Monday, August 19, 2019
Today was a much better day for sight-seeing. The road south was passable so we headed to Hatteras first.
Twenty years ago this lighthouse was on the edge of the ocean and in danger of falling into the ocean.
When first built in 1870, it was 1500 feet away from the shoreline.
So, they moved it, in one piece.
Here is a documentary on how that happened.
We climbed the lighthouse. From up top you can see where the lighthouse originally sat. If you look closely at the pier jutting into the water, you’ll see a small clump of grass. On the left side of that clump is where the lighthouse used to sit.
Other views from the balcony of the lighthouse.
Lightkeeper’s house
Gotta ninja!
This made me look twice….if there is a medical emergency and they cannot get the patient down the circular staircase inside, they have this stretcher that can be lowered outside the lighthouse.
Looking from the top down
We walked out to the original sight and took photos looking back to the lighthouse.
Played with some perspective shots too.
We then drove to the ferry dock and took an auto ferry across to Ocracoke Island.
Birds came along for the ride
Our first view of Ocracoke Lighthouse.
This whale bone is in front of the visitor’s center. It washed ashore on the island.
So, how does one touch British soil on a US RV trip without leaving the country?
This is a British graveyard. Our friend Jennifer suggested we go see and stand there on British soil.
In WW2 the Germans blew up many ships along the eastern seaboard. The Bedfordshire was a ship that had British soldiers aboard. Four of their bodies washed ashore on Ocracoke Island. The islanders buried them. England leases this plot of ground so that their soldiers are buried on “home soil” so technically our feet are on British ground. (0: Here is a link to the article.
Ocracoke Lighthouse
Built in 1823, Ocracoke is the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina that is still in continuous service. In fact, it is the second oldest lighthouse in the United States in continuous service.
After the lighthouse, we walked to Springers Point. It is said that Blackbeard the pirate lived and fought his last battle here.
Come walk with me…
This is a really cool tree there near the edge of the beach. You know what that means for our family.
If you look carefully, you can see Donald and all six kids somewhere in the tree.
Can you see the monkey? Leaping from one tree to another?
This was a neat stump on the trail.
We visited an island pub for lunch.
They had really tasty burgers.
Audrah and Jed’s burgers were served in a frisbee.
On the way back to the ferry, we stopped to see the island horses. They used to roam free but with tourists driving on the island, they’ve chosen to corral them. Here is some history about them.
Back across on the ferry.
We didn’t get time to visit the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. But they have a HUGE propeller on their sign.
We headed back to the campground for our last night on the beach. We took another walk to see the sparkling sand.