Back on the Road Again!

In September, Laurie and I hit the road again!  This time we were headed up to the Delmarva Peninsula.  The peninsula consists of all of the State of Delaware as well as the ‘eastern shore’ area of Maryland and most of the eastern shore area of Virginia.  To the west of the peninsula lies the Chesapeake Bay and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean.

Laurie’s sister Bonnie and Bonnie’s husband Bill were going to join us on this road trip.  The plan was to pick them up at the Raleigh-Durham North Carolina airport after their flight from St. Louis Missouri.

I allowed for more time than it took to get from our house in East Tennessee to the airport at Raleigh-Durham, so we hopped off the I-40 Interstate at Old Fort North Carolina and followed US Hwy 70 east to Marion North Carolina. 

I keep state maps that I’ve marked up showing where old railroad depots are located…or at least ‘were’ located, as more and more of them are torn down.  That isn’t completely the case in Marion.  The old Southern Railroad passenger depot is no longer but this handsome freight depot was rebuilt in 1935.  It shows a little of a Craftsman stylistic influence with its large overhanging eaves and the prominent brackets.  A wedding or reception was underway while we were there so it’s safe to assume that the building now serves as an event center for rent.

Note: I did find one reference that stated that this depot was originally built in the 1860s and that it was one of the oldest depots in this part of the state.  The National Register clearly dates this depot as being rebuilt in 1935.

Of course, as is common across the country, the old depot is accompanied by an old caboose.  The depot, caboose and 4 other contributing buildings that interacted with the Southern Railroad freight depot, are all part of Marion’s Depot Historic District, and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Depot Historic District includes 5 contributing buildings that were economically associated with the Southern Railway Depot at Marion.  Included were warehousing, a wholesale grocery, a liquor rectifying facility and drug manufacturing.  All these businesses relied on the adjacent railway and its freight depot.  I only took photos of 3 of these buildings, although the Laughridge Furniture Company building (1894) was right behind me when I took my photos of the other structures.  I’ll blame my photo failures/distraction on the wedding that was going on across the street...

This handsome brick building is located at 44 Depot Street, on the corner adjacent to the old Southern Railway freight depot.  Constructed ca. 1900, this structure began life as an old-time distillery that was serviced by the railroad.  Later it became the home of a wholesale grocery operation.  Even later, it was transformed into a bank…the vault is still intact.

I did like the look of this little 648 sq. ft. commercial building at 61 Depot Street.  This one story brick building was built in 1911.  Love the decorative brickwork on the front of the structure and it is especially nice that the storefront framework of this building looks virtually intact.  I don’t know its history but its current business occupant, Picture Perfect Hair Salon, seems to be well regarded in the community.  Note to Owner: Your salon needs a little trim...a bit off the top!

Like many western North Carolina towns, Marion was quite isolated and rural until the railroad came to town in 1870.  The resulting economic boom and steady growth continued into the 1930s.  Marion is the county seat for McDowell County North Carolina.  The town was named after Brigadier General Francis R. Marion, the American Revolutionary War hero who was known as the “Swamp Fox”.  To learn more about the “Swamp Fox” go to Francis Marion - Wikipedia.

Notes:

         ·         The commercial district in Marion was virtually destroyed in a major conflagration in November of 1894. 

         ·         On 10/2/29, a gunfight between the sheriff’s department and 600 striking workers resulted in 36 workers being injured and 6 killed.  No guns were found among those who were shot.  This incident/labor dispute was later written about by Sinclair Lewis, author of “The Grapes of Wrath”.

Once we picked up Bonnie and Bill from the Raleigh-Durham Airport, we had 3 goals.  First: Drive to Edenton North Carolina.  Second: Check in at the Hampton Inn.  Third: Find a nice seafood restaurant for dinner!

Based on positive ratings, operating hours and the seafood menu, our choice was Waterman’s Grill.  This restaurant occupies a building that was constructed in 1894.  The entire block had burned to the ground the previous year.  Businesses that have existed here over the last 100 years include a Shoe Repair Shop, a Fish Market and at least two other restaurants. 

Please note…I took the photo of the front of the restaurant after we had dinner, hence the chairs on the tables.

For reasons unknown, I didn’t take a picture of the dining area.  You’ll have to use your imagination based on the photo of the front of the building and this one that I took of the bar area.  Lots of brick and wood…and a nautical and art orientated theme throughout, all in all a pleasant setting for dinner.

Of course I ‘had to’ take a photo of our traveling companions, Bill and Bonnie.

We started out with an order of Chilled Crab Dip and Wheat Thins. ($16.99) It was quite enjoyable but I think saltines or some other ‘neutrally flavored’ crackers would have been a better pairing. 

Bill and Bonnie love oysters and Laurie will eat one or two now and then.  They started out with a half-dozen oysters ($12.99) and then Bill had another half-dozen with his entrée.  They thought that the oysters were just OK…perhaps not as fresh as they would have liked.

Laurie ordered the soup…described as a “Seafood Bowl”. ($9.99) She wasn’t in love with it.  The soup was ‘too thin’ or lacked body, at least in her opinion.

Another appetizer was the Stuffed Mushroom Caps. ($16.99) The mushroom caps were stuffed with Waterman’s crab cake recipe and then broiled.  It was well received by the group.  I personally don’t like mushrooms and other than in a dip, I’m not crazy about crab.

For my entrée I ordered the Rockfish special with a side of applesauce (not shown) and a cheese and bacon baked potato. ($27.99) My meal also came with a couple of good hushpuppies.  It was a decent if not great entrée.

I believe that Bonnie and Laurie shared the Waterman’s Trio. ($29.99) It included steamed crab meat, shrimp and scallops.  They thought that it was decent with the scallops drawing the most praise.  This dish was accompanied by a pair of the hushpuppies. 

Bill loves seafood and he ordered the “Super Combo”. ($35.99) In addition to the 6 oysters mentioned previously, his entrée included steamed clams, steamed shrimp and a ‘crab leg cluster’.  Calling 2 segments of crab leg a ‘cluster’ might be a bit of an over exaggeration.  In any case, Bill thought that his meal was just OK.

The prices for adult beverages were quite reasonable, with vodka and tonic tall at $6.99 and Yuegling Beer at $5.99.  Service was just fine, but our overall opinion of our first seafood ‘feast’ on the eastern seaboard was that it wasn’t great…nor was mediocre food inexpensive.

Waterman’s Grill has been open since May of 1996.  Three years after the restaurant opened, it expanded into the building next door.  The restaurant’s on-line reviews are mixed on both TripAdvisor and Yelp.  This restaurant is located at 427 South Broad Street in Edenton North Carolina.  Phone: 252-482-7733.  Website: Watermans Grill.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by on the first leg of our fall season road trip!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave