The other guys went golfing and the women went to Latta Plantation. Latta is not a Gone with the Wind style plantation. The homestead and other buildings show a way of life in 1800's North Carolina. The tour covered only the main Federal style house. The thing that struck me most was when the guide mentioned how the enslaved persons (he didn't use the word slaves) would stand in the doorway of the back parlor when it was being used as a dining room, ready to serve as needed. The tour guide mentioned that the floor of the doorway was more worn than the rest of the floor. I stood in that spot and tried to imagine the lives of others who stood before me.
We walked around the grounds and saw the outbuildings including a kitchen, slave cabin, smoke house, overseer cabin, and animals.
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Latta Plantation is part of a 1500 acre nature preserve that includes the Carolina Raptor Center dedicated to environmental education and the rehabilitation of injured raptors. I was the only one really interested, but everyone agreed to walk the Raptor Trail. On the trail, two women showed us different types of hawk feathers. I talked with them about the hawk I had seen at Oyster Shell Park.
When I saw them on the way back, they said they thought they had identified the hawk and showed me a picture of an Osprey. I told them I had considered the Osprey, but the head wasn't right. I remembered I had a picture on my phone. Despite the small image, they identified the bird as a Red-shouldered Hawk. I was psyched because that was one of the hawks that I had considered.
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Friday was our last night in North Carolina, and we planned a family dinner at the Melting Pot. After dinner, we stopped at a local bar. I ordered an Irish whiskey, and the waiter asked if I wanted a Pickleback. I tried it and loved it. It made my evening.
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