Outer Banks - North Carolina

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Ocracoke - Full Day Activities

Our day on Ocracoke was full of activities which can be divided into those related to nature and those having to do with history of the island:

Horses of Ocracoke - as w/ a number of these barrier islands on the Virginia and Carolina coast, Ocracoke also has wild horses (check first quote and link for more information); once 'free range', the horses have been corralled since 1959 and are cared for by the Park Service.

Ocracoke Seashore - much of the island is part of the Hatteras National Seashore and multiple access points to the beach are available - we stopped at several and walked on the beach which stretches for miles (just two pics below).

Hammock Hills Nature Trail - just 3/4 mile (seemed LONGER!) w/ an observation platform looking over the northern marsh and marine forest; Pamlico Sound in the background - very buggy, so use spray before walking.

British Cemetery - part of the story quoted below; a well kept small cemetery honoring the British sailors who lost their lives when their ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat near Ocracoke; 4 bodies washed up on the island's shore - two were identified and the other two not - all four are buried on Ocracoke Island.

Ocracoke Preservation Museum - see third quote; located in a small house dating to 1900 - multiple rooms filled w/ history of the island - just pics of one of the rooms below. One of the most interesting attractions was a video & exhibit explaining the 'Ocracoke accents or brogue' - when spoken rapidly by a 'native', the English was barely understood by Susan & I - fascinating!

We lunched at Howard's Pub and shared our 6th dozen oysters on the half shell during this trip (averaging 1 dozen a day!) - the shrimp salad & the Mahi Mahi sandwich which we split were superb - we returned for drinks after our 'buggy & sweaty' nature walk - there are about two dozen beers on tap (I had a Natty Greene IPA - made in Greensboro). Then a little shopping and back to our B & B before dinner at the Back Porch - last night's dinner at the Flying Melon was superb, so expecting good food tonight. Dave






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My enjoyment of the nature trail was somewhat marred by the dozens of mosquito bites I incurred. All in all, the Outer Banks are scenic and tranquil (except in the Nags Head area). I love to be near the water, call the ocean “nature’s Valium."

 

[suenc]

Wild Horses of Corolla - Part 1

After a light lunch at the North Banks Restaurant & Raw Bar (shared a dozen oysters again!), we entered the old Corolla Village and went to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund Museum and Gift Shop - signed up for a 'horse tour' which is done in an open 4W drive truck w/ seat belts definitely needed - HW 12 ends as a paved road and continues on the beach for 10+ miles to the Virginia (VA) border (see pics and map below).

There are several communities living 'on the sand' w/ sand roads - pics below show a number of these houses w/ several from the web that are obviously expensive properties. One of the larger of these housing collections is the town of Carova near the VA state line - this was a BUMPY 2-hour tour in which we learned about the wild horses, which wander the beaches and the towns - we saw nearly 3 dozen horses and pics will be shown in the next post. Dave
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VERY bumpy ride on the beach, the only way to view the wild horses. Fun, though.

 

[giradman]

Lovely start to an interesting week. As you can see, Wilbur wasn’t particularly interested in talking to me.

GREAT! Susan is back on her iMac and commenting - yes, I agree w/ the above - Wilbur had his head in the clouds, I guess? You had better luck w/ Bernie Baruch last month at Brookgreen Gardens -
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[suenc]

Outer Banks - Some Final Comments

Yesterday's 'leg' of our OBX trip was enjoyable - 2 1/4 hr smooth ride on a 'new' ferry boat was relaxing followed by a beautiful drive through the Cedar Island Refuge to New Bern (see map w/ ferry insert). We dined quite well - the second image is a listing of the restaurants that we had lunch or dinner in the various towns visited - all are recommended and varied greatly in price - the ones marked w/ an * had raw offerings - we shared 7 dozen oysters, all from either Virginia or North Carolina - and all excellent!

For those viewing this travelogue and are thinking about a trip (or a return visit) to the Outer Banks, please feel free to ask questions - we obviously accomplished a LOT on this journey but there are many other things to do, e.g. ocean swimming, water activities, horse rides on the beach, fishing, and the list goes on. Dave

P.S. On this trip, we covered nearly 950 miles by car & about 30 miles by ferry!
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As you can plainly see by the above posts, one does not lounge by the pool or languish on the beach when one travels with Giradman. One covers a lot of ground.

 

[giradman]

As you can plainly see by the above posts, one does not lounge by the pool or languish on the beach when one travels with Giradman. One covers a lot of ground.

LOL! Funny that we did the 'pool & beach' scene so MANY times in our younger years, both on vacations and at many of the medical meetings attended (e.g. Caribbean & Mexico coasts); now in our 'older years' when walking is more difficult and aches common, we are now 'touring' more - Dave

P.S. Just to show a pretty pic I took decades ago at one of our medical meetings on St. Thomas Island of the beautiful Magens Bay - we probably attended 3 - 4 departmental meetings there and at least twice spent the entire day under some beach palm trees, just relaxing, occasionally taking a dip, reading, and finding some snacks and drinks - I bet Susan misses those experiences!
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[scifan57]

LOL! Funny that we did the 'pool & beach' scene so MANY times in our younger years, both on vacations and at many of the medical meetings attended (e.g. Caribbean & Mexico coasts); now in our 'older years' when walking is more difficult and aches common, we are now 'touring' more - Dave

P.S. Just to show a pretty pic I took decades ago at one of our medical meetings on St. Thomas Island of the beautiful Magens Bay - we probably attended 3 - 4 departmental meetings there and at least twice spent the entire day under some beach palm trees, just relaxing, occasionally taking a dip, reading, and finding some snacks and drinks - I bet Susan misses those experiences!
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I visited St. Thomas in 1981 while I was in the navy. Our ship was anchored in the bay off Charlotte Amalie.

 

[giradman]

I visited St. Thomas in 1981 while I was in the navy. Our ship was anchored in the bay off Charlotte Amalie.

Our radiology department back then had a summer meeting (which I ran w/ a colleague on the South Carolina coast in June) and a winter meeting in February (usually in the Caribbean or Mexico) - St. Thomas was our locale for 6+ years and Susan & I attended alternating meetings - we held the conference at the Frenchman's Reef Resort (just across the bay from Charlotte Amalie - map & pic below from web) - the food was excellent and touring great - usually went to Megans Bay and also to St. John island, a short boat trip and yet another beautiful bay to spend a day.

Probably, one of my favorite memories from those trips to St. Thomas was taking an actual 'tourist' submarine (the Atlantis - assume newer versions are still available - couple of pics below found on the web), which indeed submerged - BIG windows to see the sea life - divers would appear to feed the fish - wonderful experience that I'd do again! We keep debating whether to go back to St. Thomas and/or to Puerto Rico, another fun place. Dave
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[Thomas1977]

Watch out for pirates supposedly black beard was in that area a long time ago. I never made it to the outer banks but I once made it to morehead city.

 

[giradman]

Watch out for pirates supposedly black beard was in that area a long time ago. I never made it to the outer banks but I once made it to morehead city.

Hi Thomas - if interested, check out my Carolina Shore thread - plenty of posts on the Morehead City & Beaufort area along w/ a lot about Blackbeard - Dave

 

[giradman]

Graveyard of the Atlantic - Outer Banks of North Carolina

While in Hatteras Village, we missed visiting the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, one of the North Carolina Maritime Museums (I've talked about the one in Beaufort in another travelogue) - we were there on a Sunday, a closed day; but some pics below of the museum - will be on my 'to see' list on a return visit.

The Outer Banks are treacherous for ships navigating the waters - over 600 ships have sunk just in the Cape Hatteras area (see quotes). David Stick's book is an excellent read for those interested, and an inexpensive Kindle book purchase (I've had the paperback for decades). Also, while in an 'art shop' in Ocracoke Village, I bought the print below of a watercolor by Jim Wordsworth showing the Outer Banks w/ the lighthouses, several historic events, and some of the more famous shipwrecks - a 3-page document was attached giving some history of the latter. Dave

P.S. just returned from the Frame Store w/ a mat & glass - will make a frame this weekend for the print -

Graveyard of the Atlantic is a nickname of two locations known for numerous shipwrecks: the treacherous waters in the Atlantic Ocean from the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay at Cape Henry south along the coastline to the Outer Banks of Virginia and North Carolina; and around Sable Island, off the coast of central Nova Scotia. Along the Outer Banks, navigational challenges posed by the Diamond Shoals area off Cape Hatteras, caused the loss of thousands of ships and an unknown number of human lives. More than 5,000 ships have sunk in these waters since record keeping began in 1526. Among the better known shipwrecks was the USS Monitor, a participant in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War. The Monitor foundered and sank on December 31, 1862, off Cape Hatteras. (Source)

The Graveyard extends along the whole of the North Carolina coast, northward past Chicamacomico, Bodie Island, and Nags Head to Sandbridge Beach, and southward in gently curving arcs to the points at Cape Lookout and Cape Fear. This spot is known as Cape Point, which is the stretch of beach that divides Hatteras Island's north and south facing beaches. This dangerous spot is known for its good fishing and surfing. Cape Hatteras has been a deadly trap for sailors that have entered for past centuries. This stretch of shore is home to more than 600 shipwrecks off the shifting sandbars of the Hatteras Islands. The sandbars shift due to rough waves and unpredictable currents. Some residents of the Outer Banks, known as wreckers, made part of their living by scavenging wrecked ships — or by luring ships to their destruction. Horses with a lantern tied to their neck would be walked along the beach. The lanterns' up and down motion would appear to other ships to represent clear water and a ship ahead. The unsuspecting captain would then drive his ship ashore following the false light. (Source)

The first recorded shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina was in the early 16th century. This wreck was reported in 1526, off the mouth of Cape Fear River. In June 1718, Edward Teach— better known as Blackbeard the pirate — ran his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, aground near present-day Beaufort Inlet, NC. Thirty two years later, in August 1750, at least three Spanish merchantmen ran aground in off North Carolina during a hurricane. The El Salvador sank near Cape Lookout, the Nuestra Señora de Soledad went ashore on near present-day Core Banks, and the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe went ashore in near present-day Okrakoke Island. During World War II, German U-boats would sit offshore and silhouette passing freighters and tankers against the lights onshore. Dozens of ships along the North Carolina coast were torpedoed by submarines in this fashion in what became known as Torpedo Alley. The most recent ship lost was on October 29, 2012: the Bounty sank off Cape Hatteras. when Hurricane Sandy passed through. Two people were pronounced dead from the accident. (Source)

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[giradman]

North Carolina Shipwrecks & Coastal Life-Saving Services

In the past, coastal Life-Saving Services were common along the eastern coast of the United States (and I assume elsewhere) - when visiting the lighthouse museums, exhibits were common about these dedicated individuals who risked their lives often. With the number of shipwrecks on the North Carolina coast, life-saving services were quite active for many years - some history and detail quoted below (check the link for more information). The Pea Island Lifesaving Team was unusual in being all black - I've not read the book shown below but will check on Amazon. Dave

Most U.S. Life-Saving Service facilities were built to similar designs. Stations were manned by 7 surfmen and a keeper, who was responsible for all aspects of the station's operation. Although the stations were only manned in winter, the keeper was responsible for mustering a volunteer crew and carrying out the rescue in the event of an off-season shipwreck. (Source)

Surfmen maintained beach patrols 24 hours a day during storms, and in hours of darkness during calm weather. Surfmen would walk patrols of at least 5 miles round trip, and sometimes up to 10 miles. In the event of a wreck, the surfman on beach patrol would light his flare to let the ship know they had been spotted, then rush back to the station to give the alarm. In pre-telephone days, the dash back to the station seriously slowed the rescuers, but there was an odd resistance to giving beach patrols horses so they could make haste more quickly. In populated areas beach patrols often enlisted the assistance of residents to speed word of a wreck, but in isolated areas they simply had to trek back to the station. (Source)

Time did not always allow for the surfman to return to the station for help. Surfman Rasmus S. Midgett, walking beach patrol from the Gull Shoal Station in North Carolina, single handedly rescued 10 people from the Priscilla, a barkentine that wrecked some three miles from the station. Although he was on horseback and thus could return to the station quickly, beach conditions would have held up arrival of the lifesavers for hours. Realizing there was only one hope for the crew, Midgett dashed into the surf 10 times, each time bringing back one of the ship's crew. The last three trips were made carrying injured members of the crew. Although the keeper thought his actions did not warrant special recognition, he received the Gold Life Saving Medal and became one of the Life Saving Service's, and later the Coast Guard's, most celebrated figures. (Source)

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[giradman]

Life Saving Service Merged in 1915 to become the United States Coast Guard

In 1790, the Revenue Marine was created as a seagoing service of the United States, while the Life Saving Service began in 1848 - the two were merged in 1915 to become the modern United States Coast Guard. Today, the Coast Guard is a large branch of the country's uniformed Armed Forces (see quotes below - Source) consisting of a wide variety of seagoing vessels and aircraft. As w/ the other major United States Armed Forces, there is a Coast Guard Academy located in New London, CT, which was founded in 1876 (last pics below). Dave

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's seven uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the U.S. military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission (with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters) and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the U.S. Department of the Navy by the U.S. President at any time, or by the U.S. Congress during times of war. This has happened twice, in 1917, during World War I, and in 1941, during World War II.

Created by Congress on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton as the Revenue Marine, it is the oldest continuous seagoing service of the United States. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue Marine, whose original purpose was collecting customs duties in the nation's seaports. By the 1860s, the service was known as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue Marine gradually fell into disuse.

The modern Coast Guard was formed by a merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life-Saving Service on 28 January 1915, under the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As one of the country's five armed services, the Coast Guard has been involved in every U.S. war from 1790 to the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. As of 2014 the Coast Guard had over 36,000 men and women on active duty, 7,350 reservists, 29,620 auxiliarists, and 7,064 full-time civilian employees. In terms of size, the U.S. Coast Guard by itself is the world's 12th largest naval force.

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[giradman]

Rising Seas: Will the Outer Banks Survive?

For those reading this thread and wanting to visit the Outer Banks of North Carolina, then plan a trip in the near future - for years, many have worried about these fragile islands of sand - the ocean and its storms are brutal and the predicted rising sea levels in this century will drastically impact this special place. There are many google hits on this topic, but this National Georgraphic Article from a few years ago discusses the dangers well w/ illustrations - all quotes, the video, and pics are from the link. Dave

The tourists flocking to North Carolina's Outer Banks right now know that the joys of summer there—the gorgeous beaches, the wild horses, the views of the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras—come to an end as the season fades. But they may not know that the place itself is disappearing from the map. Under the combined effects of storms, development, and sea-level rise, portions of this narrow, 200-mile island chain are collapsing, says Stanley Riggs, a coastal geologist at East Carolina University in Greenville. "We're losing them right now," he says. "In the next ten years, it's going to be awful."

In an area of Hatteras Island between Avon and Buxton, the beach has receded about 2,500 feet in the past 150 years. That portion of the island has narrowed to just 25 percent of its original width, according to Riggs. In Buxton and Rodanthe, and farther north in Nags Head, houses and hotels once solidly on land stand on spindly stilts in the surf. State Highway 12, the only road to Hatteras Island, repeatedly has buckled and washed out during storms. It briefly closed after Hurricane Arthur made landfall July 3.The erosion is set to worsen as sea-level rise accelerates around the world because of global warming. (Read "Rising Seas" in National Geographic magazine.)

As that happens, coastal communities everywhere will face the same wrenching decisions that confront Outer Banks inhabitants today—and that are causing enormous fear there, says Michael Orbach, professor emeritus of marine policy at Duke University's marine lab in Beaufort, North Carolina. What's at stake for locals is not just summer fun but a way of life and an entire economy that is now based on tourism. "All these effects that people have been talking about for years are now actually starting to be seen," Orbach says. "And they realize that we don't know what to do about it."

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[suenc]

Life Saving Service Merged in 1915 to become the United States Coast Guard

In 1790, the Revenue Marine was created as a seagoing service of the United States, while the Life Saving Service began in 1848 - the two were merged in 1915 to become the modern United States Coast Guard. Today, the Coast Guard is a large branch of the country's uniformed Armed Forces (see quotes below - Source) consisting of a wide variety of seagoing vessels and aircraft. As w/ the other major United States Armed Forces, there is a Coast Guard Academy located in New London, CT, which was founded in 1876 (last pics below). Dave






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I enjoyed learning about the history of OBX and the power of the sea.

 

[suenc]

Rising Seas: Will the Outer Banks Survive?

For those reading this thread and wanting to visit the Outer Banks of North Carolina, then plan a trip in the near future - for years, many have worried about these fragile islands of sand - the ocean and its storms are brutal and the predicted rising sea levels in this century will drastically impact this special place. There are many google hits on this topic, but this National Georgraphic Article from a few years ago discusses the dangers well w/ illustrations - all quotes, the video, and pics are from the link. Dave






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We saw many many houses that could easily be washed away in a storm. Some were dangerously near the ocean, which probably wasn’t true when they were built. I usually like oceanfront views, but would be fearful of living near the ocean now.