Carolina Shore - Ocean, Seafood, History & More!

[giradman]

EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, NC

Well, just a last post (for the moment ) about another 'new' activity for us in the Wilmington area - the film industry - North Carolina is one of the major states for the film/TV industry, in part due to the state incentives for financing these expensive projects.

A major studio in the area is EUE/Screen Gems Studios - a quote from their website HERE - take a look, pretty amazing place - we did a tour which was conducted by film students on internships there (they were young and so enthusiastic) - just one pic below of the studios - Iron Man 3 (if you've seen the film) was filmed there using nearly all of the studios - Dave

Since 1985, more than 350 film, television and commercial projects have shot on the 50-acre sound stage lot in coastal Wilmington, North Carolina. Recent films include “Iron Man 3” for Marvel and “The Conjuring” and “We’re the Millers” for New Line/Warner Bros. Recent television projects include “Under the Dome” for CBS, “Eastbound and Down” for HBO and “Sleepy Hollow” for Fox Television.

The full-service studio lot offers 10 stages with 150,000 sq. ft. of column-free shooting space. Production support includes multiple mills, storage, wardrobe space, special effects water facilities, production-ready office suites and on-site lighting, electric and grip.

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[giradman]

Well, I had forgotten about my Carolina Coastal Travelogue, so duplicating a post left earlier in the history thread about Roanoke Island which is the isle crossed on HW 64 to reach the northern Outer Banks; the other 'southern' option is a ferry ride (w/ your car) from Cedar Island near Beaufort, North Carolina to Ocracoke Island - we made the latter 'water trip' in the mid-1970s, and have taken the northern route about a half dozen times over the decades.

SO, I'll be adding some more posts on the North Carolina coastal area, including in a month or so a return trip for us to the Beaufort-Moorehead City-Atlantic Beach area - Dave

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Roanoke Island - First English Colony on North Carolina Coast Found Deserted in 1590?

In 1585, the first attempt to establish an English settlement was on Roanoke Island (about a 4 1/2 hr drive for us - see maps below) - Sir Walter Raleigh was the impetus w/ the help of Elizabeth I behind the colony although he never traveled there - our state capital is named after him (and the state of Virginia after Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen). The island lies between the mainland and the upper Outer Banks of North Carolina (site of the 1903 flight of the Wright Brothers).

Virginia Dare (grand daughter of John White, the governor of Roanoke Island) was the first 'English child' born in the American colonies. White was also an excellent artist and made many watercolors of the American Natives, their culture, and the nearby flora & fauna - an excellent exhibit of his original paintings was held at the NC Museum of History not too long ago (I may have posted pics in one of the forums here?). The Spanish Armada in 1585 delayed a return to Roanoke Island and on this day in 1590, White finally arrived and found a deserted colony which remains unexplained to this day.

On Roanoke Island today, there is a National Historic site (pics below) which has a number of attractions, including an outdoor drama, The Lost Colony - the now deceased actor & television star, Andy Griffith performed in the drama from 1947 to 1953 in the role of Raleigh. Also, one of the three NC Aquariums is located on the island and is worth a visit. Dave

The Roanoke Island colony, the first English settlement in the New World, was founded by English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in August 1585. The first Roanoke colonists did not fare well, suffering from dwindling food supplies and Indian attacks, and in 1586 they returned to England aboard a ship captained by Sir Francis Drake. In 1587, Raleigh sent out another group of 100 colonists under John White. White returned to England to procure more supplies, but the war with Spain delayed his return to Roanoke. By the time he finally returned in August 1590, everyone had vanished (Source).

John White, the governor of the Roanoke Island colony in present-day North Carolina, returns from a supply-trip to England to find the settlement deserted. White and his men found no trace of the 100 or so colonists he left behind, and there was no sign of violence. Among the missing were Ellinor Dare, White’s daughter; and Virginia Dare, White’s granddaughter and the first English child born in America. August 18 was to have been Virginia’s third birthday. The only clue to their mysterious disappearance was the word “CROATOAN” carved into the palisade that had been built around the settlement. White took the letters to mean that the colonists had moved to Croatoan Island, some 50 miles away, but a later search of the island found none of the settlers (Source).

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[giradman]

Roanoke Island - John White - David Stick (author)

Well, I've reactivated this travel thread w/ a discussion of Roanoke Island, the first attempt to establish an English colony in the Americas in the 1580s; of course, the first 'permanent' one was Jamestown on the James River in Virginia in 1607 (all named after the English King, James I). John White (c. 1540 - c. 1593) was the governor of the Roanoke colony, and the grandfather of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the Americas - he was also a wonderful watercolor artist and left numerous paintings of his observations of the Native Americans of the area and their culture, along w/ images of the flora and fauna in the vicinity. He returned in 1590 (delayed by funding issues because of the Spanish Armada of 1585) to find his colony deserted and never found his family.

White's paintings are preserved in the British Museum and nearly 10 years ago were on tour, including a visit to the NC Museum of History, which Susan & I attended - BOY, these are much better seen 'in person' and are in remarkable condition for watercolors from the late 16th century! Pics below are just a few of the examples of White's art - some are the paintings while others are engravings, especially from Theodor de Bry, as described in the quotes below.

Finally, David Stick (1919-2009), a resident of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and a local historian who has written a number of books about the Banks - I own several of his publications, including the one shown below, Roanoke Island - The Beginnings of English America (1983, almost 400 years after the colony was started) - if you plan to visit the island, then the book is highly recommended. Dave

White’s work is widely known through adaptations by other artists, especially Theodor de Bry, whose engravings after White’s watercolors illustrate a 1590 edition of Thomas Harriot’s “A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia.”

All of White’s drawings are in the British Museum’s collection and are on public display as an entire group for the first time in 40 years. Described by the United Kingdom’s Telegraph as “an enthralling exhibition” that “emphasizes not just the cultural importance of the works, but the humanity of the artist who made them,” “A New World: England’s First View of America” debuted at the British Museum from March to June 2007 and also will be shown at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, N.C., and the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Conn.........(Source)

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[scifan57]

Apparently the skeletal remains of several of the lost colonists, including Virginia Dare, have been recently found. USA: Archaeologists Discover Remains of First British Settlers in North America

 

[giradman]

Apparently the skeletal remains of several of the lost colonists, including Virginia Dare, have been recently found. USA: Archaeologists Discover Remains of First British Settlers in North America

Scifan.. - great link - thanks! I had not really kept track of that research, just so much going on in this area of the USA concerning historic origins and relationships - I guess someone needs to update Stick's book w/ another chapter? Dave

 

[scifan57]

Scifan.. - great link - thanks! I had not really kept track of that research, just so much going on in this area of the USA concerning historic origins and relationships - I guess someone needs to update Stick's book w/ another chapter? Dave

In a sense it's no longer a lost colony anymore since we now know the fate of some of the colonists. It'll be interesting if further research reveals if there are any living descendants of these colonists.

 

[giradman]

In a sense it's no longer a lost colony anymore since we now know the fate of some of the colonists. It'll be interesting if further research reveals if there are any living descendants of these colonists.

Well, you're right w/ the finding of Virginia Dare - stated that she died at about 20 y/o - I imagine if those 'lost colonists' were enslaved, could she have reproduced? Would require a lot of further (and expensive) research, but who knows? Dave

 

[giradman]

Outer Banks North Carolina - Part 1

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is a major tourist attraction - brief description below. The first map shows the geographic extent of these islands, north from the Corolla area, through the communities of Duck, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, and Nags Head, all near Roanoke Island (just a reminder to visit the Roanoke Island Aquarium, one of three in NC) - continuing south over the bridge at Oregon Inlet and toward the Hatteras Lighthouse; finally a short ferry ride connects the southern portion of the Outer Banks on Ocracoke Island.

In the northern portion of the banks, there are plenty of places to stay and some excellent restaurants - up near Corolla, wild horses can be seen and my favorite of the half dozen or so major NC coastal lighthouses is there, i.e. the Currituck Lighthouse - love the exposed brick (being such a lighthouse lover, I'll put together a post on these structures). Of course, there are plenty of outdoor activities, too numerous to mention. And finally, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, in 1903, the Wright Brothers made their famous flight(s) w/ Wilbur on the plane, which is now in the National Air and Space Museum, as shown below.

In the second part of this Outer Banks posting, I'll continue south to Ocracoke Island - Dave

The Outer Banks is a 200-mile-long (320 km) string of narrow peninsulas and barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina and a small portion of Virginia, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States. They cover most of the North Carolina coastline, separating the Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean. The Outer Banks are a major tourist destination and are known around the world for their subtropical climate and wide expanse of open beachfront. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore has four campgrounds. The treacherous seas off the Outer Banks and the large number of shipwrecks that have occurred there have given these seas the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic, and the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is located in Hatteras Village near the United States Coast Guard facility and Hatteras ferry (Source).

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[scifan57]

Outer Banks North Carolina - Part 1

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is a major tourist attraction - brief description below. The first map shows the geographic extent of these islands, north from the Corolla area, through the communities of Duck, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, and Nags Head, all near Roanoke Island (just a reminder to visit the Roanoke Island Aquarium, one of three in NC) - continuing south over the bridge at Oregon Inlet and toward the Hatteras Lighthouse; finally a short ferry ride connects the southern portion of the Outer Banks on Ocracoke Island.

In the northern portion of the banks, there are plenty of places to stay and some excellent restaurants - up near Corolla, wild horses can be seen and my favorite of the half dozen or so major NC coastal lighthouses is there, i.e. the Currituck Lighthouse - love the exposed brick (being such a lighthouse lover, I'll put together a post on these structures). Of course, there are plenty of outdoor activities, too numerous to mention. And finally, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, in 1903, the Wright Brothers made their famous flight(s) w/ Wilbur on the plane, which is now in the National Air and Space Museum, as shown below.

In the second part of this Outer Banks posting, I'll continue south to Ocracoke Island - Dave


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I've seen a full scale replica of the Wright plane at the Museum of Science and Technology in Chicago. It uses an original Wright engine and was actually flown.

 

[giradman]

I've seen a full scale replica of the Wright plane at the Museum of Science and Technology in Chicago. It uses an original Wright engine and was actually flown.

I've been to that Chicago Museum many times but has been a while - I'm sure that I saw the replica if it was there on my visits - cannot remember - there is SO MUCH to see in that place!

But just another pic below from the Kill Devil Hills flight, along w/ a quote - Dave

First successful flight of the Wright Flyer, by the Wright brothers. The machine traveled 120 ft (36.6 m) in 12 seconds at 10:35 a.m. at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Orville Wright was at the controls of the machine, lying prone on the lower wing with his hips in the cradle which operated the wing-warping mechanism. Wilbur Wright ran alongside to balance the machine, and just released his hold on the forward upright of the right wing in the photo. The starting rail, the wing-rest, a coil box, and other items needed for flight preparation are visible behind the machine. This is described as "the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air, powered flight" by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, but is not listed by the FAI as an official record (Source).

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[scifan57]

I've been to that Chicago Museum many times but has been a while - I'm sure that I saw the replica if it was there on my visits - cannot remember - there is SO MUCH to see in that place!

But just another pic below from the Kill Devil Hills flight, along w/ a quote - Dave


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If you remember the room with the cutaway 707 hanging from the ceiling, it was there.

I believe that that photo of the first powered flight in your post is the only photograph of the event.

 

[giradman]

If you remember the room with the cutaway 707 hanging from the ceiling, it was there.

I believe that that photo of the first powered flight in your post is the only photograph of the event.

Yes, that was w/ Orville at the controls - believe they made a small number of flights there - the previous photo I showed was w/ Wilbur on board, so must have been one of the few other ones that followed. Dave

 

[scifan57]

I believe your previous photo was of one of their many glider flights prior to the first powered flight.

 

[giradman]

I believe your previous photo was of one of their many glider flights prior to the first powered flight.

Hey, you're right, as usual - just re-looked and it's only a glider - need to read that link given previously more closely - thanks for the correction. Dave

 

[scifan57]

Hey, you're right, as usual - just re-looked and it's only a glider - need to read that link given previously more closely - thanks for the correction. Dave

No problem.