Tuesday, October 6
Fifty-four degrees this morning. We have breakfast tacos with sausage before continuing the drive east. We stop at a laundromat outside of Raleigh and do a major wash with all the bedding and clothes. They have large capacity machines, so it doesn't take too too long and we are back on the road by 11:15.
We've decided to head for the coast and call ahead to make two reservations at the National Seashore Campsites at Oregon Inlet and Cape Hattaras. We are on highway 64, which moves right along through flat farmland with cotton, soybeans, sweet potatoes and sleepy small towns. No more mountains and clear skies.
We stop at an Outer Banks Visitor Center in Tyrell County. Nice lady with mask, behind plexiglass gives us some maps and brochures. The Outer Banks starts a bit north of us, but we did a family vacation up there near Kitty Hawk, so decide to begin this venture on Roanoke Island and head south.
This is the old bridge into Roanoke (through a dirty windshield). The new one, called 5 Mile Bridge by the locals and Virginia Dare Bridge on the map, is a bit south of this one. Virginia Dare is known as the first English child born in North America on August 18, 1587. She was born in Roanoke Colony. No one knows what happened to her or the colony, as John White, the governor of the colony returned to England for supplies and when he came back three years later there was no sign of anyone.
Since it is still relatively early, we stop at the North Carolina Aquarium. We purchase tickets for 2:00 on line. (They are limiting numbers of people by selling timed tickets.) Nice aquarium, not huge, but interesting displays including holographs. Lots of reminders to keep distance and wear masks and it isn't very crowded. Everyone complies except for a few excited children.
You stood on this spot and various animals "swim" by.
Nice sea otter display.
A sea turtle area had several injured turtles being taken care of, including a 170 pound loggerhead.
Jellyfish always make a dramatic display.
As do sharks. This area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic and there was information and displays about wrecks that became teeming reefs.
Pirates were a popular topic in North Carolina history as well. There were many interactive touch screens that had been deactivated.
Other animals native to North Carolina.
And, of course, a touch tank (complete with sanitizer and towels).
The Turret Theater showed a short film about the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack, two ironclads during the civil war. (No seating available.)
They fought for hours but couldn't sink each other and left the area, and in typical fashion, both claimed victory. The Monitor later sank in a storm and was only found in 1973.
Just south of Roanoke Island we enter Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 70 miles of islands off the North Carolina Coast. It was established in 1953 by FDR. Unfortunately, many of the islands continue to change size and shapes due to weather and storms. There was a flashing sign as we drove that warned of possible sand and water on the road.
Our first reservations are at Oregon Inlet Campground, which looks pretty full, but everyone keeps to themselves. People are friendly and wave and smile, but no interactions past "hello". We walk about 1/4 mile through the dunes to the windy beach and find a few pretty shells. The sand is soft and clean, the sky a beautiful blue as we walk along the surf. Delightful!
The campsite has warm showers where you can't control the temperature, but they felt good. Chilly once the sun went down, though only in the low sixties with a steady breeze.
Love watching the shore birds like this sanderling dual with the surf as they look for food.
I've never been there but heard so much from friends who have; it looks just beautiful. Thanks for these pictures!
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