Elizabeth City  May 26

An early start made sure that I wouldn’t run into any of the Memorial Day traffic crush that falls on the OBX.  By mid-morning I was cruising along NC 158 near Powells Point when I saw several monster trucks by the side of the road.  Turns out this is the home of Grave Digger, four time world monster truck champion.



The original Grave Digger.



In 1981 Dennis Anderson converted his 1954 Ford pickup from a mudbogger to a monster truck and created a multi-million dollar business that competes and performs all over North America and Europe. “And we’ve been asked to go to China, Australia, all over South America and Africa,” said Ricky, a mechanic in the engine and shock shop. In two weeks he’ll drive up to Halifax, Nova Scotia for a show.

30th anniversary Grave Digger.

The demand is so great that Anderson has set up similar shops in Texas, California and Illinois. 

Not much further up the road two chainsaw carvers were throwing sawdust everywhere. Brothers Skip and Bob Raymo opened their studio in Barco less than a year ago but are already eight weeks behind on orders.



Skip creates an alligator while Bob works
on a palm tree from the bed of his pickup. 



“People go nuts over these palm trees,” said Bob, taking a break from working on a leaf. “They put ‘em on their deck, at the end of their dock, in front of their house, and even inside.”

They also create furniture like
this turtle table.

Bob has moved to Barco from Michigan where he selling his house. Skip has lived in NC for 20 years but just last year quit his job as an electrician to focus on chainsaw carving. “I always wanted to go to art school but life got in the way, so now I’m getting back to what I really love doing,” he said.

I just had a wonderful dinner at Caribbean Cuisine, which describes itself as “New York style Caribbean cooking with a Southern flare.” What does that create? One fine meal, it turns out. The collards were the best I’ve ever had, lightly spiced with allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg.  The candied yams were hand cut and bathed in a sweet brown sugar and molasses sauce. And the jerked chicken gave my lips a light buzz amid the hint of lime, ginger and spices.

I asked my waitress how the restaurant came to be. She said the owners ran a Caribbean restaurant in NYC but decided to leave after 9/11. “When they moved here they decided to incorporate some Southern cooking elements into their cuisine,” she said. They did an outstanding job.

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