Views around the North Carolina shore

A few final shots from around the Outer Banks and the North Carolina shore:

The view from our hotel room on the northern edge of Kitty Hawk, 

looking north in the direction of Duck.

Sunset in Washington, North Carolina on Pamlico Sound, the night before heading to OBX.

A fawn in the marshes in Swan Quarter, NC right by the ferry to Ocracoke.

View of the sunset from the dinner table at The Sanderling Resort in Duck. 

The beach at sunset near Duck.

House on stilts in Kitty Hawk.

Pier near our hotel in Kitty Hawk.

Exploring Duck and Corolla

Thursday, August 29 – The last part of OBX for us to explore was north of Kitty Hawk – Duck and Corolla.  It is the least commercialized part of the developed areas, with what appeared to be the most expensive homes and resorts on the Outer Banks.  We drove to the end of the road, or at least the road that we could drive on.  The paved road ends at the beach, and if you have a 4x4, you can continue driving on the beach.  Our rental sedan was not allowed.  They also operate tours from here, where you can see wild horses.  We’ll have to do that next time.

On the way back south as we headed to dinner at The Sanderling Resort, we stopped at the 4^th and last lighthouse on the Outer Banks, the Churrituck Beach Light Station.  They were open late, so we got to climb to the top – the equivalent of 10 stories.  This was my favorite lighthouse on OBX – it has been restored to great condition (it was built in 1875), and the views were amazing.

The Wright Brothers Flew Here

Thursday, August 29 – When staying in Kitty Hawk, how can one not visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial, where the first human-powered flight took place?   Interestingly, we discovered on Wednesday that there’s a bit of a rivalry between North Carolina and Ohio on the subject of aviation.   And since Sandy is a born and bred Ohioan, and I went to college in Ohio, we had a particular interest in this. For you see, Ohio has the slogan “The Birthplace of Aviation” on its license plates, and NC has the slogan “First in Flight” on theirs. 

It turns out that both states are right.  The Wright Brothers were from Dayton, Ohio and came up with their plans there, although Ohio didn’t have the winds they needed for their flyer.  That’s what brought them to the Outer Banks, which at the time in 1903 was not developed, most of the land was sand and had significant sustaining winds. 

The field where the brothers took flight is marked with the end point of each of the 4 flights that took on December 17, 1903 – each one farther than the next, alternating Orville and Wilbur as pilots, with the 4^th one by Wilbur going significantly farther for 852 feet in 59 seconds, after the three previous flights of 120, 175 and 200 feet.  All flights started at the same point. The field is grassy now, with trees around it, as a result of human planting.  And on the hill behind the field, there is a monument dedicated to the brothers.

One thing that confused us:  The grounds are in Kill Devil Hills, not Kitty Hawk.  Did they move the memorial from the original flight location?  The answer is no:  as the Outer Banks were developed, the area was divided up into additional towns, whereas all of this area was Kitty Hawk back then.

Kickin' around OBX

Thursday, August 29 - Today was a day to explore around the Outer Banks.  We heard that there was a surfing competition at Janette Pier in Kill Devil Hills, so we headed over there to check it out.  Unfortunately, the waves were not good enough (or as the lifeguard told us, the "had nothing to work with"), so we just poked around the beach and pier for a bit.

The logo and artwork for the event is pretty great, so here's a good look at it on the back of the stage on the beach.  (And, just like Where's Waldo, see if you can pick me out...)  After learning a little more about the legends of OBX -- like the fact that Blackbeard tormented the waters off the Outer Banks with his pirate ship, but ultimately met his demise here -- it made the artwork a little more fun.  Note Blackbeard on a board.

Janette's Pier is a well-known fishing pier, and reopened a couple of years ago when it was completely rebuilt after being demolished by hurricanes.  There are serious fishermen here -- no amateur tourists with fishing poles were spotted -- and they even have cutting boards right on the benches for cleaning the fish on the spot.  They also have 3 huge wind turbines on the pier - another Sandy G favorite.

A few additional beach rules to live by which we saw posted nearby:

• Rule number one: don't go number two.
• The seagull you feed today will crap on you tomorrow.
• It's a beach, not an ashtray.
• The minimum required distance between you and the next group is twice the diameter of the largest umbrella.
• For every hour you swim after midnight, please remove one article of clothing.
• If more than three people point at your body, it's time to put on a shirt.

Morning beach walk

Thursday, August 29 - While I was at Crossfit, Sandy took a walk on the beach.   In other words, while I was dripping with sweat, Sandy was enjoying herself with some amazing scenery.  It was a beautiful morning, so it was great to be out and about early.

 

After her walk, Sandy made a stop at the legendary Duck Donuts, which was highly recommended to her by friends back home as THE place to go for donuts, since they make them to order!  While I wasn't there, it sounds like they didn't disappoint!

 

Crossfit OBX

Thursday, August 29 - Another great Crossfit stop!  As is typical, everyone was really friendly, and we had a great workout.  As I walked in to check in, I heard woman who was also in from out of town say, "I'm from Michigan," and the guy behind the desk say, "I'm from Michigan, too." So, I also said, "I'm from Michigan, too!"  Off to a good start!  It's always easy to make friends at Crossfit.

Clearly the Crossfit OBX coaches are very dedicated, as evidenced by the license plate in the front row.  Today's WOD was seven sets of 3 heavy thrusters, and then 2 minutes of as many pullups as possible.  A good, hard workout.  Thanks, Crossfit Outer Banks!

Another lighthouse, and a Brew Thru!

Wednesday, August 28 - As we rounded out the day, we made two more very important stops.  The first, of course, is another lighthouse.  The Bodie Island Light Station was just closing up as we got there, but it was still worth the stop to walk around the grounds a bit.  If the Hattaras Lighthouse is the big brother, this lighthouse is like his little sister -- not quite as big, and a little more refined.  It also has a nice little entry house at the base, which Hatteras didn't have.

When we were on the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke Ferry, our new friend Kevin from Denver told us about the Brew Thrus on OBX.  Well, they are everywhere!  Not only can you drive through to pick up some beer, but they also have an extensive collection of seasonal t-shirts, which Kevin told us about.  (He had a few in his pack on his bike.)  So, we couldn't just drive by without driving thru!  Sandy was willing to buy a beer, but you can't buy single beers at the Brew Thru (only the 24oz-ers), so instead we chose to browse their options for t-shirts and other wearable items.  The staff was very helpful, and quite persuasive!

Hatteras Lighthouse

Wednesday, August 28 – Sandy loves lighthouses, so this visit was pretty exciting too.  The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is tallest in North and South America, and we climbed all the way to the top – the equivalent of 12 stories.  And it’s pretty windy up there!

The most amazing thing about the lighthouse is that they moved it about a ¼ mile back in 1999, since the shoreline had changed and had gotten within 175 feet of the lighthouse.  When it was built back in 1870, it was about ¼ mile from the shoreline, so it is now back at a distance safe from the sea for a few more generations.

Hatteras Ferry and Island

Wednesday, August 28 – The next stop on OBX was Hattaras Island, and guess what… we get to take another ferry!  This one is only 30 minutes.  We’ve been using Google Maps as our primary navigation throughout the road trip (a couple of tries using the Apple Maps app proved that it is indeed very inferiors, even outside NYC), so we liked the visual on the app for taking the ferry:

On the way to the ferry, we headed into the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, where there is absolutely no commercial development.  Just a road through the dunes.

The Ocracoke-Hatteras ferry is a finely-tuned machine.  At least 3 boats going at once shuttling people back and forth.  Since Sandy is a lover of transportation infrastructure, this was also a fun event!  She thoroughly enjoyed every detail, from driving onto the boat, the bustle of all the boats coming into the dock, and even the seagull on the top of the flagpole.  As we approached the other side, everyone jumped back into their cars and turned on their engines - without even any cue from the crew.  Clearly they were a bunch of regulars.  In the excitement of driving off, Sandy started moving immediately as the car in front of us moved, but she then got a quick reprimand from one of the crew members:  "Stop ma'am!  You need to wait!"  Clearly, we are not regulars.  He made us back up and wait our turn until he let cars off from the other side, we're assuming so that the boat is unloaded evenly.  Lesson learned!