As with Art and Kaiz, we also just returned from our 10 1/2 day Chesapeake Bay/Outer Banks/ Blue Ridge Mountains adventure. 4 adults in the Blazer, with the rear and cartop jamb packed with luggage and vacation junk.
The stats.....
2531 miles/ 840 photographs/ 51 compact discs played/ 27 lighthouses viewed/ 6 lighthouses climbed/ 10 hotels/ 8 states/ 7 ferry rides/ 5 hot tubs/ 5 islands/ 4 forts/ 4 major rock formations/ 3 waterfalls/ 2 caverns/ 1 mansion/ 1 airplane ride/ 1 submarine tour/ 1 aquarium/ 1 airshow/ entire Outer Banks/ way too much cappuccino and shopping/ yada, yada, yada...
The highlights....
-Becki's birthday was the 25th, while in the upper Outer Banks. Through previous phone calls, I was able to pre-order a large basket of wine, cheese, crackers, etc. along with 2 large "Happy Birthday" balloons. They were delivered to Currituck Light an hour before our arrival. The employees at the light then walked them up to the top of the tower, and placed them inside the locked lens room. I was given the key to the locked room, so upon climbing the tower and roaming the outside, I told Becki to "come here". I moved her over to the top of the stairs and started to suddenly unlock the lens room door. Due to the layout of the tight area at the top of the steps, the opened door of the lens room then becomes a closed door to the outside railing area (when the lens room is open, the outside is closed...and vica versa). When I swung the door open, I was on the outside, while she was now closed off inside by herself with access to the lens room. The big basket was in front of her with all the lens room supplies and 1st order fresnel lens. She yelled up "What are you doing?...this is off limits...someone elses stuff is in here". After some coaxing through the door, she finally saw the basket was hers. We all had a laugh, and was able to see the inside of the lens room! The employees were very nice, and the lighthouse grounds were awsome.
-Assateague Island was a real treat. After a sunny visit photographing the light up close, we drove further out on the island. The weather was changing rapidly, and large storm clouds were rolling in. We were now viewing the lighthouse from a mile away, looking over a pond and the refuge, with the dark skies behind it. With wild horses roaming the grounds and a some Swans paddling around in the water in front of us, the view and atmosphere was just breathtaking. (Please let the photos turn out)
-Pretending to be kids again, we all took our shoes and socks off and walked the endless journey to the top of the huge sand dune at Jockey Ridge State Park in Nags Head. Of course we did not attempt to roll head over heels down the dune like some of the not-so-clever kids did. Kind of a "will you jump off a bridge if the other kids do" ritualistic act. It was hilarious photographing the tumbling kids. A very fun stop.
-Absent of the shoes and socks again, we walked the roughly 1 1/2 mile trek along the beach to Hatteras Light for the water's side view of the lighthouse. We walked within the tide area, so we were as much in the water as out of it. Collecting a few shells and avoiding the jellyfish along the way made the walk very relaxing. It stands out as one of the more laid back treks on the vacation. Some quiet time and a great setting.
-Chimney Rock was a blast. You have to be in shape to take on this place! We walked along 2 1/2 miles or so of the trails around the rock, with alot of stairs and "breather" stops. We climbed down to the rocks directly below Hickory Nut Falls, with the mist cooling us off. The views around this place was absolutely spectacular. I think I popped off over 100 shots at this one stop alone. A definate highlight of the trip.
-It was Friday night in Myrtle Beach during "African-American Biker Week". I was told the previous week was "Harley Week". We walked the downtown area and had a blast just watching all the people. I don't think I have ever seen so many bikers in one location. Police were parked around every 1/2 mile along the strip, with many "walking the beat" too. The place was just packed and rockin' that night. It was an hilarious scene for a night out adventure.
-The airplane ride around Bodie Light was very neat. We saw 3 dolphin cruising along the ocean, and alot of manarays from the plane. The Jockey Ridge sand dunes looked like a large "ant farm" from above, with 1000 little ants (people) swarming around the peaks. LOL. The setting of the lighthouse grounds looked very different from above. It was an interesting viewpoint.
-We stayed at a little dive hotel on the very tip end of Harker's Island with no phones or alarm clocks, but Cape Lookout Light directly across the inlet. The hotel also provided the ferry ride over to Cape Lookout the next morning, and were some of the most friendliest people of the entire trip. We spent around 2 hours on the cape, and had an extremely relaxing time roaming the station and beaches. We were well equipped with bug spray and long pants for those opportunistic ticks. I would love to camp over on the island someday, we enjoyed it.
It seemed like there were 1000 highlights during the trip, but I'll stop with those. Its neat reading Art and Kaiz's posts. We had many of the same experiences, while only a day or two apart from one another. It's kind of like reading another perspective of my own memories. LOL. The Blue Ridge Mountain 1/2 of the trip was just as fun as the seashore 1/2, It was a very nice mix. I do not believe I have ever driven over so many bridges and inside so many tunnels on one trip, I should have counted them all. Now the fun of developing all those shots (Becki is going to kill me. LOL!)
John, I strategicly parked the Blazer between the lighthouse and web camera at Hatteras. I almost convinced myself of standing on top of the Blazer and cartop so you could see me in the web-shot. Luckily you were not home when I called, so I spared myself from being an idiot. LOL
Rod Watson
[This message has been edited by Rod Watson (edited 07-12-99).]
)
