Win-deeeee!!! That's the best way to describe it here on the Outer Banks! It's been quite windy everyday we've been here so far. There were even a couple nights when a storm rolled in, the wind reached about 45 mph, and the RV was a-rockin'! For those of you who may not know, the Outer Banks are a group of islands on the North Carolina coast that separate the Atlantic Ocean from the coastal sounds and inlets. These
islands with their beaches, sand dunes, marshes, and woodlands are all part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore operated by the National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/caha/). Oh, and there are about a dozen geese here at the Camp Hatteras Campground that pretty much have free rein of the grounds and leave their droppings everywhere!
Generally we travel on Mondays to our next destination (to avoid a lot of the traffic), then spend the weekdays sightseeing (to avoid the crowds), and hang around home on the weekends. But this leg of the journey we traveled on Friday because of Memorial Day weekend next week which sort of dictated travel and reservations. One of the disadvantages of a Coast to Coast membership is that participating resorts and campgrounds have blackout dates for members over holidays. Thus we will be staying at a KOA in Virginia Beach at the prevailing rate of roughly $60/night. Yes, we realize it will be crazy busy th
ere over Memorial weekend, but remember…we live in our RV fulltime so have to stay somewhere!
The day we left Chocowinity was overcast with occasional rain the entire trip. But on the way we drove by some beautiful fields of flowers, crossed several bridges, and passed by the Bodie Island Lighthouse (pronounced like body). Though the tower remains closed to the public, it is still a functioning navigational aid for ships at sea. For more info on this lighthouse, go to http://www.nps.gov/archive/caha/bodielh.htm.
Anyway, since we arrived at Waves, NC, on Fri., we really didn't go anywhere over the weekend except that Russ and I walked down to the beach at least 2 or 3 times a day. We’ve checked out high tide and low tide. As mentioned before, Russ is not really a beach person so he still wore his tennis shoes and avoided getting them wet. In fact, I’m not sure who ran from incoming water faster, Russ or the little shorebirds! They do ha
ve some fast little legs and are funny to watch (I’m referring to the birds, of course.) I, on the other hand, wear shorts and my flip-flops pretty much no matter the temp so I can walk along the edge of the water barefoot and not worry about getting pants legs wet. The water temp up here is cooler than it was in Myrtle Beach. If you remember the water temp ther
e was about 71…here it’s about 61! When we've walked in the late afternoon or early evening, I generally wear a jacket or light sweater because it’s fairly breezy and cool. The beach here is loaded with shells, most broken from the pounding and crashing of the waves, but we’ve found some intact and been collecting some on our walks (not sure what we’re going to do with them). It is amazing all the variations in color the various types of shells have. We also took some time to finally watch From the Earth to the Moon, that wonderful series that was on HBO a couple years ago produced by Tom Hanks. We had purchased the DVD set before we hit the road and had never cracked the cellophane on it till this weekend. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth the watch if you get the chance....excellent series.
On Monday Scott, Russ, and I drove down to the south end of the island to visit the f
amous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in America. It’s located in this particular spot to warn travelers off shore in this area known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic”, so named because of the large number of ships that have run aground because of the shifting sandbars. In the past 500 years nearly 2,000 ships have sunk in this area. During the Civil War, the lighthouse was attacked by both Union and Confederate forces, and over the years, three different Cape Hatteras Lighthouses have existed. The lighthouse is still operational with the light able to be seen for nearly 20 miles in good clear conditions. It stands 208 feet tall and has 268 steps to the top (which we chose not to climb). We were fortunate to arrive just in time for a presentation by a Park Ranger on the history of the lighthouse.
On the way
to the lighthouse, we had passed a sign noting a Civil War Marker was at the next turn. It marked the spot where a Union ship was captured in 1861, its ammunition and supplies delivered to the Confederate troops, and then put into service for the Confederate troops 3 days later. There was really nothing to see other than a placard with all this info but within walking distance was a small cemetery surrounded by a picket fence. It didn’t appear that anyone famous was buried there and most died in the early to mid-1900s, but was a peaceful little scene with the headstones facing out towards Pamlico Sound.
After our visit to the lighthouse, it was time for lunch. We had been told at th
e visitor center on our way to the island about a restaurant called Quarterdeck that was not far from the lighthouse. There seems to be no shortage of restaurants on the islands, and I’m sure that during tourist season (which begins Memorial weekend) the places are packed. We could find hardly any info on Quarterdeck but since it had come very highly recommended by the couple at the visitor center, we decided to give it a try. It’s nothing pretentious, in fact looks like a simple white house on the outside and nothing fancy inside. Our waitress wasn’t the best but the crab bisque we all ordered to start things off was phenomenal! Piping hot and thick with lots of crab meat! The rest of our meal was tasty, so i
t had been a good choice after all.
islands with their beaches, sand dunes, marshes, and woodlands are all part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore operated by the National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/caha/). Oh, and there are about a dozen geese here at the Camp Hatteras Campground that pretty much have free rein of the grounds and leave their droppings everywhere!Generally we travel on Mondays to our next destination (to avoid a lot of the traffic), then spend the weekdays sightseeing (to avoid the crowds), and hang around home on the weekends. But this leg of the journey we traveled on Friday because of Memorial Day weekend next week which sort of dictated travel and reservations. One of the disadvantages of a Coast to Coast membership is that participating resorts and campgrounds have blackout dates for members over holidays. Thus we will be staying at a KOA in Virginia Beach at the prevailing rate of roughly $60/night. Yes, we realize it will be crazy busy th
ere over Memorial weekend, but remember…we live in our RV fulltime so have to stay somewhere!The day we left Chocowinity was overcast with occasional rain the entire trip. But on the way we drove by some beautiful fields of flowers, crossed several bridges, and passed by the Bodie Island Lighthouse (pronounced like body). Though the tower remains closed to the public, it is still a functioning navigational aid for ships at sea. For more info on this lighthouse, go to http://www.nps.gov/archive/caha/bodielh.htm.
Anyway, since we arrived at Waves, NC, on Fri., we really didn't go anywhere over the weekend except that Russ and I walked down to the beach at least 2 or 3 times a day. We’ve checked out high tide and low tide. As mentioned before, Russ is not really a beach person so he still wore his tennis shoes and avoided getting them wet. In fact, I’m not sure who ran from incoming water faster, Russ or the little shorebirds! They do ha
ve some fast little legs and are funny to watch (I’m referring to the birds, of course.) I, on the other hand, wear shorts and my flip-flops pretty much no matter the temp so I can walk along the edge of the water barefoot and not worry about getting pants legs wet. The water temp up here is cooler than it was in Myrtle Beach. If you remember the water temp ther
e was about 71…here it’s about 61! When we've walked in the late afternoon or early evening, I generally wear a jacket or light sweater because it’s fairly breezy and cool. The beach here is loaded with shells, most broken from the pounding and crashing of the waves, but we’ve found some intact and been collecting some on our walks (not sure what we’re going to do with them). It is amazing all the variations in color the various types of shells have. We also took some time to finally watch From the Earth to the Moon, that wonderful series that was on HBO a couple years ago produced by Tom Hanks. We had purchased the DVD set before we hit the road and had never cracked the cellophane on it till this weekend. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth the watch if you get the chance....excellent series.On Monday Scott, Russ, and I drove down to the south end of the island to visit the f
amous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in America. It’s located in this particular spot to warn travelers off shore in this area known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic”, so named because of the large number of ships that have run aground because of the shifting sandbars. In the past 500 years nearly 2,000 ships have sunk in this area. During the Civil War, the lighthouse was attacked by both Union and Confederate forces, and over the years, three different Cape Hatteras Lighthouses have existed. The lighthouse is still operational with the light able to be seen for nearly 20 miles in good clear conditions. It stands 208 feet tall and has 268 steps to the top (which we chose not to climb). We were fortunate to arrive just in time for a presentation by a Park Ranger on the history of the lighthouse.On the way
to the lighthouse, we had passed a sign noting a Civil War Marker was at the next turn. It marked the spot where a Union ship was captured in 1861, its ammunition and supplies delivered to the Confederate troops, and then put into service for the Confederate troops 3 days later. There was really nothing to see other than a placard with all this info but within walking distance was a small cemetery surrounded by a picket fence. It didn’t appear that anyone famous was buried there and most died in the early to mid-1900s, but was a peaceful little scene with the headstones facing out towards Pamlico Sound.After our visit to the lighthouse, it was time for lunch. We had been told at th
e visitor center on our way to the island about a restaurant called Quarterdeck that was not far from the lighthouse. There seems to be no shortage of restaurants on the islands, and I’m sure that during tourist season (which begins Memorial weekend) the places are packed. We could find hardly any info on Quarterdeck but since it had come very highly recommended by the couple at the visitor center, we decided to give it a try. It’s nothing pretentious, in fact looks like a simple white house on the outside and nothing fancy inside. Our waitress wasn’t the best but the crab bisque we all ordered to start things off was phenomenal! Piping hot and thick with lots of crab meat! The rest of our meal was tasty, so i
t had been a good choice after all. Driving back we encountered this unique little “house” with alien creatures drawn on some of the windows. It appears to have a furnace, smoke stacks, and you could see a small mirror through one of the windows so we’re assuming someone liv
es in it. That night Russ and I went to the beach a little later than we had been going and got to see the moon rise over the ocean. What a beautiful sight.
Tues. we hung around the RV most of the day and then took Mikey and Abby to the beach late afternoon shortly before a storm rolled in. As usual Mikey pretty much just walked along the water's edge while Abby ran and played in and out of the water!
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