An Adventure in Downtown New Bern by Catie
New Bern is a quaint town in eastern North Carolina. Though the actual town of New Bern is relatively big, our historic, downtown area is relatively small. You could explore it in one day, if you wanted to. Downtown New Bern is set up in a grid-like pattern, so it's pretty easy to navigate. Lots of the buildings are made of brick, and many have apartments on the second floor, and often have a business on the first. I have never had the chance to explore downtown New Bern, though I've lived nearby my entire life. I am going to tell you a tale as if I did get the chance to have an adventure in my hometown, and tell you what I would do if I could.
So, I was dropped off at Union Point Park, which is a small, sparse park, with two swing sets, one for bigger people and one for smaller people, with a set of small black bears that you can sit on, and small, grassy fields. All of that is surrounded on two sides by the Neuse River. In the past few years, a white gazebo has been added into the corner of Union Point Park, so when there is an event or a festival, the gazebo is usually used for a DJ, or something else. Once, I saw it being used for a series of wrestling matches, between boys of all ages from about six to high school aged boys. Since the only thing I would do at Union Point is swing on the swings, I decided to move on.
I left Union Point from it's main entrance, and went straight onto South Front Street. Thankfully, downtown New Bern has good sidewalks. I passed a store called A Step Up. It’s a cute little store that sells stylish, trendy, expensive clothes. It’s one of the surprises that New Bern has, because it’s not the type of store you would expect, but it still fits in nicely. I didn’t go inside on the day of my adventure. As I walked, I looked at the painted fire hydrants. A project was done, awhile ago, and now all the fire hydrants in downtown are painted to look like certain people. I tried to figure out who the person on the closest fire hydrant could be, but I didn't know, so I kept walking down the street, until I came to Craven Street.
I turned right onto Craven Street and I saw the little, locally-owned coffee shop called Trent River Coffee. I have a friend who works there so I decided to stop in and see if she was working. I love Trent River Coffee because they have eccentric paintings and old posters covering up the walls. My favorite painting that has been in there for the past few months is of a couple of bubbles on a smoky black background. There is a piano inside, in case anyone wants to play. I went in during a festival once, and a man was sitting at the piano, playing a beautiful, mournful song that I didn't know. The day of my adventure, there was no one at the piano. I checked the front counter but no one was there, so I stepped out and continued down Craven Street.
I passed Mitchell Hardware, which was on the other side of the street. Mitchell Hardware has a very large, glassed-in display of old things. Some of it is old farming equipment, some of it is old pots, and pans, and kitchen utensils. I always thought it was cool to look at. Inside, Mitchell Hardware is a typical hardware store. The only thing I think is different from a typical hardware store is that they sell old-fashioned stick candy at the counter. Every time I went in there with my mom when I was little, she let me pick a stick candy. The stick candies are literally just 5-inch sticks of flavored candy, and the only place I have seen that sells them is Mitchell Hardware.
I passed The Accidental Artist, too, which is next to Mitchell Hardware. That place is absolutely amazing. You go inside, pick a piece of unpainted pottery, pick out colors, paint the piece, it gets fired in a kiln within a few days, and you come back and get it. My family used to go all the time. I've painted a fairy on a horse, an elephant, a monkey, multiple ladybugs, and a cup or two. Your piece comes out as good as you make it, so it's a good idea to take your time and have patience with your piece. I didn't have time to paint a piece on the day of my adventure, so I kept walking down Craven Street.
I turn left off Craven street onto Pollock Street. I pass the Rivertown Ballroom. The Rivertown Ballroom is a place that you can learn to do different ballroom dances, hence its name. I took classes there for a few months. Every Monday, there was a class. You went to three of the classes, and then the Friday following there was a dance, where everyone dressed up really nice, and danced the dance we had all learned. There were always veterans that already knew the dances better than I did, but it was fun for the time I did it.
As I was remembering the dances at Rivertown Ballroom, I came to an intersection. Either way, if I turned right or left, I would be on Middle Street, or I could continue straight on Pollock Street. I could also go in a big circle, which is what I decided to do. I turned left onto Middle Street. On the corner is the Pepsi Shop. The Pepsi Shop is where Pepsi was first made. The outside has a big, Pepsi-blue awning with the red, white, and blue circle logo on it. There are windows lining the entire outside walls of the Pepsi Shop. They sell drinks at a fifty cents for a small, seventy-five cents for a medium, and a dollar for a large, and three dollars for a Pepsi float. You can get Mountain Dew, Pepsi, or diet of either. The Pepsi Shop has old fashioned soda dispensers, the ones that have hoses. Recently, the Pepsi Shop has expanded. Now, they have a bigger area where they show off a few historic things related to Pepsi and sell more merchandise. I decided to stop in to get a Pepsi. I got a small and I kept walking down Middle Street.
Almost at the end of the street, I passed a store called Snap Dragon. Snap Dragon is a toy store. They sell all kinds of toys. When I was about six, I used to go there with my step sisters. We would play with the toys that were set out. Snap Dragon sells these little, fuzzy animal-people, and they come with houses and clothes. Those were my sisters' favorite toys in Snap Dragon. I decided not to go into Snap Dragon since, well, I don't play with toys anymore.
At the end of Middle Street, there is a restaurant called Captain Ratty's Seafood. I have only been to Captain Ratty's once. Here is how I got there. In New Bern, the black bear is our mascot. We have a bunch of bear statues, about fifty or sixty. Each one is painted differently, usually to represent the business or organization it is in front of. My family, there are four of us, had divided into two teams of two. I went with my sister and my brother went with my mom. We had a competition to see how many bears we could find and get a picture with within two hours. At the end of the two hours, we met up at Captain Ratty's and had lunch on the roof. I don't remember who won, but I remember that we had a nice lunch on the roof of Captain Ratty's.
I turned right onto South Front Street and walked down the street until it ended. At the end of the street, on the left, there is a new museum. I think that everything in it is supposed to be related to New Bern, and I think also to Tryon Palace. I haven't been to the museum yet, so I don't really know what's inside, but that is my guess since it is in New Bern, and it is right next to Tryon Palace. I contemplated going in the museum, but I didn't know how long I would want to stay inside, so I decided to save it for a different day. I turned right onto Metcalf Street. Walking down Metcalf, I was walking parallel to Tryon Palace. Tryon Palace is so beautiful. Tryon Palace was once the home of the governor of North Carolina. This is because New Bern used to be the capital of the state. So, when New Bern was the capital, Governor Tryon had this palace built for himself to live in, and the governors of the state that came after him lived in the palace, also, for a little while after. The gardens are always in the best condition, and the buildings are simple, but they are still so pretty. Sometimes, the grounds are open for free, other times you have to buy a ticket to get in. It's generally open on festival days, and I almost always go. My family has a tradition where we take a picture in the same place in Tryon Palace every year. It’s this metal window that is in one garden and overlooks another. I was thinking about the gardens and statues in Tryon Palace when I came to the end of Metcalf.
I turned right back onto Pollock Street, and walked down it, passed Hancock Street, continued down Pollock Street until I reached New Bern Civic Theatre. I stopped to see the plays that were showing there. I have been in two plays at New Bern Civic Theatre. They were called Rats and Charlotte's Web. Rats is not a play I would expect anyone to have heard of, but I would think most people have heard of Charlotte’s Web. Both plays were a long time ago, but I remember them. After I passed the theater, I turned left, onto Middle Street again. That completed my circle, because diagonal from me was the Pepsi Shop. I walked down Middle Street and passed the Cow Cafe. The Cow Cafe's main attraction is the many flavors of ice cream it sells. You would think that it would attract kids mostly, but lots of people like it. Right beside the Cow Cafe is what used to be called Port City Java. Now it’s called Beartown Java, and I went inside to get a coffee. My favorite kind of coffee is something icy and sweet, so I always get something different, as long as it follows those guidelines. Across the street from Beartown Java is a square field. This field displays artwork done by people in North Carolina. The art varies widely, from small abstract sculptures to large pieces that have clear messages, but it is always interesting.
After I got my coffee and looked at the artwork for a little while, I walked down Middle Street. I knew that if I kept going straight, the library would be there eventually. So, I walked a long way down Middle Street, until I came to Johnson Street. I turned left onto it, and there was the library. I love to read, and I love learning, so libraries are one of my favorite places. New Bern's library is relatively big, for the size of New Bern, but it is also supposed to serve all of Craven County, and Pamlico County, too. I went inside the library and went to the young adults section to find a book to read. I will read anything that can hold my attention, so it wasn't hard to find a book. I stayed there and read until it was time for me to get picked up.
New Bern is my home, and it contains tons of little secrets that people don't know about. I hope you learned something interesting about New Bern in my tale. I also hope you learned a little about me. I hope you get the chance to have an adventure in New Bern, because it would actually be a very fun time, if you can find the little surprises New Bern has to offer.
- - - -
Craven County has always meant home to me and it always will. Craven County has a special place in my heart, because it is my birthplace and the place I have lived all my life. I wrote this story because I want people to see some of the good things I have gotten to see in New Bern that they might pass up, if these things weren't pointed out. I want people to visit Trent River Coffee and see the eccentric paintings that I get to see. I want people to see the bears and fire hydrants that were painted and made into parts of Craven County. I want people to see the little things, like New Bern Civic Theatre, that the people here love, because these little things make up a part of us. I wanted to show everyone what I think is special, just in case they didn't know about it.
So, I was dropped off at Union Point Park, which is a small, sparse park, with two swing sets, one for bigger people and one for smaller people, with a set of small black bears that you can sit on, and small, grassy fields. All of that is surrounded on two sides by the Neuse River. In the past few years, a white gazebo has been added into the corner of Union Point Park, so when there is an event or a festival, the gazebo is usually used for a DJ, or something else. Once, I saw it being used for a series of wrestling matches, between boys of all ages from about six to high school aged boys. Since the only thing I would do at Union Point is swing on the swings, I decided to move on.
I left Union Point from it's main entrance, and went straight onto South Front Street. Thankfully, downtown New Bern has good sidewalks. I passed a store called A Step Up. It’s a cute little store that sells stylish, trendy, expensive clothes. It’s one of the surprises that New Bern has, because it’s not the type of store you would expect, but it still fits in nicely. I didn’t go inside on the day of my adventure. As I walked, I looked at the painted fire hydrants. A project was done, awhile ago, and now all the fire hydrants in downtown are painted to look like certain people. I tried to figure out who the person on the closest fire hydrant could be, but I didn't know, so I kept walking down the street, until I came to Craven Street.
I turned right onto Craven Street and I saw the little, locally-owned coffee shop called Trent River Coffee. I have a friend who works there so I decided to stop in and see if she was working. I love Trent River Coffee because they have eccentric paintings and old posters covering up the walls. My favorite painting that has been in there for the past few months is of a couple of bubbles on a smoky black background. There is a piano inside, in case anyone wants to play. I went in during a festival once, and a man was sitting at the piano, playing a beautiful, mournful song that I didn't know. The day of my adventure, there was no one at the piano. I checked the front counter but no one was there, so I stepped out and continued down Craven Street.
I passed Mitchell Hardware, which was on the other side of the street. Mitchell Hardware has a very large, glassed-in display of old things. Some of it is old farming equipment, some of it is old pots, and pans, and kitchen utensils. I always thought it was cool to look at. Inside, Mitchell Hardware is a typical hardware store. The only thing I think is different from a typical hardware store is that they sell old-fashioned stick candy at the counter. Every time I went in there with my mom when I was little, she let me pick a stick candy. The stick candies are literally just 5-inch sticks of flavored candy, and the only place I have seen that sells them is Mitchell Hardware.
I passed The Accidental Artist, too, which is next to Mitchell Hardware. That place is absolutely amazing. You go inside, pick a piece of unpainted pottery, pick out colors, paint the piece, it gets fired in a kiln within a few days, and you come back and get it. My family used to go all the time. I've painted a fairy on a horse, an elephant, a monkey, multiple ladybugs, and a cup or two. Your piece comes out as good as you make it, so it's a good idea to take your time and have patience with your piece. I didn't have time to paint a piece on the day of my adventure, so I kept walking down Craven Street.
I turn left off Craven street onto Pollock Street. I pass the Rivertown Ballroom. The Rivertown Ballroom is a place that you can learn to do different ballroom dances, hence its name. I took classes there for a few months. Every Monday, there was a class. You went to three of the classes, and then the Friday following there was a dance, where everyone dressed up really nice, and danced the dance we had all learned. There were always veterans that already knew the dances better than I did, but it was fun for the time I did it.
As I was remembering the dances at Rivertown Ballroom, I came to an intersection. Either way, if I turned right or left, I would be on Middle Street, or I could continue straight on Pollock Street. I could also go in a big circle, which is what I decided to do. I turned left onto Middle Street. On the corner is the Pepsi Shop. The Pepsi Shop is where Pepsi was first made. The outside has a big, Pepsi-blue awning with the red, white, and blue circle logo on it. There are windows lining the entire outside walls of the Pepsi Shop. They sell drinks at a fifty cents for a small, seventy-five cents for a medium, and a dollar for a large, and three dollars for a Pepsi float. You can get Mountain Dew, Pepsi, or diet of either. The Pepsi Shop has old fashioned soda dispensers, the ones that have hoses. Recently, the Pepsi Shop has expanded. Now, they have a bigger area where they show off a few historic things related to Pepsi and sell more merchandise. I decided to stop in to get a Pepsi. I got a small and I kept walking down Middle Street.
Almost at the end of the street, I passed a store called Snap Dragon. Snap Dragon is a toy store. They sell all kinds of toys. When I was about six, I used to go there with my step sisters. We would play with the toys that were set out. Snap Dragon sells these little, fuzzy animal-people, and they come with houses and clothes. Those were my sisters' favorite toys in Snap Dragon. I decided not to go into Snap Dragon since, well, I don't play with toys anymore.
At the end of Middle Street, there is a restaurant called Captain Ratty's Seafood. I have only been to Captain Ratty's once. Here is how I got there. In New Bern, the black bear is our mascot. We have a bunch of bear statues, about fifty or sixty. Each one is painted differently, usually to represent the business or organization it is in front of. My family, there are four of us, had divided into two teams of two. I went with my sister and my brother went with my mom. We had a competition to see how many bears we could find and get a picture with within two hours. At the end of the two hours, we met up at Captain Ratty's and had lunch on the roof. I don't remember who won, but I remember that we had a nice lunch on the roof of Captain Ratty's.
I turned right onto South Front Street and walked down the street until it ended. At the end of the street, on the left, there is a new museum. I think that everything in it is supposed to be related to New Bern, and I think also to Tryon Palace. I haven't been to the museum yet, so I don't really know what's inside, but that is my guess since it is in New Bern, and it is right next to Tryon Palace. I contemplated going in the museum, but I didn't know how long I would want to stay inside, so I decided to save it for a different day. I turned right onto Metcalf Street. Walking down Metcalf, I was walking parallel to Tryon Palace. Tryon Palace is so beautiful. Tryon Palace was once the home of the governor of North Carolina. This is because New Bern used to be the capital of the state. So, when New Bern was the capital, Governor Tryon had this palace built for himself to live in, and the governors of the state that came after him lived in the palace, also, for a little while after. The gardens are always in the best condition, and the buildings are simple, but they are still so pretty. Sometimes, the grounds are open for free, other times you have to buy a ticket to get in. It's generally open on festival days, and I almost always go. My family has a tradition where we take a picture in the same place in Tryon Palace every year. It’s this metal window that is in one garden and overlooks another. I was thinking about the gardens and statues in Tryon Palace when I came to the end of Metcalf.
I turned right back onto Pollock Street, and walked down it, passed Hancock Street, continued down Pollock Street until I reached New Bern Civic Theatre. I stopped to see the plays that were showing there. I have been in two plays at New Bern Civic Theatre. They were called Rats and Charlotte's Web. Rats is not a play I would expect anyone to have heard of, but I would think most people have heard of Charlotte’s Web. Both plays were a long time ago, but I remember them. After I passed the theater, I turned left, onto Middle Street again. That completed my circle, because diagonal from me was the Pepsi Shop. I walked down Middle Street and passed the Cow Cafe. The Cow Cafe's main attraction is the many flavors of ice cream it sells. You would think that it would attract kids mostly, but lots of people like it. Right beside the Cow Cafe is what used to be called Port City Java. Now it’s called Beartown Java, and I went inside to get a coffee. My favorite kind of coffee is something icy and sweet, so I always get something different, as long as it follows those guidelines. Across the street from Beartown Java is a square field. This field displays artwork done by people in North Carolina. The art varies widely, from small abstract sculptures to large pieces that have clear messages, but it is always interesting.
After I got my coffee and looked at the artwork for a little while, I walked down Middle Street. I knew that if I kept going straight, the library would be there eventually. So, I walked a long way down Middle Street, until I came to Johnson Street. I turned left onto it, and there was the library. I love to read, and I love learning, so libraries are one of my favorite places. New Bern's library is relatively big, for the size of New Bern, but it is also supposed to serve all of Craven County, and Pamlico County, too. I went inside the library and went to the young adults section to find a book to read. I will read anything that can hold my attention, so it wasn't hard to find a book. I stayed there and read until it was time for me to get picked up.
New Bern is my home, and it contains tons of little secrets that people don't know about. I hope you learned something interesting about New Bern in my tale. I also hope you learned a little about me. I hope you get the chance to have an adventure in New Bern, because it would actually be a very fun time, if you can find the little surprises New Bern has to offer.
- - - -
Craven County has always meant home to me and it always will. Craven County has a special place in my heart, because it is my birthplace and the place I have lived all my life. I wrote this story because I want people to see some of the good things I have gotten to see in New Bern that they might pass up, if these things weren't pointed out. I want people to visit Trent River Coffee and see the eccentric paintings that I get to see. I want people to see the bears and fire hydrants that were painted and made into parts of Craven County. I want people to see the little things, like New Bern Civic Theatre, that the people here love, because these little things make up a part of us. I wanted to show everyone what I think is special, just in case they didn't know about it.