North Carolina - The Outer Bank ♥️

 

North Carolina - The Outer Bank ♥️

In the 20 months of travel there are only two places so far that really made my heart feel at home, in regards to people, history and scenic beauty. 

Eastport, ME was the first, but now I get to add the Outer Banks.

We spend 6 nights at Camp Hatteras in Rodanthe NC and it was magical.

This campground encompasses both sides of the island, the North Atlantic beach and ocean AND the Sound. So with just a very short walk you can see the sunrise and sunset over a body of water every single day. Stunning! This Campground was clean, beautiful layout with an outside and inside pool and spa. One of the better ones for sure and much nicer than the KOA next door which I toured. 

Our spot, a nice pull thru (a little on the short end but we were allowed to have Lou’s tires on the grass), was only about 100 meters from the beach facing the Atlantic. Since I am morning person I wanted us on the ocean side and not sound side so I could sit on the beach every morning to watch the day start.

Every evening Ron and I walked/drove across the campground with our chairs and sat on the shore of the Sound to watch the Sunset. Stunning.

Now on to the history. If one loves light houses there are two and still this area is called the graveyard of the Atlantic. Many ships, even to this day still run aground and shipwreck here and one can scavenge the beach for parts still today. Darn even in the 1 week we were here two yachts (Sailboats) wrecked. Each time the people on were saved but the boats took on a lot of damage and lots of water. Recovery depending were it happens in the Outer Banks is tricky.   

Now since we stayed in Rodanthe NC I felt obligated to read the book and watch the movie of the Nicholas Sparks Book ‘Nights in Rodanthe’. One can walk right up (I took my bike) to the Inn that is featured in the Book and Movie. It is actually for sale and I think it was listed for $1.26 Million. Darn a steal 😉

I was happy to be able and explore a lot on my bike and I met some great locals and some seasonal visitors. One day I headed out to find the ‘Eye of Rodanthe’ which looks stunning on Google. Well it was very hard to locate and get to. Ironically the people I met that live there seasonal, spring and fall, never even heard of it. They invited me into their beach house to show me the view they have on the 3rd floor up and what do my eyes see? The Eye just about 300 meters from their house. So to see it someone needs a drone! And here I was hiking through sand dunes and high grass that was cutting my feet to find it 😱

So as to nature, if the water and beaches isn’t enough for you, we are smack between two National Wildlife Areas. The Pea Island Wildlife Refuge just a few miles north of Rodanthe (and where one of the yachts ship wrecked), plus the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Beautiful pristine and protected beaches for miles and miles. In the Sound we could watch wind surfers every single day.

We did drove as far as we could by car, to Cape Hatteras to see one of the Light Houses and from there the only way onward would be by Ferry as there are a couple more islands to explore.

We also drove to the Northern Outer Banks.

We toured the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills which was beautiful! 

We also took a tour to see the Wild Spanish Horses in the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge by Corolla. That outing made me sad but that is in another Post. 

Over all I love the Outer Banks but sadly I don’t think this magical place has a good future ahead with the climate change hitting hard. Human engineering is at work hard here to combat the constant shift of dunes and the loss of beach. A new bridge, that we drove over, just opened up last year that replaced miles and miles of HWY 12 that was not manageable any more due to the shoreline changing. Those constructions come with heavy price tags and many mainlanders I talked to think it is just a temporary bandaid as the Outer Banks have always shifted over the ages and it is such a narrow line that takes the brunt of every storm that the North Atlantic throws at it.

Maybe this is part of why I am so drawn to it. The people that live there full-time are full of heart and grit. This is what they know and love and I understand why. Just like Eastport ME. The toughness the locals display is so heartwarming to me.