Outer Banks

We have had a very busy 2 days seeing the Outer Banks. The first day was all about lighthouses and 3 of them are south. We drove all the way to the end of Hatteras Island and then caught a ferry to Ocracoke Island and drove the 12 miles of the island to see its lighthouse. The little town was quaint, but everything was closed for the season. We stopped to see the wild ponies that have lived on the island for 200 years and are now looked after by the National Parks. Had a little time to visit the beach and the ocean, but no shells. Then back on the ferry to Hatteras and its lighthouse, probably the most well known one.




The south end of the Outer Banks has several small typical beach towns. Most however is National Park lands with birding areas, dunes and Pamblico Sound and Atlantic Ocean access.
The next lighthouse was Bodie Island which is undergoing renovation and was surrounded by scaffolding and wires to anchor it all to the ground.

The second day we visited the Wright Brothers Memorial. We now know why they picked that hill for glider flights - the wind always blows! The exhibits were very interesting.

Then we headed to Jockey Ridge State park which has the largest sand dunes on the east coast. We walked up to the top of the dunes with a gorgeous view of Pamblico Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. It was worth the hike up in shifting sand!



The north end has three "touristy" beach towns that run together - Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head. The season has ended, but one can imagine what it would be like in the summer! No shortage of rental houses everywhere and lots of stores, restaurants and attractions to capture your money. It was a great time to come and we had sunny but cool weather, made colder by the constant wind.