spotted two adorable screech owls (not aquatic, but charming nonetheless).

Although the otters were napping, the turtles were active.

I really liked the albino loggerhead sea turtle and a fascinating snapping turtle.

Harper was captivated by the colorful array of fish and marine life, particularly the mesmerizing jellyfish displays.

The highlight was the massive Living Shipwreck tank—a 306,000-gallon ocean habitat teeming with sharks, rays, sea turtles, and schools of vibrant fish.

Our tour finished up through the coastal areas.

After exploring the main galleries, Harper spent some joyful time in the Discovery Bay play area, crawling through tunnels and interacting with hands-on exhibits.

When the rain eased momentarily, I slipped out for a quick stroll along the Alice Hoffman Trail in the adjacent Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area.

This easy half-mile loop winds through marshy ecosystems, complete with a floating bridge near the end.

I was rewarded with sightings of a graceful great egret wading in the shallows and a small flock of white ibises farther along - peaceful moments amid the drizzle.

Later, while Harper napped, Amaroq and I popped over to Nacho Brewing in Morehead City.

Despite the persistent rain, dogs were welcome inside. Amaroq quickly made friends with the bartender's dog, charmed everyone with his talkative personality (earning plenty of treats and laughs), and kept me company while I enjoyed a Fruit Isn't Real beer. By evening, we returned to pack up and prepare for checkout the next morning. A full, cozy day despite the weather!

Day in Gatlinburg

Monday, we headed to Tennessee to visit that side of the Smokies but first had another great breakfast at Everett Street Diner.  Driving through Cherokee, Sandy pulled over next to a gas station.  What at first appeared to be statues were actually elk.

We watched them for a few minutes as they crossed the street in a crosswalk and then continued grazing.

We entered Great Smoky Mountains National Park and soon had to stop for a mother elk and her fawn in the road.

We continued all the way through the park to Gatlinburg and took Cherokee Orchard Road to Roaring Fork Motor Trail.  Right near the start of the one-way road, we parked at the trailhead for Baskins Creek Trail.

There were a good number of wildflowers blooming along the trail.

The trail gradually headed up for a short ways to a ridge.

Even in summer, there were nice views along the ridge here.

After this, it went back into the forest and started to descend down to Falls Branch.

There were more wildflowers blooming and we saw some mushrooms too.

The giant ironweed was really pretty.

In just over a mile, we came to a split and went left on a spur towards the waterfall.  The last part of the trail was very steep heading down to the base of Baskins Creek Falls.

Although the water was low, I thought it was a really nice waterfall.  And unlike the nearby Grotto Falls and Rainbow Falls, we didn't see anyone else along the trail.

I climbed up the side to the base of the upper drop.

Harper splashed around a bit in the shallow water at the base and then we headed back.  We took the spur to see the little cemetery.

Then we made the climb back up to the car.

Roaring Fork Motor Trail is one way so we had to drive the rest of the way.  Near the other end of Baskins Creek Trail, we spotted a bear sniffing around just next to the road.

The road ended back in Gatlinburg and we parked to visit the aquarium.

It was very crowded and rather over-priced but they had a lot of cool exhibits and Harper enjoyed seeing all the fish.

There was an upper and lower level with exhibits from various aquatic and marine environments.

Harper seemed to really enjoy watching the jellyfish.

The fish and sea life were really beautiful.

A moving walkway led through a tunnel in the shark lagoon with sharks, turtles and rays swimming about.

The sawfish was really cool.

After cruising through the lagoon, there were a few more exhibits to check out.

The snake-like garden eels were really cool.

The scorpionfish was well camouflaged and looked very much like a rock.

Mudskipper is fish that can breath air.

The sea walnuts were really cool.

The last exhibit we visited was the penguins.  A keeper was giving out toys to the penguins.  Harper and I crawled through the tunnel so she could pop up for a closer view.

After this, we took off and headed to Gatlinburg Brewing Company for a late pizza lunch.  Then we started making our way back to NC.  We first stopped for a roadside view of Chimney Tops.

Then we stopped again at Ben Morton Overlook.

After crossing back into NC, we pulled over again to see a bear foraging along the side of the road.

Finally, we stopped at Mingus Mill.

We took Harper for a short stroll along the mill race and got come pictures of the mill.

Then we headed back to Bryson City for the evening.