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.

North Carolina Eateries...

After we climbed the Oak Island Lighthouse, we found this quaint little place.  It is called Bob's Dogs and they do serve hotdogs, but they also have other sandwiches.  My husband, daughter and I had their homemade chicken salad sandwich and my son-in-law had a chili dog.  We talked with the owners (who also toured the lighthouse with us) and they use quality ingredients and their prices are incredibly reasonable..  Here is a link to their menu.  

Chicken Salad Sandwich on a Kaiser Roll...

Chicken Salad Sandwich with top bun removed...

Chili Dog/Salad Combo...

They also have delicious homemade cookie sandwiches.  This one was chocolate chip with chocolate frosting inside.  They also have macadamia nut cookies with key lime frosting.




Here are a few more of our favorite places to eat in North Carolina...

The Trolley Stop in Southport...

Cookout  - many locations throughout North Carolina

 Enzo's Pizza... in Durham

Oak Island Lighthouse

On Saturday we had a tour scheduled to climb Oak Island Lighthouse (North Carolina).  The lighthouse is open to only the second floor during the summer & 2 days per week the rest of the year, but tours must be scheduled to climb to the top.  This lighthouse is one of the newest lighthouses in the United States.  Oak Island Lighthouse was built in 1958 and there is only one other like it in the United States.  What makes this lighthouse unique is that is does not have the typical spiral staircases found in most lighthouses.  Instead, it is equipped with 8 flights of  "ships ladders".  The flight to the first floor is only 10 steps high; however there are 7 more flights of 17 stairs.  The lighthouse itself is quite bright and you can see all the way to the top.  

My husband, daughter and son-in-law and I (as well as 3 other people on the tour) ascended the first flight of stairs to the first floor where the tour guide commenced to tell the history of the lighthouse.  I noticed that my daughter looked rather fearful.  She decided not to climb further.  My husband and son-in-law continued up along with the others and I waited until they were past.  I started to climb the second flight of stairs, but realized that I probably didn't have enough courage to make the climb since the supply elevator shaft
was open all the way to the top, and it was CREEPY!!!

First flight of stairs...

 Our tour guide...

 Another view to the top...

I nearly climbed to the third floor before calling it quits.  My husband climbed  4 flights of stairs and realized he was light-headed and should return to the bottom.  My son-in-law and the 3 other brave souls made it to the top.  Oh well, I never said I would climb every lighthouse in America, I would just like to visit them and and photograph them!!!

A Soda Fountain

About a month ago when I was in North Carolina, my daughter & son-in-law took me to a town near them, called Pittsboro.  We did some "antiquing" and then stopped at an old-fashioned soda fountain for respite and refreshment.  This soda fountain/former drug store was so impressive I just had to take photos.  It was truly like stepping into yesteryear...

Here I am stepping into yesteryear...ha!ha!...that's a joke...

Anyway, I thought it was awfully cute and just had to share it.

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 - The Whalehead Club

When my daughter and I decided to take our little trip to the Outer Banks, I googled "top 10 things to do in the Outer Banks".  The number one thing that showed up was Whalehead Club  I was giddy with excitement when I saw the picture of the beautiful art nouveau-style home.  I love history and architecture and I have an absolute love affair with all things Art Nouveau.  We decided to take the self-guided tour of the interior of the home since we figured we most likely would never make it back to this remote location.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photographs inside the home.  The interior was quite sterile - the floors were covered with cork tiles that were actually quite functional since it was originally built as a hunt club. But great attention was paid to detail - light fixtures, moldings, door handles, and furniture were all art nouveau.  A Steinway grand piano was even expressly made with the same styling.  This truly is the "crown jewel" of the Northern Outer Banks.

 View of house from boathouse...

Boathouse with Currituck Lighthouse in Background... 

to be continued...