Delightfully Different

Recently my hometown of Beaufort in Carteret County began hanging banners from the streetlights with the slogan “Delightfully Different since 1709.” Seeing this, my mind got to pondering the reasons behind this slogan.

Maybe it’s the guy who sits in front of Piggly Wiggly and plays guitar while singing to cars as they pass.

Maybe it’s the fact that Blackbeard, one of the most dreaded pirates, had a house in Beaufort, that still exists today. Despite numerous legends that it is haunted, and a bloodstain remaining on the stairwell, the house is privately owned.

Maybe it’s the 300-year-old Graveyard that’s also been voted one of the top 50 most romantic places in NC. A friend of mine actually got married inside.

Maybe it’s the Hardees that still sells fried chicken, when most Hardees now a days focus just on the thickburgers.

Maybe it’s the Pirate Festival, where pirates re-enact storming ashore, fighting with townsfolk, etc.

Maybe it’s the wild horses you can spot along the waterfront just across the waterway on Carrot Island.

Maybe, just maybe, my sarcasm was undeserved, and Beaufort is actually “Delightfully Different Since 1709”

Unless you get caught in traffic by that old drawbridge.