2014-8. North Carolina's Outer Banks: Lighthouses, Colonists, & Flight

Ocracoke Island

    As if by magic, when a back window of the MRV fell out, there was a shop in Swansboro NC, which we'd just passed through, that replaced it (recounted in our post "Folly"). Then we were off to the Cedar Island ferry terminal. The road wound through marshes and towns, past azaleas, dogwood, and redbud blooming profusely.

So many azaleas...

...& so much water...

...& green...

...& more water...

...& more azaleas...

...& more water.

    Our luck holding, we made it to Cedar Island in time for our ferry reservation to Ocracoke Island.

Approaching Cedar Island Ferry, which we'd take to Ocracoke Island.

    Ocracoke is toward the souther end of the Outer Banks, OBX, a series of narrow barrier islands that lie between Pamlico Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.

23 miles via ferry to Ocracoke.

We enjoyed perfect skies & calm waters on the 2.5-hour ferry across Pamlico Sound. 

    We love ferries and will go out of our way to take a route to where we're doing that involves a ferry, even if it takes longer...or change our destination altogether to take a ferry.

    On the top deck we met a young man about our kids' age who had so far wandered 4,000 miles in his Toyota Tacoma. 

Young explorer's Tacoma with rooftop tent bed & an adventurer's wealth of gear: mountain bike, snowboards, hiking & fly fishing gear. 

We traded stories about blue highways and campgrounds and gave him our card. That evening we received an email from him and got a taste of fly fishing in Wyoming from one of his blog entries—it could almost make you want to take up fishing!

Doug enjoying the ride.

All ferry rides are wonderful!

Ferry hitchhiker—or guide.

    Nearing Ocracoke, we caught a view of Ocracoke Island Lighthouse. Built by hand in 1823, it is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in North Carolina and 2nd oldest in the US.

Ocracoke Island Lighthouse.

We also had our first view of multi-story houses on stilts, typical of OBX.

    We'd reserved a spot in a small campground near the ferry. Our campground neighbors, Doug and Suzanne, recommended the Back Porch for dinner. We walked there on Ocracoke Village's narrow streets lined with old summer homes. Walking, biking, and golf carts are encouraged here, and bike and cart rental venues are plentiful. Doug's saltwater trout and my scallops were superb, and we wondered how rice could be so delicious. Our delightful young waitress with a warm smile and gorgeous thick blond braid chatted with us about island living and the challenges of running a business dependent on a ferry. The Back Door had been open for the season only a week and already was short on supplies, as rough seas had grounded the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry for 4 days.

Heading north on Hwy 12.

    In the morning we were off to the Ocracoke-Hatteras ferry. Ocracoke Island ranges from 1/2 to 3 miles wide. The 15-mile drive along Highway 12 passes through marshes, sand dunes taller than the MRV, stunted trees and brush, and an occasional glimpse of the Atlantic. 
    

Water is just over the dunes on both sides.

A glimpse of the Atlantic beyond the dunes.

    Heavy equipment slowed traffic in several spots. Maintaining the highway free of water and sand is a never-ending task on OBX. 

North end of Ocracoke Is. Sand removal is constant.

Our trek through North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Hatteras Island
    Since we are in plenty of time for the next ferry, we get out and explore the beach a bit. Doug finds parts of conch and black scallops to add to our shell collection. 

    Soon enough the ferry is loading, so we join the line of vehicles moving slowly forward and...we are 1st in line for the next ferry. 

Ocracoke to Hatteras Ferry.

It takes about an hour to make the 22-mile crossing.

    Established in 1953, Cape Hatteras National Seashore was the nation's first such coastal designation. It includes Bodie, Hatteras, and Ocracoke Islands.

    Arrived on Hatteras Island, we decide the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum will have to wait until next time. The museum's name derives from ships encountering the 12-mile-long Diamond Shoals sandbar created by the Gulf Stream and Virginia Drift colliding. During World War II, the area acquired the epithet "Torpedo Junction," due to the numbers of Allied tankers and cargo ships German submarines sank. Of 37 British sailors killed in a 1942 attack, only 4 were found. They are buried in the British Cemetery on Ocracoke Island.

Hatteras Lighthouse.

    Hatteras Lighthouse watches over the Diamond Shoals Sandbar. The first lighthouse was built in 1802. In 1870, a taller lighthouse replaced it. Standing 200 feet tall, Hatteras Lighthouse is the world's tallest made of brick.

    Marilyn has patterns for quilt blocks of many lighthouse, including quintessential Hatteras, which someday she will assemble....

Bodie Island

    Sadly, travel from Hatteras Island to Bodie Island does not involve a ferry. 

    Hateras Island is about 50 miles long. We drive through the towns of Avon, Salvo, and Rodanthe, past homes on stilts, oceanside resorts, and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. 

  

Houses on stilts often have multiple decks & sometimes a widow's walk. They are typical ocean weatherworn wood or painted in bright or pastel hues.

Sand is constantly blown onto Hwy 12 & so...

...sand removal is constant.

Crossing 2.7-mile-long Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet from  Hatteras Is to Bodie Is.

A rare section of Hwy 12 protected from sand.

    We find our way to Bodie Island Lighthouse. With its horizontal black and white stripes—Hatteras Lighthouse's black and white strips are diagonal—it is actually the 3rd lighthouse built on this spot.

    The first Bodie Island Lighthouse was constructed in 1847. When it became the US's own leaning tower, it was replaced, in 1859. In 1861, retreating Confederate soldiers blew that lighthouse up. Today's lighthouse was built in 1872. The lighthouse's original first order Fresnel lens still guides ships at sea.

Doug at Bodie Island Light Station.

Roanoke Island
     Before continuing north on OBX, we took the bridge across Roanoke Sound. Our first view of Roanoke Island was a lage, new condo complex, "Pirates Cove." The Outer Banks exploit to the utmost their prior resident, Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard, the English pirate. Ocracoke Inlet was Blackbeard's favorite place to lay up, as it was the perfect lair for viewing passing ships. It was there that he met his demise in a ruse in 1718. 

Crossing the bridge to Roanoke Island.

    Watch out for pirates—they're everywhere! We have passed Pirate Highway, Pirate Road, Pirate Way, Pirate Inn. There are Pirate Adventures, the Outer Banks Pirate Festival, Pirate's Cove Realty, Pamlico Jack's Pirate Hideaway, the Jolly Roger-Pirate Central OBX, the Flying Pirate Half Marathon, Pirate's Den vacation rental, Flying Pirate Event Vacation Rentals, a pirate-themed miniature golf course, and so on and so on.
    On Roanoke Sound vacation rentals and hotels rise densely along the beach, but heading north to Fort Raleigh, it is clear that this is more a full-time community than OBX towns, due to its proximity by bridge to the mainland. 

Crepe myrtles, dogwood, azaleas, & redbud line the road.

    It was on Roanoke Island that the English, under Sir Walter Raleigh, attempted to establish a foothold in the New World. Like the Spanish, they hoped to find gold and silver and raid ships. In 1585, 107 colonists and soldiers arrived. Once the fort—later known as Fort Raleigh— was built, the commander went home to England. As supplies petered out, the would-be colonists depended increasingly on the Indians for food, but the Indians died of European diseases. The English killed the Indian chief, the commander didn't return, and the bewildered folks hitched a ride home with Sir Francis Drake, who had just attacked the Spanish at St. Augustine. When the commander eventually did return, he left 15 men to preserve England's foothold in the New World.

Grounds of Fort Raleigh.

    In 1587, 117 colonists along with artist and mapmaker John White, had planned to stop along Chesapeake Bay, where supplies could be had from passing ships. The ship's pilot, however, refused to go that far north and left his passengers at Roanoke Island. There was no trace of the 15 men. White was told that Indians had killed the men, so he led an attack against them. In reality, the Indians had been friendly to the British. White then returned to England to resupply. The others, including White's pregnant daughter and her husband, were left to figure out how to survive. 

    White did not return until 3 years later, for England had been at war with Spain. He found a message carved into a tree,  CROATOAN ("Hatteras Island" today), the home of another tribe of Indians who did not reject the newcomers. The seas between Roanoke and Hatteras Islands being rough, White returned to England. The fate of the so-called Lost Colony remains unknown, but White's daughter did give birth to Virginia Dare, the first English person born in the New World, for whom Dare County is named. 

Dogwood blossoms.

    Though we weren't taken with Fort Raleigh, the dogwood rendered Marilyn practically giddy, reminding her of her Pennsylvania childhood home where a dogwood tree grew near the front door, its soft greenish-ivory blossoms returning each spring . 

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Wright Brothers 1st flight, Kittyhawk, December 17, 1903, Orville as pilot & Wilbur running alongside (NPS.gov).

   We crossed the bridge from Roanoke Island back to Hatteras Island and drove the half hour to the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk in the Kill Devil Hills. Unfortunately, we had only an hour to try to take in the site of such a stupendous achievement, of dreamers persisting.

Tablet erected by the National Aeronautic Association in 1928 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of "The First Succesful Flight of an Airplane," by Orville Wright,"in a machine designed and built by Wilbur Wright and Orvlle Wright," on December 17, 1903.

    We did a quick tour of the museum that houses replicas of Orville and Wilbur Wright's planes. An engaging lecturer explained the physics of flight, but we needed to be outside to see the place where it happened. Doug, the Naval Aviator who flew jets then helicopters for over 20  years, practically ran to each granite marker indicating the landing spot of each of the 4 flights the brothers made. 

Doug went to the granite marker where each of the Wright Brothers 4 flights on December 3, 1903, landed. A replica of the monorail is on the lower left of the picture.

    For each flight, a wheeled dolly carried the airplane and pilot along a 60-foot-long wood monorail until lift-off was achieved. Wheels would have sunk in the sandy soil. They dubbed their monorail "Grand Junction Railroad." 

2nd flight landing spot.

Looking from 4th flight landing spot to hill Wright Brothers used to launch gliders.

    Before building planes with motors, the Wright brothers studied the aerodynamics of flight by launching numerous gliders from a hill. A wing-shaped memorial stands on the hill. Each of 8 embossed panels on the door symbolizes a stage in the Wright brothers' study of the aerodynamics of flight.

Wright Brothers launched gliders from this hill to study the aerodynamics of flight.

Looking from hill to field where Wright Brothers used a monorail to enable lift-off of their powered planes.

Each door panel symbolizes a stage in the Wright Brothers' study of  the aerodynamics of flight.

    We are among the stragglers the ranger rounds up—not the first time we've been ushered out of a park—and soon are crossing the bridge at the north end of Highway 12 back to the North Carolina mainland. We decide we'll drive to Williamsburg, Virginia for the night. Just before stateline, Southland, a chain specializing in "North Carolina Bar-B-Que," calls to us. Gooey chicken wings, curly fries, and coleslaw hit the spot!

 

Detail: Siesta Key FL to Williamsburg VA.

    After a very bumpy ride on Virginia's highways that leaves Marilyn's back and neck aching more than usual, we easily find the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant in Williamsburg. We pull around back where the sign says RV and truck parking. We'll pay for the free camping by having breakfast at the restaurant in the morning, but meanwhile we crawl into our double sleeping bag and are soon sleeping soundly under the trees.

Our counterclockwise trek around the US to date.

Blue: Seattle WA-Fort Bragg CA. Red: Fort Bragg-Visalia. Green: Visalia CA-Tucson AZ. Purple: Tucson AZ-Port Gibson MS. Orange: Port Gibson MS-Siesta Key FL. Purple: Siesta Key FL-Williamsburg VA.