Camden County, North Carolina

I recently took a day trip to Camden County, a rural county in northeastern North Carolina, one county west of the Outer Banks. According to the 2010 Census, Camden County is the fourth least populated county in North Carolina. One of the reasons I wanted to visit Camden County is because the southern end of the Great Dismal Swamp is in northern Camden County.

I started out in Camden, the county seat, where I located the county courthouse and the old jail, which is now a museum. The courthouse has a veterans monument in front of it. Camden County was formed in 1777, and this courthouse was built in 1847. (The previous courthouse was built in 1782, and burned down in 1845.)

Another highlight was the visiting the southern tip of the Great Dismal Swamp. South Mills, in northern Camden County, is home to the Dismal Swamp State Park, as well as the Dismal Swamp Canal Visitor Center. This is a peaceful, beautiful area, and I'd

highly recommend a visit.

Toward the end of my day in Camden County, I visited the Shiloh community, where I found Shiloh Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist Church in North Carolina.

I really enjoyed my time in Camden County, and definitely recommend a visit! My photos are here.

Wayne County, North Carolina

Last Saturday, April 28, I visited Wayne County. I've visited Wayne County many times over the years, since my mom was born and raised in Goldsboro, the county seat. I enjoyed returning to the area, and I got to see some parts of Wayne County that I haven't been to before. It was a fun day!

My first stop was Mount Olive, home of the annual North Carolina Pickle Festival, which took place on Saturday! The Pickle Festival has been going on since 1986, but this was my first time there. Mount Olive is also home to the Mount Olive Pickle Company,  as well as the University of Mount Olive. I really enjoy the Pickle Festival! There were a lot of vendors, as well as several stages for live performances (music and dancing). There was also a car show and a tractor show going on. Mount Olive Pickle had a big tent, where they were passing out free pickles! I bought a cute 2018 Pickle Festival t-shirt, to boot.

Next, I headed to Goldsboro, where I took a photo of the Wayne County

Courthouse. From there, I went to my visit my uncle, Marion, at his store in downtown Goldsboro. It was fun, as usual, to visit with him!


After exploring downtown Goldsboro a little more, I headed toward Nahunta, and the Nahunta Pork Center. I was curious to check this pork place out, but it was closed by the time I got there. So I headed back to Goldsboro for some eastern-style barbecue,  then headed for home.

I looked for nearby geocaches throughout the day, and found nine Wayne County geocaches in all--a good geocaching day, too! One geocache I found was at the Wayne County Museum, a nice place that I visited another time but didn't go inside on Saturday.

I had a great day in Wayne County! I just wish I could've shared the day with more of my family! The rest of my photos of this fun day are here.