The Outer Banks, North Carolina

The Outer Banks consist of a string of narrow islands and peninsulas that lie between the ocean and the coast of North Carolina. Most of the land is less than a mile wide and has some small towns, but it consists mainly of large natural preserved areas. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Pea Island Refuge have unspoiled sand dunes, marshes for bird watching, and beautiful beaches with very few people. (Of course, it is off season.) The weather has been in the 70’s and sunny-perfect for sitting on the beach and reading. Our campsite is just a few steps walk from the beach.

Orville and Wilbur Wright picked this area to launch the first heavier-than-air powered machine on Dec. 17, 1903. The Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills (right next to Kitty Hawk) has an exhibit center with reproductions of the 1902 and 1903 flyer. The grounds have markers showing the distance traveled during the first four flights, as well as, replicas of their workshop and living quarters. Debbie and Fred K were here on the 100^th anniversary to help with the celebration. Good job guys.

We have covered most of the Outer Banks and have enjoyed driving along the coast and seeing many of the lighthouses. We did manage to get another flat tire, but this time on the CRV. We had new tires put on in Massachusetts and had only 700 miles on them. Thank goodness for cell phones and AAA. The tire was changed and repaired in about 45 minutes and we were on our way again. Somehow we seem to be a magnet for sharp pointy things. It could also be that lots of construction is going on in the summer.

We continue to sample the local seafood and we can tell that we are in the south. We get southern accents, a choice of sweet or unsweetened tea, hush puppies, grits and southern hospitality. We’ve liked it here so much that we have stayed 4 days.

Monday, Oct 16, we moved south to a barrier island off Bogue Sound, North Carolina. Again, we picked a private campground located on the beach. The state campgrounds are mainly closed in this area for the season. Our drive took us across Roanoke Island where the British “lost colony” was last seen. We particularly enjoyed going through the backcountry which had swampy areas along the road with alligators and marsh birds. (Thanks goodness, no flat tires here.)

It is surprising to see that cars and dogs are allowed on the beach. Surf fishing is very popular here and many people in the campground walk down to the beach to catch their dinner. When we say many, we mean about 15-20 people on the beach. It has been surprising to encounter mosquitoes and everywhere you go they warn you about using spray with deet and keeping covered up. There haven’t been many mosquitoes but they do exist. It did rain quite heavily during the night and it has turned humid. We thought we had left all this behind us. I guess we should have expected it because we are in the Deep South. The weather is reported to be warmer and more humid than usual for this time of year.

We located a local fish market and bought some picked local blue crab meat. We had several crab cocktails and crab meat sandwiches. A favorite of ours. Yum, yum.