The Outer Banks

When I read in our road trip guide that we could drive along these little tiny islands off the coast of North Carolina called the "Outer Banks," I was ridiculously excited.  I don't know why.  Maybe in part because the first island is only accessible by ferry (which I've never been on before and have always wanted to go on) or because when you look at the islands on a map, they look so little that it seemed like you'd be practically driving through the ocean.  Regardless of why I was excited, the really important thing is that, like so many things on our trip, the Outer Banks didn't disappoint.
Now, if you're a visual learner like me, then you should appreciate this map, which will show you where we started and where we ended up:

So at the very bottom of the map, you can see most of Ocracoke Island, which, since we were obviously coming from the South, was our first stop.  We got up on Thursday morning and drove an hour from Morehead City/Beaufort to get to Cedar Island in time to board our 11 a.m. ferry (but you have to get there like half an hour early or so).  I don't know why, but I was SUPER nervous about taking the ferry.  I mean, I was excited because I knew it would be fun, but I guess I just wasn't sure what to expect logistics-wise because I had never done anything like that before.  Turns out, it was completely stupid to be nervous.  You literally wait for the guys to wave you on the boat, you follow the car in front of you, and a guy even tells you how far forward to pull your car.  Then you put it in park, turn off your engine, and enjoy the ride.  Easy peasy.  But don't worry, I managed to mess up every time we got on and off a ferry (mostly because you do nothing, do nothing, do nothing, and then all of a sudden, everyone's ready to go and bam, cars are leaving!).  The trip from Cedar Island to Ocracoke, even though it's only like 30 miles away, takes like 2.5 hours, so after wandering around the boat for a bit, KR and I took a little nappy nap because we were pretty much always tired.  So when we docked, my seat was still back, my keys were in my purse in the back seat, and I was in la-la land.  I look up, and the car in front of me is already off the boat.  CRAP!  So I frantically had to grab my keys and get my shit together to catch up.  Definitely embarrassing.  Good thing I have California plates, so I'm sure they just rolled their eyes and said "Californians."  (You're welcome, everyone from California.  I'm giving our State a good name).  My note of advice when taking ferrys: pay attention and be ready to go! :)

Katie and I sitting in a car, on a boat.  Seriously such a trippy feeling because your car isn't moving, but you're moving.  Does that make sense?  Whatever, it was weird.  Also, I kept getting images of all those  bad guy/good guy scenes on ferries in movies, where someone is like handcuffed to the steering wheel but then they start the car and drive off the back of the ferry into the ocean and yea, you get the idea.  It was just funny.

 Soooo windy!

So again, after 2.5 hours, a tour of the boat, a nap, and a fumble with the keys, we arrived on Ocracoke, which is a legit beautiful island/old fishing village.  Picturesque is a great way to describe it.  Just a small town with beautiful houses, shops, beaches, restaurants, and lots of charm.  Also, it was once the home of America's most notorious pirate, Blackbeard, who was beheaded nearby (that's your fun fact for the day; I love all the pirate stuff on the  east coast-soo cool!).  Anyway, our first stop was the Ocracoke Lighthouse.  I was super excited to see a lighthouse because it just seemed like a very Carolina Coast thing to do, and also, I'd never seen one before.  This one was built in 1823 and it's the oldest beacon still operating in NC.

Since we were starving, our next stop was The Corner Crepe, which was a little crepe trailer run by two young surfer dude buddies.  We not only picked up some yummy food, but we also got some real shark teeth, which were humanely sourced.  According to the boys, the gravel that "paves" the streets is piped in from the ocean, and there are lots of shark teeth among the rocks/shells/etc, some of which are petrified.  Cool.  After roaming around the village part of Ocracoke, we drove the 14-ish miles to the other side of the island to catch one of the frequent ferries to Hatteras.

Once we got in to Hatteras, we stopped for some monster ice cream cones (cuz that's what you do) and then we continued on to the Hatteras Lighthouse, which again, I was super excited to skope out.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest brick beacon in America, standing at 210 feet, and the stripped black and white pattern serves as a warning to mariners of the dangerous submerged and shifting sandbars that extend off the island (aka, the reason this area is known as the "Graveyard of the Altantic."  This treacherous stretch of moving sandbars has caused more than 2,000 shipwrecks!).  Originally constructed in 1870, it was moved a half mile inland in 1999 because at that time, the coast had been eroded and was a mere 120 feet from the base!  It's now the same distance from the ocean as it was when it was originally constructed.  KR and I obviously climbed the 268 steps to the top and were rewarded with a spectacularly beautiful view.  We also chatted with the ranger at the top for a bit and learned a lot of interesting facts about this, and really all, lighthouses.  Fascinating.

You can tell from this photo (from the top of the lighthouse) how lucky we were with the weather!  While we had received severe storm warnings a few days before in Savannah, we were super lucky to have a perfectly clear, warm, sunny though breezey (per the usual, this is a top rated area for wind surfing for a reason) day.

 Look out below!

Post lighthouse, KR and I continued to drive until we found a place to pull over so we could hit up the beach.  This wasn't hard to do because the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (the first coastline to be protected as a national park) stretches for 75 miles throughout the Outer Banks, most of which is accessible to visitors.  We practically had the beach to ourselves and the water was warm.  Perfection!

The only downside to the drive along the Outer Banks is that, especially on the eastern side, but also on the western side for the most part, they build up the sand dunes so you can't really see the water from the car.  Of course, this helps protect the island from erosion and storm surges and what-not, so at least it serves a good purpose.  Also, walking around on the dunes made me think of that movie To Jillian on her 37th Birthday where the dad comes out to dunes just like this to talk to his dead wife's ghost.  It was just like that.  Except without the ghost.

After enjoying our time on the beach, we hopped in the car and headed over to Roanoke Island.  Since it was getting late, we figured everything would be pretty much closed, but we still felt like it would be a good idea to at least go there.  For all you non history buffs, Roanoke Island is significant because it's the site of the very first English settlement in North America.  In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh established a colony on Roanoke but it was not successful, so the survivors returned to England pretty quickly.  In 1587 a larger expedition of 110 colonists arrived.  When one of the founders sailed back to England for supplies, expecting to return within three months, he was met instead with an England in the throws of war with Spain, and all ships were commandeered for the war effort.  By the time he got back to Roanoke in 1590, the settlers had disappeared without a trace, which is why the settlement is referred to as "The Lost Colony."  There are lots of theories about what happened to the settlers, and anthropologists continue to do their best to figure out what really did happen.  In the meantime, you can catch the second-longest running play in the US, The Lost Colony on Roanoke Island.  KR and I were too tired to do that, but we did attempt to see the Elizabethan Gardens, which were built as a living memorial to Sir Walter Raleigh's lost colonists.  We thought we made it in time, but alas, we did not.  We couldn't go "in" the gardens, but we could sort of roam around the entryway.  Very beautiful and probably worth a trip.

By the time we were done with all this stuff, KR and I were starting to get tired and hungry.  It was time to look for a hotel in Nags Head, but sadly, everything was either booked or too expensive.  We checked our handy-dandy road trip guide and SCORE, we found info for the Sea Foam Motel.  It had a room available at the right price, and better yet, the hotel was sea foam green and right. on. the. beach.  I doubt there's a better bargain to be had.  It's definitely old and stuffy, but it did the job. (PS sea foam isn't green.  It's white.  Unless you're looking at some nasty ocean water.  Why is it called sea foam green?!?!)  We ate Sam & Omies, another guide suggestion, and tried their award-winning clam chowder.  It was good, but brothy instead of creamy, which was weird (or really, unexpected?).  Then we crashed for the night. 

The next morning we got up bright and early and headed over to the Wright Brothers National Memorial.  We arrived just in time to hear the first "interpretive presentation" of the day, and learned a bit about the brothers Wright.  Long story short, the brothers were mechanical whizzes and entrepreneurs and studied birds to figure out how to control a flying device.  Before the brothers took a stab at it, engineers had been using sheer power to get planes in the air, and then using shifting body weight to steer the plane.  The brothers, instead, realized that there are three axis of movement that when used correctly, will allow you to have controlled flight.  These are yaw, pitch and roll (duh).  Anyway, after a lot of trial and error, the brothers, who had chosen Kill Devil Hills (not actually Kitty Hawk) as their test area simply because it's one of the windiest places in the US, is secluded, and locals offered Southern Hospitality, made their first successful flight on December 17, 1903.  There were actually a total of 4 successful flights that day, with each brother getting turns at the "wheel."  The first flight was flown by little brother Orville, who flew for 12 seconds and went 120 feet.  The last flight was manned by older brother Wilbur who flew 852 feet in 59 seconds.  They would have done more test flights, but a gust of wind tumbled the Wright Flyer and busted it.  There's obviously a lot more to the story than just that, but if you want to know more, google it your own self, or, better yet, go to the memorial :)

PS, I have to tell you that Kill Devil Hills got it's name because ships frequently carried barrels of rum and when they got wrecked the barrels would end up on the sand dunes nearby.  When locals went to "salvage" the rum, which the English referred to as "Kill Devil," they would sometimes hide it in the dunes, thus creating the name Kill Devil Hills.  Love it.

Full scale replicas of the Wright brother's glider and flyer:

Replicas of the house/warehouse where the brothers would live/work while in the area preparing for test flights.

Rock marking the spot of the first controlled flight.  Note that it's not on the hill.  Those brothers also had their flyer take off from flat ground!

 You can kinda see markers of all four flights down the way.

 Memorial Tower dedicated in 1932 (and attended by Orville, but not Wilbur because he had died of Typhoid fever in 1912).  It says: "In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conceived by genius achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith."  Awww.

And our favorite part: the bronze statue recreation of the famous photo of the first flight that you're allowed to climb on!  Orville is flying and Wilbur is helping to push him off and waving him on!

Pfewf!  So even though the Outer Banks are itty bitty, there's still a lot to see and do out there.  You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be vacationing in the Carolinas and Georgia throughout my lifetime.  It's all too gorgeous.  After we left the Wright Brothers, we headed on up to Virginia!

-ENCM