My wife, my 10 year old son, and I stayed with Martha and Elmo at Cousin Martha's in Beaufort, North Carolina this summer. We live in New Jersey, and I attended graduate school in North Carolina, and my wife and I haven't been back since I graduated in 2001. Back in 1999, my wife and I visited Beaufort and stayed at Captains's Quarters. That place is no longer operating, so when we decided to come back this summer, we needed somewhere else to stay. My wife was attracted to their Bed and Breakfast based on all the positive reviews for Elmo's cooking and his spices and hotsauces that they create and sell there.
We arrived at Cousin Martha's pretty late- it was after 9pm. However, Elmo met us in the driveway to greet us and show us to our room. Martha was out on a social call, so we didn't meet her till the next morning. We made our way up to our room which was called the Bird Room. It was very clean and comfortable. The attached bathroom had an interesting set of "wild west" style doors opening into a painted clawfoot tub.
We woke up the next morning to the smell of fresh fruit, biscuits, and eggs seasoned with Elmo's homemade spices. The breakfasts were incredible and throughout our stay of three nights, we spent much time talking with Elmo and Martha. We heard stories about their lives and we truly enjoyed conversing with them. We visited Shackleford Banks by boat where we spent the day looking for shells, which was amazing! All kinds of shells and we had the whole beach to ourselves.
When it was time to go, we bought several spices and hot sauces, which are almost gone! Before we left however, Elmo came out one last time to say goodbye, and give our son a beautiful large scallop shell which he didn't have. Our son did not want to leave, and was very melancholy that we were leaving. Elmo and Martha were so kind, and Beaufort such a beautiful town, we were all sad to go. This is a definite on our list next time we come back! You will love it! Thank you Martha and Elmo! read more