Film Buffs Journey through North Carolina!!

With the filming of The Hunger Games in North Carolina's Blue Ridge and the popularity of the movie, people have started to flock to the areas around NC to find their favorite places that their favorite movies were filmed.

From the mountains to the coast North Carolina has been home to some of the most notable names in television and the silver screen!  And the locations are just as famous, once you figure it out.  Have you ever watched a movie and said, "Hey!! I know that place!" or maybe you have been at a location and then realized you saw it in a movie somewhere.  The beauty of movies and television is that they can be right up the street in that small town or at that plantation house filming, but the film is set in the Catskills (Dirty Dancing-filmed near Lake Lure) or a historic battle in the the hills of Kentucky (Last of the Mohican's-filmed in Chimney Rock State Park) or what about some of the wonderful plantation we have here (The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Firestarter filmed at Orton Plantation in Winnabow) and the list can go on and on.

North Carolina is the place to be to see some of these great sites were films were made, sit at locations where stars have sat, eat in restaurants now famous because of stars or the shows themselves, and lay your head to rest in hotels were the famous have layed their own.

Watch the movie to get the feel and  take the trip to live the movies.

I have listed some movie here in somewhat of an order from the western part of North Carolina through to the coast just to get you started.  If you need help along the way try the Film Junkies Guide to North Carolina and add on to your trip. 

MOVIE LIST:

1.  The Fugitive-Great Smoky Mountain Railway
2.  Tap Roots, The Swan,  and Richie Rich-The Biltmore Estate, Asheville
3.  Forrest Gump, Patch Adams, Last of the Mohican's-Blue Ridge Parkway
4.  Bull Durham-McCormick Field, Asheville;Durham Bulls Athletic Park and Manning House, Durham
5.  Dirty Dancing-Chimney Rock and Lake Lure
6.  Speedway and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby-Concord
7.  Leatherheads-Greensboro
8.  Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood-Buckner Hill Plantation, Faison; Orton Plantation, Winnabow
9.  Nights in Rodanthe-Wilmington
10.  Firestarter-Orton Plantation, Winnabow
11.  A Walk to Remember-Orton Plantation, Winnabow

Berry picking time!!!

It's that time of the year, that as I travel down the road I look for the sign that tells me the Strawberry fields have opened up and are ready and ripe for the picking.  Even M.L. is looking for the signs and asking, "Are we going to go this weekend?  Are they open yet?"

Finally, a couple of days ago, the sign appeared by the road to let us know they were open!!

For us, that means a Saturday of Berry picking!  We go to Strawberries on 903 and spend the morning, or the afternoon, or the day (whichever) playing around the farm.  You can pick your own strawberries or buy them by the pint,

order you fresh cuts of pork or beef, step up to the produce area and look at the wonderful fresh produce, flowers, and plants, gawk at the carton's of fresh eggs,

walk through the barn area and see some of the animals (pigs, sheep, rabbits, peacocks), ride the hay wagon out to and through the cow pasture, and when it is nice out you can step over to their ice cream shack and get a fresh milkshake!

The kids love walking up and down the rows and picking their own basket of strawberries and we always come away with a ton. 

Then head home to have fresh strawberry shortcake and several other strawberry related recipes.  We also take most of our strawberries and make fresh strawberry preserves to keep us through till the next year.

Here are some of my favorite strawberry recipes for a wonderful strawberry filled meal from start to finish!  Let me know if you like them!

Strawberry Lemonade



Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
• 2 cups cold sparkling water or club soda
• Ice
• Mint sprigs, garnish
• Whole strawberries, garnish

Directions 

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon peel and lemon juice, stir, and remove from the heat. Let cool completely, then strain into a clean pitcher.

In a blender, puree the pint of strawberries and add to the pitcher with the lemon juice. Stir well to combine and refrigerate until well chilled.
Add the sparkling water and stir well. Pour over glasses filled with ice and serve, garnished with mint and strawberries

Strawberry and Mozzarella Salad

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 heart romaine lettuce, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces (3 cups lightly packed)
• 1 8-ounce container of strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 3 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Directions

In a small bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar salt and pepper. Place the lettuce in a large bowl and toss with half the dressing. Place the lettuce onto 4 salad plates.

Toss the strawberries with the remaining dressing and place 1/4 of the berries on top of each mound of lettuce. Top each with cheese and sprinkle with the basil.

Pork with Strawberry Balsamic Sauce

 

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Strawberries
• 1/4 cup good-quality balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• 4  pork cutlets
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• Dressed mixed salad leaves, to serve
• 1/3 cup shredded basil leaves, to garnish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
2. Halve strawberries and place in a glass or ceramic bowl with vinegar and sugar, then set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Season pork cutlets with salt and pepper. Heat oil in an ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, sear the cutlets until golden on both sides. Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil, then rest for 5 minutes.
4. Place frying pan over medium heat and add stock. De-glaze the pan, then bring to the boil. Add the strawberry mixture, reduce heat to low and just heat through. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Divide pork cutlets and salad leaves among serving plates. Top pork with sauce and sprinkle with basil.

Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups halved strawberries, divided
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons chilled stick margarine or butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• Cooking spray
• 6 tablespoons frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed

Directions

1. Combine 1 cup strawberry halves, 1/3 cup sugar, orange juice, vanilla, and lemon juice in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Stir in 2 1/2 cups strawberry halves. Cover and chill.
2. Preheat oven to 425°.
3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Pat dough into a 6 x 4-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 6 squares. Place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
5. Split shortcakes in half horizontally using a serrated knife; place each bottom half on a dessert plate. Spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each bottom half. Top with shortcake tops; spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each top. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon whipped topping; garnish with whole strawberries, if desired.

Enjoy your strawberries and remember to support your community by buying local ingredients and utilizing the small business owners!

NC Outerbanks, Lighthouses, and Horseback Riding! Part 2

Sleep-Sweet Peaceful Sleep!!

It was nice to get to the Inn and have a nice clean room to fall asleep in. 

We stayed at Edwards of Ocracoke, a quaint inn with beautiful rooms around a lovely courtyard.

Our room had two double beds and a single bed, full size refrigerator and a  wonderful screened in front porch!  The amenities at the property were nice as well:  outdoor barbecue area, picnic tables in the courtyard, bikes for rent and many more.

Yum and I slept on the bed to the left and M.L. in the single to the right.  Snookums (you know he is gonna kill me for calling him that) got a bed all to himself!

The bathroom was small but very modern and nice!

The screened in porch was a nice touch!  Loved to be able to sit out with our coffee in the morning and wait for the kids to wake up!

After all the things were packed up and we were all strapped in the car again-it was off for breakfast!!

We tooled around town and stopped at Ocracoke's Lighthouse 

We didn't stay long here since the monster mosquito's (the size of small birds) were trying to carry us away.

We did take a minute to stop and donate to the Lighthouse

After swatting our way back to the car and then killing all of the stow aways we were off to see the Pony Pasture and the Beach!!

These ponies were smaller than the ones we saw up at Corolla, but M.L. and Yum adored them all the same.  These ponies are descendants of the ponies that the long ago settlers of the island had when they first came to the island and are watched and bred carefully to ensure that they maintain their population and bloodline.  There is a wonderful viewing platform and a handicapped walkway and ramp that you can utilize through the maritime forest to gaze at the other end of the pasture.

M.L. and Yum liked the walk down the path

and enjoyed the view from the platform viewing area as well.

Parking in the same parking lot also afforded us beach access just across the street. Heading over we spent time just sitting and soaking in the sun for a little while on the oceanfront viewing platform.  The kids enjoyed watching the waves crash and playing on the walkway.  Since it was still early in the day (and a little chilly) we had access to the whole area.

Wonderful fun in the sun!

The kids were starting to wonder if we were ever going to get to the boat and we still had a little while-so off we went to find more adventures!!

We headed back to the Ocracoke-Cedar Island Ferry side of the island and parked where the Fort Ocracoke Monument is located and spent a little bit of time looking around the area and talking with the kids about the Civil War and the fort that was here.

The kids were fascinated by the monument and the fact that you could still see some of the fort under the water off the coastline.

There was a nice museum there for you to visit, unfortunately it was closed for the day and we were unable to get inside to see all the wonderful historic goodies it had to offer.  Next time though!!

We then decided to walk through the village and just see what we could see.   We love all the cute shops and artisan places where you could find the coolest gifts.  We also saw some of the neatest gardening ideas along the way and just got to spend time, as a family, walking and talking and laughing and skipping down the road.

Ocracoke Lighthouse from across the harbour.  The Pelicans were awesome to see swooping and landing on the pillars

This is the coolest idea for an old rocking chair-a succulent garden planter!

M.L. and Snookums headed down the road toward town.  After spending some time walking through town and looking at the birds and boats and all the cool things kids love to look at--you know like rocks on the side of the road and such--we headed back to the parking area to get checked in and in line for the ferry.  I sent Snookums off to get us checked in and in line and took the kids over to the big buoys to play.. They were in awe at the size of the buoys and didn't believe they were the ones they saw in the water last night as we ferried from Hatteras to Ocracoke.

We still had a little while to wait for the ferry since you had to check in 30 minutes prior to your reservation or risk losing your spot, so we headed to the Ferry House and let the kids run around the grassy area.  They were super excited when a nice lady walked over and gave the kids some bread to feed the ducks that were wondering around the area.  We had bread in our van for lunch on the ferry, but being from the beach area I know that ducks aren't the only thing in the area that were going to come calling, I decided to not give them any.  However, this lady had other ideas and of course I didn't want to seem rude by saying no, but I got the camera ready for the hilarious moments that were about to ensue.  See if you can find in the following clips where the birds started to have WAY TO MUCH FUN!

the ducks waiting patiently!

the gulls joining in on the fun!

the gulls dive bombing M.L. to get her bread!!!

Like I said, WAY TO MUCH FUN!!  Of course, the kids were laughing and enjoying it the whole time to.

Once all the bread was gone and it was getting closer to time we headed off to the boardwalk and headed out to watch the boat come in.  The kids played and had fun with all the informational signs on the way and used the sides of the boardwalk as balance beams.

Then we saw THE BOAT!!

They jumped, and laughed and shouted for joy when they saw the ferry headed to the dock.  We raced back to the Ferry House and used the restroom (because the ones on board-well-let's just say they are there) and then headed to the car to get ready to board the ferry.

We boarded the ferry and raced up to the observation deck so that we could watch them finish loading the cars and pull away. 

We finally arrive at Cedar Island and make our way over to Outer Banks Riding Stables just off the ferry landing and prepare for our horseback riding adventure!  We were all paired up with a wonderful horse and were led away by our guide Cindy down the beach for a fun filled ride--that is until the bottom dropped out of the looming grey clouds and we were forced to turn around and head back to the barn.

  M.L. and Yum still had a wonderful time and are bound and determined to go back and do it all again--and soon!