My World Tuesday #44: New Dawn Restaurant, Morehead City

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"Try the Waffles. Seriously."
Morehead City, NC - July 2008 (Click to embiggen)

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Every town has its "quirky little restaurant that those in the know go to". I'm pretty sure New Dawn is one of those. The decor is pretty much beach-town diner, and you might pass by without even noticing the place. That would be a shame because "quirky" describes the place, but "amazing" describes the food -- and the service. One of the numerous "quirks" about New Dawn is that nothing matches. Not the dinnerware, flatware, coffee mugs, nothing. None of the usual institutional china and flatware for New Dawn. Oh no. We're talking about souvenir coffee mugs and dishes that look like the owners scoured every yard sale in six counties to find it. (Insert funny coffee mug story: I was in Morehead City for the 4th of July in 2008, a need for a late breakfast found me and my companion here. She was a certified Open Water SCUBA instructor and had come to north Carolina from Fairfax, VA. In a strange bit of synchronicity, the mug my coffee was served in bore the logo of a dive shop in Fairfax -- one she'd used frequently when she lived there.) I'm not usually real big on breakfast, but if you find yourself in Morehead, you really should try the waffles here. They're awesome.

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Window Views #10: "It's All Good"

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"I finally remembered looked it up! It's the New Dawn Family Restaurant on US 70. You can't miss it."
Morehead City, NC - July 2008 (Click to embiggen)

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Blue Monday #23: Morehead City One More Time

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"Channel Marker"
Atlantic Beach/Morehead City, NC - October 2008 (Click to embiggen)

 Hosted by Smiling Sally

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I never cease to be amazed at how blue the water in Bogue Sound looks at a distance. Up close, it looks nothing like this. But it does make a great photo. That -- as you probably surmised -- is Morehead City, NC in the background as seen from the foot of the bridge going across to Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach. At low tide, you could walk from those houses almost as far as the channel marker you see in the center of the frame. But another few steps and you'd better be able to swim because the channel is dredged for some pretty heavy-duty ships that dock at the State Port just a few miles east of here.

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Sky Watch Friday #11: Last Quarter

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"Last Quarter"
Morehead City, NC - October 2008 (Click to embiggen)

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My very first Sky Watch post featured the moon over my house at First Quarter. Halloween of course, featured a full moon. So in the interest of equal time, I thought this a good chance to show the Last Quarter, this time taken over Bogue Sound at Morehead City.

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Update: Since several people have asked, I took this shot using:
Camera: Canon 30D (Tripod mounted)
Lens: 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 zoom (a kit lens, yeah?) at 300mm FL
Exposure: 1/50" shutter at f/8.0, ISO 100, WB Pre-set (Cloudy)

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Wordless Wednesday #47: Morehead City

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"Morehead City"
Morehead City, NC - October 2008 (Click to embiggen)

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Watery Wednesday #2: Morehead City from Atlantic Beach

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"Morehead City from Atlantic Beach"
Atlantic Beach, NC - October 2008 (Click to embiggen)

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If you stop at the Atlantic Beach end of the Causeway Bridge this is what you see. This is Morehead City, viewed across Bogue Sound from the island side. In addition to being a port of entry for the state, Morehead City is effectively the gateway to everywhere on the Crystal Coast. Most visitors will pass through here on the way to the beaches on Emerald Isle, or on the way to Beaufort. Morehead is a slice of Americana that only keeps up with the times grudgingly. There are still any number of independently owned restaurants, shops and other merchants mixed in among the larger chain retailers.

Being primarily a place people go through rather than to, Morehead seems to fly below the radar as a destination, but it's worth spending some time in if you're in the area.

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