October 9. Harker's Island, Beaufort, Coastal History

 October 9, 2020

63 degrees this morning and clear skies.   We have breakfast and head back towards the coast to Harker's Island.  This island is connected by a bridge.  Lots of homes, lots of boats.  This area is known locally as "Down East", which term has been extended to mean anything south of Raleigh; but locals say this is the real Down East. 

 A huge coastal community with a reputation for being a bit rough, it nonetheless seems to be a close knit group of locals more than hoity toity vacationers.  We head to the end of the island where we take a PEOPLE ferry out to see the Cape Lookout Light Station. (Note: They still are willing to accept $$ from the hoity-toity.)

We purchased tickets on line and there are close to 50 people on the boat when we pull out at 9:15!  Mandatory masks but sketchy distancing.  Still, we are outside and moving so there is quite a breeze. The first stop is at Shackleford Island where we see a few of the Banker horses grazing. They are supposedly small, hardy and docile decendents of Spanish horses, like those on Chincoteague, Ocracoke and other east coast barrier islands. About 1/2 of the passengers get off here and we continue a few more minutes to Cape Lookout.   

Another black and white beauty that stands 163' tall.  It flashes every 15 seconds and is visible from 12-19 miles out to sea. It is one of the few lighthouses that operates 24/7.

We've heard there is good shelling, but aren't sure where to go.  The boat driver says there is a shuttle to the point but that you can walk to the ocean side in about 10 minutes.  We decide to walk - not the best decision, it turns out.  We walk for what seems like several miles but was probably only 1 in the soft sand.  The wind was strong and constant.  Beautiful beach, very few people but very few shells.

This shrimp boat was cruising parallel to the beach.

 Turns out we should have taken the shuttle.  We eventually give up after finding a few shells and head back towards the ferry landing.  (If you go, either take the shuttle to "the point", or rent a jeep and drive the beaches.) 

We catch the ferry back to Harkers Island and stop to visit the nearby Core Sound Waterfowl Museum. 

 This is a very nice free museum which was devastated by a recent hurricane (I 've forgotten which one). The volunteer greeter tells us it was down to the cement floors, and they have only recently reopened. Luckily they were able to evacuate almost all of the interior items before the storm arrived - he said they were scattered all over inland North Carolina for a while.

It is called a Waterfowl Museum, and has some beautiful examples and displays of this artistry.  But it includes quite a bit more information on local history, storms, types of boats, the US Lifesaving Service and more.

  We skip the outside displays and picnic area to head towards the the town of Beaufort.  (There is a Beaufort on the coast of South Carolina too, which is probably a bit larger.)

There we visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum which examines the North Carolina coastal habitats - Ocean - Beach - Dunes - Barrier Islands - Salt Marsh - Estuaries  and Sounds.  The Museum, right off the main street, has a nice parking area. Masks required.

There is quite a display on pirates and information about Blackbeard and Queen Anne's Revenge, a ship originally called the Concord which Blackbeard and his crew took over and re-christened.  Beth had read a book on Blackbeard, Edward Teach, so was interested in this.  He began as a legitimate privateer when the governor of Carolina recruited and paid men to attack Spanish ships...lots of politics involved.  He was educated and was more than a blood-thirsty pirate, though I'm sure he did his share of dastardly deeds.

 Queen Anne's Revenge sailed for several years, but was grounded and sank in 1718.  The remains were discovered in 2011 off the coast of Beaufort and this museum is the official repository for many of the recovered items.  It chronicles the discovery and authentication.  The museum is getting quite busy, so we decide to move on.

From the museum,  we walk a few blocks to The Old Burying Ground.  There is a flyer available there which tells the story of many of the people buried here, including early settlers, Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers and others.  Some of the graves are raised or covered by bricks, some have simple headstones, others quite elaborate.  It is common to see people leave stones or coins on a tomb as a token.

This was the grave of an infant.

 There was one grave covered with toys, shells, stuffed animals and such.  It belongs to a young girl of 10 whose family was from England.  Her father took her on a voyage back to England and promised her mother he would bring her back safely. But she died on the return voyage. The father could not bring himself to bury her at sea, so he sealed her into a barrel of rum to bring her back to North Carolina.  

We get directions to a Piggly-Wiggly grocery store and stop for a few items.  There are some good looking crab cakes, so we grab a few of them for tonight's dinner.

When we get back to our campsite, we are surprised to find it occupied!  Our sign and receipt are gone! Rather than confront the intruder, we visit the campground host.  She is very apologetic and says she has called a ranger to address these people, who apparently were told to leave another site, so simply hijacked ours and haven't paid for any.  She points us to another site that isn't reserved till tomorrow, so we are fine.  She also returns our slightly damaged "Site Occupied" sign that she found and seems relieved that we are not upset. A first time for everything, I guess, but hopefully this will be the last too! 

The crab cakes were yum, along with potatoes and edamame.  Cloudy night, pretty humid but only reached mid 70's today.