Washington County, North Carolina

 On June 1, we headed east for the 10th Annual Black Bear Festival in Plymouth, the county seat of Washington County. The festival has a well-organized and informative website, so we knew we were in for a treat!

We left home about 6:30 that morning, to make sure we could find a parking place--and maybe beat the heat. With an early drive, we didn't have any issues with traffic, a good thing. Thanks to the nice festival map on the website, as well as directional signs in Plymouth, we didn't have any trouble finding parking within easy walking distance of the Black Bear Festival in the downtown area. Fortunately, our walking course took us right by the Washington County Courthouse, which was nice! It's a pretty courthouse, with some monuments in front.

Before our first ticketed event, a jet boat ride on the Roanoke River, we walked around downtown Plymouth to see the vendor booths and food trucks--fun! We also got to meet one of my Facebook friends, someone I connected with in my running days. She was working a booth in front of the Bear-Ology Museum in downtown Plymouth. (Beyond the Black Bear Festival, it's open Monday though Friday, 9-4, so I'm sorry we didn't go inside on the Saturday we were there.)

We also enjoyed an additional Roanoke River boat tour, this time aboard the Albemarle Queen, a paddle wheel boat. This was bigger and longer (in time) than the jet boat tour, and offered on-board entertainment and refreshments, to boot! Eventually, we ascended to the upper level of the boat, where we enjoyed the pretty scenery from a higher vantage point.

Later in the day, we went from the waterfront to the skies! The Black Bear Festival also offered helicopter rides, and in the late

        afternoon, tethered hot air balloon rides!

This is a picture of me during the helicopter ride. It wasn't on my bucket list, but I'm glad I did it! It was fun to see Plymouth and the area from above the trees! 

This was our view from inside the hot air balloon, looking up. It was another fun offering at the Black Bear Festival, and I'm glad we did it. The hot air balloon and basket were tethered to nearby things, so we didn't go too far up in the air, and the ride didn't last very long. Still, it was a colorful and fun thing to do during our day in Plymouth. 

I would definitely recommend visiting Plymouth and Washington County, whether or not you time it with the Black Bear Festival. I would love to go back! Here are the rest of my photos.