Cape Lookout National Seashore and Lighthouse

My youngest daughter and her husband moved to North Carolina in 2010.  We helped them move out there and the four of us visited the outer banks briefly one day.  The brief visit was good because it left us wanting to return.  In April 2011, my daughter and I took a two-day trip and visited Manteo, the Currituck Lighthouse, Whalehead Club, Bodie Lighthouse and Cape Hatteras Light on the Outer Banks.  In September 2011, my husband, daughter and son-in-law visited the Oak Island Lighthouse.

In August 2012, I was visiting my daughter and son-in-law and we took a two-day trip to the Cape Lookout National Seashore and Lighthouse.

My daughter had to work in the morning, so we didn't get a very early start and had to drive several hours to get to Harker's Island where we spent the night.

The bridge to Harker's Island.  (I feel like a kid sitting in the back seat).

 Unfortunately, the lighthouse is open for tours on a limited basis, so we were unable to climb to the top of the lighthouse.  We could drive to Harker's Island, but we had to ride a ferry to the Cape Lookout National Seashore.  It was a small ferry which went very fast.

The ferry Captian stopped so we could see the wild horses on the Shackleford Banks.

 View of the Lighthouse from the dock.

 Cape Lookout Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters.

Beautiful beach where we spent the morning and had a picnic lunch.

Outer Banks - Cape Hatteras

 To reach the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (and the entire Outer Banks), we had to drive over bridges like this...

 As we approached the lighthouse, this is what our GPS looked like.  I'm sorry this picture isn't very good, but it basically looked like we were driving in the ocean.

However, like in most of North Carolina, this is what it looked like as we were driving.  One would never know the Atlantic Ocean was on the left and the Croatan Sound was on the right.

Map of Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse 

 Lighthouse Keepers Houses

The foundation stones on the right is the original location of the lighthouse.  You can see how far it was moved

in 1999. 

Outer Banks - Bodie Island Lighthouse

Time flies when you're having a fun!!  We ran out of time and decided to splurge and stay one night in Nag's Head on the Outer Banks, because although we got to see Currituck Lighthouse and the Whalehead Club, we didn't get to go to any of the shops full of souvenirs, etc.  We stayed at a cute little place on the beach:

 Beach at the hotel.  It is legal to drive on the beach during the off-season.  Driving on the beach is prohibited from May 1 - September 15 and. of course, this is for four-wheel drive vehicles.

 Although the Outer Banks are remote, they have many of the
ammenities of the city.  Even a Five Guys burger place (Milepost 9, Kill Devil Hills).

Dunes at Jockey Ridge State Park ,

Nag's Head.

 Our first glimpse of Bodie Island Lighthouse...

Fireplace in the Lighthouse Keeper's Duplex which is now a bookstore... 

View of Bodie Island Lighthouse from the lookout point.

The Bodie Island Lighthouse is not open to the public at this time due to restoration.  The fresnel lens is currently in storage.  Until April, it looked like this...

to be continued..

Just one installment left about the outer banks.

Outer Banks - Currituck Beach Lighthouse

After lunch, we left Manteo and drove to the Outer Banks and continued North to the town of Corolla.  We knew we had a lot of territory to cover and a limited amount of time.  We didn't actually see much of Corolla as we had two destinations in mind...the first, Currituck Beach Lighthouse and the second, Whalehead Club.

I  l-o-v-e  lighthouses and was disappointed that on my first trip to the Outer Banks we didn't make it to any lighthouses.  This time, I did my homework and was prepared with GPS, addresses and driving directions.

 First glimpses of Currituck Beach Lighthouse...

S-o-o-o-o beautiful...

The base is really huge (more on that later)...

My partner in crime wore Cowboy Boots - probably not a good thing when climbing steel stairs...

Close up of stairs...

Notice how thick the walls are...

 This is a view of our next stop...

View from the top...

If you've read this far, I hope you've enjoyed the photos.  Now, for a little information about the lighthouse.  I have climbed lighthouses all over the United States - at least most of the West Coast Lighthouses and Great Lakes Lighthouses.  Well, this one scared the crap (excuse my French) out of me.  At first I thought it was old age, but after doing some reading later, I realized this lighthouses is 162' tall (including the base)!!  For example, Tawas Point Lighthouse in Michigan (on Lake Huron) is a mere 67' tall. (So, no wonder the Currituck Lighthouse has such a huge base!)  When I got to the top, I had to sit on the step of the doorway where I took the last two pictures.  After a few moments, I stood up and started to walk around the top, but lost all my courage and retreated back into the tower.

to be continued...

Outer Banks - Manteo

I recently got home after visiting my youngest daughter in North Carolina and my middle daughter in Kentucky.  While in North Carolina, my daughter and I decided to take a little trip to the Outer Banks.  This week I will be posting some of my favorite pictures from that trip.

We left at approximately 8:00 am and drove straight through to Roanoke Island where we stopped for lunch  and split a Reuben Sandwich at Poor Richard's in historic Manteo (the locals pronounce it Man-e-oh).  I have eaten at this Sandwich shop twice and each time I've been impressed!!  The sandwiches are great!! 

Poor Richard's is located on Queen Elizabeth Ave. and the patio overlooks Shallowbag Bay.

We also visited the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse...

This is the location of the Lost Colony.

to be continued...