Day 6Departed VA Beach (39th St. & Atlantic Ave) at 8:50 a.m.. Taking 22nd St. (44W/I-264W) 13 miles to I-64E (7 mi.) to 168S to 158S (about 50 miles and stopping briefly for a fast food breakfast) to Southern Shores, NC. There we took 12N to Currituck Lighthouse in Corolla, NC. We arrived at 11:20 and logged 103 miles up to this point.
[img]
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=42289&a=282945&p=10899804[/img]
We all loved Currituck Light. In our family it was unanimous: this was our favorite lighthouse of all that we have visited so far. In the
entranceway a black & white checkered marble floor that leads to a few steps up to the archive photo gallery on the first level greets you. Inside the tall conical
tower is, of course, a spiral staircase. The staircase seems more graceful than that of other lights we have climbed, perhaps due to the large diameter of the tower at its base. This diameter not only allows a suitable viewing distance to the staircase, but also accounts in part for the very pleasing geometry of the tower. At each 1/2 rotation of the staircase you are treated to a landing that makes up the next 180° of rotation. This makes the tower an easy climb in spite of its height.
The view from the
top is breathtaking. From there you can see Currituck Sound to the west, the village of Corolla to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and to the south you can see the historic
Whalehead Club nearby, and points beyond the Duck, NC water tower some 21 miles away.
The lighthouse and grounds are well maintained. The
keeper's house is still standing but is presently occupied and off-limits. The gift shop is one of the very best we have seen anywhere, and we certainly did put our money where our mouths are!
After a record (for us) single-light visit of nearly 2 hours we departed Corolla at 1:10 p.m. We retraced our steps 21 miles back down 12S to 158SE and continued another 7 miles to the Wright Brothers' Memorial Monument in Kill Devil Hills, NC. We arrived at 2:00 p.m. There we heard the live presentation and saw the full-scale model of the Wright Flyer. Afterward we drove to the monument itself and climbed the hill up to it on foot. We departed at 3:01 p.m. and headed south/east again on 158 for about 3-1/2 miles and 10 minutes to Nags Head.
At Nags Head we stopped at the
Lighthouse Gallery and Gifts. The folks there had been very gracious to us, sending us a great deal of information about lighthousing North Carolina by e-mail in advance of our trip. They had a few nice secondary pieces including Ponce de Leon and Ocracoke. The day following our visit there would be a signing event by Bill Younger. Unfortunately our schedule would not allow us to attend, but we purchased a Kilauea event piece to be signed by Bill and shipped later. We departed Nags Head at 3:45 p.m. with 142 miles logged.
Taking 158SE then 12S for another 20 minutes (11 miles) brought us to Bodie Island Lighthouse at 4:05 p.m.
[img]
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=42289&a=282922&p=10899684[/img]
The
tower is stunning but the surroundings plain. This makes for a rather sterile setting for photos, imo. There is a short boardwalk through a salt marsh preserve behind the
lighthouse. I think that perhaps the best photo opportunity comes from back there. Be sure to bring insect repellent. The area is loaded with mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies and other critters after your blood. Left Bodie
Light at 4:42.
The
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is in Buxton, NC, about an hour from Bodie. The troops were getting cranky by this time, so we drove on another 13 miles or so to our hotel in Hatteras Village. We arrived at the Holiday Inn Express (1-800-361-1590) at 5:53, logging 209 miles for the day. The Holiday Inn is ideally situated for the early morning fishing excursion and ferry departure we had in our plans. We had pizza delivered (Rocco's in Hatteras Village-- unexpectedly good for pizza south of the Mason-Dixon Line) and we hit the hay early.
Day 7Arose early. David, Daniel and I went to the Teach's Lair Marina next door. Boarded the
Capt'n Clam head boat (we called them party boats back in NJ) for 1/2 day of fishing in the Pamlico Sound ($25/person, $20 for kids) while Mariann shopped. We caught a few flounder (aka summer flounder, fluke) and several sea trout and a bunch of small stuff that we released. David caught the largest fish for the day, and together we caught more keepers than any other group aboard. We sold the catch to a local resident who was aboard the boat and gave the proceeds to the mate as a tip.
We went to lunch in Buxton (Cape Sandwich Co.) around 2:00 p.m., then went to see the
Hatteras Light.
[img]
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=42289&a=282946&p=10899921[/img]
Not much to see from the legal viewing area except that there was empty space beneath the tower. There is a small airfield nearby. I wish we had another day; I'd get some aerial photos of the site.
No one there at the lighthouse would commit to a Memorial Day, 2000 relighting ceremony, or even to completion of the move by then. They appear to be slipping a little to the schedule -- I expected the actual move to be underway by now, but the tower still sits over its original location. Hope it's nothing major.
Returned to Hatteras Village and did some shopping. Went to the pool for about an hour and a half before getting ready for church & dinner. After church in Buxton (a little after 8:00 p.m.) I could see the full moon rising over the lighthouse and another glorious sunset taking shape. Guess who left his camera on the dresser in the hotel.
Ate at
The Mad Crabber in Avon, 10 minutes north of Buxton. David and I had our fill of clams on the half-shell, shrimp and Dungeness crabs (a note to our friends back home in TN:
this is seafood. Not to be confused with fried catfish). Daniel and Mariann do not eat bottom-dwelling marine life, so they opted for hotdogs and steak, respectively. Returned to the hotel about 10:20 p.m. The kids should be all kinds of fun tomorrow -- this is well past their usual bedtime and we have a 7:00 ferry to catch to Ocracoke Island.
Talk to you tomorrow night.
-ArtTo correct some details,
this message has been edited by Art (edited 06-01-99).
To add photos and links,
[This message has been edited by Art (edited 06-19-99).]
