We are still in Oriental, NC, just a couple hundred miles away from crossing our wake in Norfolk, VA. Our Loop doesn’t always follow the typical patterns; this is often because we (Chris and I) still work and have business travel requirements. Chris spent the last 2.5 weeks in Michigan doing photoshoots while the kids and I explored Oriental.

Part of why we landed in Oriental was its fireworks display lined up with when we would be there (other nearby stops would have their fireworks too early for us to see them for Independence Day). The other part was slip availability over the holiday and for the several weeks we needed while Chris traveled. It also had enough stuff within walking distance to keep us busy, and the kids wouldn’t get too much cabin fever while staying in one place.

What’s in a name?

The story behind Oriental’s name and traditions is an interesting one. I’ll give you a brief tale straight from Wikipedia:

The town of Oriental was named after the Sailing Steamer Oriental. Built in Philadelphia in 1861, the ship was used as a Federal transport ship in the Civil War. She met her fate a year after being launched, run aground in May 1862, when she was wrecked off Bodie Island, 33 miles north of Cape Hatteras. Her passengers and crew were saved.

The United States Post Office Department established a post office in 1886 in what had been called Smith’s Creek. Lou Midyette was named postmaster. Postmaster Midyette’s wife, Rebecca, thought the village needed a better name. One story says that she had found the nameplate from the wrecked sailing steamer “Oriental” on the beaches of the Outer Banks and thought that name was more suitable. Another version of the story says she just saw the nameplate in a Manteo home. Either way the name “Oriental” made an impression on her. The village became known as Oriental a few years after the post office was established and was incorporated in 1899.

Oriental also gained dragons as a mascot. The story goes that a part-time resident of Oriental, Joe Cox, was pondering how to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Oriental. Given the town’s name, “Oriental,” he figured a dragon should be involved, similar to how Chinese New Year is celebrated (check out Lore, Legend, and History of Oriental, NC). This idea led to the “Running of the Dragon” each New Year’s Eve.

The welcoming nature of the town to the “first” dragon led to more and more dragons popping up. You’ll see them all over town, and some of the dragon eggs have been officially marked as nesting grounds to help protect this legendary creature.

The Provision Company

One of the few shops within walking distance of the marinas and dinghy dock is the Inland Waterway Provision Co. This shop mixes boat project supplies, organic groceries, and locally inspired gift shop material. One such item we found tucked away on a shelf was the Oriental Dragon BINGO Cards...

This bag contained four BINGO cards and an answer key. All the cards had maps, and the answer key marked where each dragon was on the map.

The idea of the game is to walk around town, spot dragons, and see if you have it on your BINGO card. If you have the dragon, you can mark it off. As with regular BINGO, the center square is a “FREE” space (we found these to be dragons within private property). You aim to get five squares in a row, column, or diagonally.

We’re Going on a Dragon Hunt!

The kids and I have been waiting for a cooler day for a little over a week. It’s been incredibly hot and humid here, and we didn’t want to go out on a day with heat warnings.

When our “cool” weather finally arrived (we still started sweating when we stepped outside!), we picked a BINGO card and wandered through town.

Each time we spotted a dragon, we took a group selfie and checked our boards. Everyone’s board is different, so we all didn’t have the same dragons to mark off. And some dragons on the answer keys were no longer in their positions, were moved, or had just flown off!

We’ve enjoyed our time in this little town, and having a good excuse to wander around and explore a bit more was a nice change of pace. It got us outdoors after so many days cooped up inside, trying to avoid the heat.

One of the locals saw us out searching for dragons and invited us to look in her backyard. As we wandered through the gate and looked up on her back patio, we saw the most enormous and gorgeous dragon! One of the kids had this one in their “FREE” space!

Time for Ice Cream at The Bean

We had a good time searching for dragons, but by the time we were too sweaty and tired to continue, no one had earned a full “BINGO” yet. The winner was supposed to get two scoops of ice cream at The Bean, but since no one won, we all got two scoops!

Over the next few days, we have found a few more dragons, so I think we’ve all been able to declare “BINGO” on our boards. This activity has been a fun way to explore the town and enjoy the people’s creativity in this area.

Activities like this are the unexpected joys and adventures we love about traveling America’s Great Loop. You find interesting stories in unexpected places and are often welcomed in by locals who want to share their stories and hear yours.

We’ll look back at our time in Oriental with fond memories!