The Lighthouses of Hatteras National Seashore

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a beautiful place full of sun and surf, sea birds and skittering crabs, sand dunes, salt marshes and picture perfect sunrises. This narrow group of 3 barrier islands  hosts thousands of visitors a year but the shores have not always been a welcoming place. The beautiful waters off the coast of the islands hide Diamond Shoals a shifting bank of sand bars and ridges that make sailing a risky business. Over 600 ships are known to have gone down in these waters earning the area the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic.

The US lighthouse Service erected 3 lights on these islands to aid ships in navigating the dangerous passages.

We set off on a sunny September day to see all 3.

Cedar Island Ferry to Ocracoke Island

Our home base was in Havelock so the first leg of the journey was a 40 minute drive to the Cedar Island ferry dock where we caught a 2 ½ hour ride to Ocracoke Island the southernmost point of the Hatteras National Seashore and former hideout of Edward Teach also known as the English pirate Blackbeard.

We had our choice of outdoor seating or an indoor air conditioned lounge. Several passengers had brought binoculars. Fred went down to the car deck to retrieve ours. It was fun to get an up close view of other boats on the water and to see the island as we approached the shore.

The ferry docked in Ocracoke Village at the southern end of the narrow island. We disembarked and parked at the Visitor Center to get stamps for the Ocracoke Lighthouse and the Ocracoke portion of the National Seashore.

Rudder from a wreck at the Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum

The Ocracoke Preservation Society is a short walk from the same parking lot. This museum of Ocracoke history is located in the David Williams house, an 1890 foursquare style home with wide porches. The rooms of the home have been set up with period furniture as they would have been when it was built. Each room houses several displays including examples of quilts and other local folk art, WWII relics and a vintage 1950’s Boy Scout poster featuring Ocracoke Islands mounted troop.

It must have been an interesting place when wild ponies freely roamed the island. We were told that the pretty picket fences that surround the historic houses were put there to keep the horses out of the kitchen gardens.

Fred and I spoke with the docent on duty who encouraged us to look at the outdoor exhibits that included pieces of a shipwreck and told us of the extensive genealogical research library they were collecting on the museums second floor.

We left the library and headed into the village to find a British cemetery. There are many small family cemeteries on the island and one on a narrow street in a neighborhood of historic homes contains the bodies of 4 British sailors from the HMS Bedfordshire. The Bedfordshire on anti-submarine duty out of Morehead City was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat on May 12, 1942. The bodies of 4 sailors washed ashore and were buried close to one another at the right side of the cemetery. That burial ground was later deeded to the Commonwealth and is essentially British territory. A British flag flies over the graves and a nearby marker quotes Rupert Brooke: If I should die think only this of me that there’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England

4 British sailors buried here during WWII

Route 12 took us through town where we found Lighthouse Road. The Ocracoke lighthouse built in 1823 is North Carolina’s oldest operating light. The 75 foot white brick and plaster structure is not open for climbing but a small parking area and a boardwalk running to the lighthouse itself makes for a great photo stop.

Ocracoke Lighthouse

We left the truck at a church a short distance away where enterprising parishioners had erected an honor box for parking donations. There were quite a few lighthouse visitors the day we visited so I suspect that the church does well with these anonymous donations.

We continued along route 12 to get to the north end of the 16 mile long island. We passed the pony pens and miles of sand dunes with pull offs for cars and ATV’s. You can drive the beaches of the National Seashore but must apply for an ORV permit at the visitor center.

The ferry to Hatteras Island was boarding as we arrived and we were able to fit the truck in as one of the last 3 vehicles. We opened the windows and sat back to enjoy the free 1 hour ride across the Hatteras Inlet.

The light casts a shadow toward its original location, now lapped by waves

Hatteras Island is a vacationer’s paradise. Parts of it are densely populated with hotels, condos and vacation homes as well as the restaurants shops and service centers that cater to those that inhabit them.  Route 12 continued up the narrow spit of land and we followed it to Buxton where one of the photographed of all lighthouses is found. Climbing Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has been on Fred’s bucket list for more than 20 years and today we made that happen.

257 steps to the top

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was built in 1870. At 193 feet and 257 steps it is the tallest light in the US. I was thankful for a landing every 31 steps. The views from the top are spectacular and include the former location of the lighthouse 2900 feet closer to the water. The lighthouse Visitor Center shows a movie about the spectacular feet of engineering it was to move the 193 foot tower.

It took a while but once I got Fred down out of the tower we continued North on route 12 past the Lightsaving station at Little Kinnakeet, through Rodanthe and the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, and across the bridge onto Bodie Island. We got to the area of Bodie Island Lighthouse as rainclouds were moving in from the west. It looked beautiful in the waning light but we didn’t stop as we had climbed this light on a prior visit to the Outer Banks.

Bodie Island Llghthouse

We crossed the bridge to Roanoke Island and then to the mainland before making the 2 hour drive back home to Havelock.

It was a long day, a lot of miles, and a most excellent adventure.

The front moving in as we drove south back to Havelock

Things to See Along the Way: Grave Diggers Dungeon

One of the joys of leisurely travel is that we can take the time to stop and visit interesting things that we see along the way.
On a recent drive to the Outer banks we found Monster Trucks.


Poplar Branch North Carolina is home to Grave Digger, the most famous Monster Truck of them all.
There is a Grave Diggers Diner and a gift shop. You can even take a ride in the monster truck.
The Diner and it's outside attractions will open April 1.



- Bonnie, from my iPad

Location: Poplar Branch, North Carolina

Lighthouse Adventure: OBX Edition

Friday was a glorious sunshiny day so we headed back to the Outer Banks to see some Southern Lighthouses.

The Atlantic Ocean off of the Outer Banks was once known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic due to the numerous shipwrecks that happened along its shores. It is estimated that more than 3000 ships are lurking in the depths of the ocean in this 100 mile stretch of coastline. There are 5 lights located here and it was our intention to see them all.

Our first destination was the town of Corolla and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.
It's distinctive red color and black iron work make it easy to identify since all of the other lights in the outer banks are black and white.
This lighthouse is 162 feet tall and has 220 steps to get to the top.
Corolla is well developed and more easily visible to sailors than it was in 1875 but Currituck still serves as an aide to navigation in the northern outer banks. It's light, flashing in 20 second intervals, can be seen for 18 nautical miles.
Currituck is closed to climbing in the winter months but we enjoyed walking around the grounds and admiring the Victorian architecture of the principle keepers house and the outbuildings that once served as housing for assistant keepers.

Next stop Roanoke Island. So much history here. We enjoyed walking around the waterfront park and had a great lunch at a local sandwich shop.
The Roanoke Marshes light is a small treasure that is located right on the waterfront in Manteo. There is a boardwalk that connects it to the pier and although the lighthouse was closed we were able to walk out to it and enjoy the views of Roanoke Sound from its location.
This lighthouse is a full scale exact replica of the 1831 original that was lost in the sound due to a devastating combination of sinking marshes, erosion and shipworms.







We left Roanoke Island and headed south into the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to visit our third lighthouse of the day.
Bodie Island light station (pronounced like body) is just south of Nags Head. It is a distinctive combination of three white and two black horizontal stripes. It is 156 feet tall and has 214 steps to the top. The light can be seen from 19 miles away and rotates once every 27.5 seconds.
The current Bodie Island light is the 3rd to service its area of coastline. The first was commissioned in 1847 but was abandoned after just a few years due to structural defects in its foundation proved too costly to repair. A second light commissioned in 1858 was destroyed by soldiers of the Confederate Army.
The Bodie Island Lighthouse keepers cottage has been repurposed as a ranger station and Outer Banks Visitors Center.







We would have liked to see Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke Island this trip but spent too much time exploring Roanoke Island and pondering the fate of the lost colony.
There is always another day.

Bonnie, from my iPad

Location: Outer Banks, North Carolina

Wright Brothers National Memorial

We crossed one off the Bucket List yesterday.

Fred has wanted to visit Kitty Hawk for a long time. We have vacationed many times in southern Virginia and with each visit we discussed how close we were to the Wright brothers site. With each visit we decided that we didn't want to make the long drive and went to the beach instead. Spending a day in the water on Sandbridge is hard to give up.

Yesterday was sunny and a Springlike 53 degrees in the Outer Banks. We left out site at the Elizabeth City Coast Guard Base and headed for Kill Devil Hill.

We stopped at the Currituck Welcome Center to visit North Carolina's Monument to a Century of Flight. The Stonehengelike spires are made of polished metal. Each one commemorates specific events in the history of aviation.













The National Memorial is located 6 miles south of the welcome center.
It is a large open area with walking paths and a number of monuments. We arrived just in time to attend the Park Rangers presentation about the Wright brothers story. I was amazed to learn that these self taught bicycle mechanics solved the 3 principles of Lift, Thrust and Control. They created mathematical equations and a design that provided a foundation for modern avionics.






In 2003 on the 100th Anniversary of the 1st flight the National Park Service placed a geodetic marker next to the first flight Boulder to commemorate the 12 second 120 foot flight made by Orville Wright.





The Memorial is a large area that encompasses Kill Devil Hill. A large monument dedicated to the Wright Brothers sits on top of the hill. Our reward for climbing to the top was a spectacular view of the OBX beaches.











To see more photos of our trip to Kitty Hawk visit: https://picasaweb.google.com/104978352672609317187/February52015

-Bonnie, from my iPad

Location:Kitty Hawk North Carolina