The Outer Banks

Today, May 2nd, was a travel day as we moved from Rodanthe, NC to Newport News, VA. I am posting a few photos from our visit to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This is a photo of one of four famous lighthouses that dot the Outer Bank islands. This 1823 lighthouse is located on Ocracoke Island, the Pearl of the Outer Banks.
This is a photo of Silver Lake Harbor in Ocracoke, showing marinas and unique island architecture. The Outer Banks was hit by hurricane Isabelle in 2003 and again by hurricane Ophelia in 2005. While there is a lot of history in this area, we were amazed at the amount of new construction on all of the islands. We didn't hear a lot about the hurricane damage here but then given the location and small population, they seem better prepared to handle the effects of these weather events. Also, when they say evacuate, people evacuate.
This is the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras and is called, America's Lighthouse, so you probably have seen this before. We arrived on the island on April 30th. We heard that a small nor'easter was brewing in the area. As soon as we left the ferry, we were beset by high winds, which is not an ideal condition for the RV. Mel estimated it took us 8 hours to travel 90 miles. Of course, that included two ferry rides that took almost four of those hours. Because Mel had no intention of retracing these miles, we would stop at every point of interest between Cape Haterras and Rodanthe. Rodanthe is about the mid-point of the Outer Bank Islands. Once we reached Rodanthe, we were happy to settle in but our campsite was right on Pamlico Sound, which in normal weather conditions would have been wonderful. In this case, we thought we'd be gone with the wind by morning. Both of us slept on and off through the night because of the relentless wind.

This photo is representative of the beaches on the Outer Bank islands. It either looked like this or there were giant sand dunes separating the road from the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound. The isolation and desolation was beautiful in its own way, but it felt kind of lonely. We are glad to be back in the hustle and bustle of the city.

One area that we explored yesterday, in addition to the Wright Brothers National Memorial, was Roanoke Island, the site of the first English settlement, known as the Lost Colony. The colony was considered lost because there was no sign of any of the 116 people that had been left behind when others returned to England for supplies. When they came back 3 years later, there was no sign of the people or the buildings. Thus, I have no photos to share. The three conclusions given were: 1) the Indians got them; 2) the Spanish got them or 3) they either went to Buxton Island, where the Algonquin Indians had a camp or to Virginia, where the colony was supposed to be settled in the first place. But there is no sign of them. My personal view is that they and the buildings were blown away in a hurricane. It is one thing for the people to disappear but the buildings?

Roanoke Island was where the first English child, Virginia Dare, was born. Legend has it that when explorers came to Virginia, there was a blond blue-eyed woman living with the Indians. She stayed with the Indians rather than joining the English explorers. Due to advance medical information, just this year, they are beginning to do DNA testing of families bearing the surnames of the colonist in England with local Indian tribes remaining in North Carolina and Virginia. The results should be fascinating.