We just returned from six days in eastern North Carolina (a.k.a. the Coastal Plains), first in historic New Bern and then at Atlantic Beach. The photo is the Harmony House B&B where we stayed in New Bern. There’s a lot of history in New Bern, being the state’s first capital and second city, but it was also interesting to hear how the town made a concerted effort to become a tourist destination, including little things like burying the utility connections in the downtown area.
The Prius loved the flat roads of the coast, getting over 54 MPG for the trip. It’s the first time I’ve seen it get better city mileage than highway mileage since it could often get by on battery power for a few blocks at a time. The coast is probably a decent approximation of the actual EPA test.
New Bern is really nice. Now that you mention it the really ugly utility cables which adorn Rosemary and even Franklin St are nowhere to be seen there.