Outer Banks Road Trip - October 2017 - Days 5 - 6

 October 23, 2017

Appomattox Court House NHP

Time to head home… Again, we had a couple of stops to make on the drive home. Our first stop was the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. The site was really busy! The visitor center has really nice displays and a video.  There are also a lot of ranger talks that take place. When we arrived there was one just finishing up and about ten minutes after we arrived another was starting. There are a few reconstructed buildings on site to visit.

Booker T. Washington National Monument

After a quick lunch at Dairy Queen in Appomattox (really good ice cream) we headed to the Booker T. Washington National Monument.  The visitor center had a 10 minute video which was worth the watch. The visitor center also had nice displays to check out.  Outside you can visit the log cabin where Booker was born. There are also some animals and other structures on site. We spent about 45 minutes at the site.

Back on the road…the drizzly rain that we had been dealing with all day increased in intensity making the drive not very fun.  It was really back for about two and half hours. We stopped at the Applebee’s in Princeton, WV for dinner and we decided on how much further we wanted to drive for the day. We decided to book the Holiday Inn Express in Parkersburg East. Based on reviews, it was newly opened – new hotels are the best! The room was really nice!

October 24, 2017

Hocking Hills

The weather was okay so we make a stop at the Hocking Hills.  We had not visited the Hocking Hills region in a few years.  We did some hiking at the Rock House and the Old Man Cave area before heading to the capitol in Columbus.  The capitol was quite basic, not nearly as fancy as most state capitols.

Columbus Capitol Building

The rest of the drive home was uneventful. Until next time, safe travels!

Outer Banks Road Trip - October 2017 - Day 4

Wright Brothers NHS

October 22, 2017

Rise and shine! It was another beautiful day! We started the day with a visit to the Wright Brothers National Historic Site.  It was really busy at this site! The visitor center is undergoing major renovations but there is a small temporary one available to visit. The site has a large memorial on top of a high and also has markers showing just how far the first flights flew.  The first three efforts were pretty dismal, but the forth flight was a decent distance.

We had lunch at a place called Pigman’s Bar-B-Que in Kill Devil Hills. It was decent, we aren’t really huge fans of Caroline BBQ since it is usually vinegar based. I had the Brunswick stew and pork sandwich. The stew was really good!

After lunch, we headed to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The site is believed to be the first English settlement in the present-day United States (1587).  The colony failed sometime between 1587 and 1590 when supply ships failed to arrive on time. The next time the site was visited it was found abandoned, thus giving the site a nickname of the “Lost Colony”.  The Union Army occupied the island in 1862.The video is a must see and the exhibits in the visitor center are really nice to check out also. There is a short hike on site that provides lovely views of the sound.  There is also another longer hike, but due to time we did not check that one out.

Jockeys Ridge State Park

Next up, the Jockeys Ridge State Park to visit the Dunes. It is free to visit. The visitor center is okay - it has a few interesting facts and interactive activities. Outside there are a few different trails.  There is also a boardwalk that provides a nice overall view of the dunes. From the boardwalk, you can also watch people hang gliding. There is a hang gliding school right at the state park if you are interested in learning! It seems like a lot of work for no much hang time!

Corolla Lighthouse

Leaving the dunes, we headed to the north end of the Outer Banks. We visited the Corolla Lighthouse. The lighthouse was open for climbing. The price was $10/person. This lighthouse is unique because it was never painted. The area near the lighthouse has lots of things to check out. There is a boardwalk to the sound and then there is a path to the ocean.  There are also wild horses in the area.  The historical Whalehead Club (1920s-era Art Nouveau-style mansion) is also just a short walk.  The old town area, historical Corolla. There are about 120 feral “Banker” horses that roam the area.

Heading back towards Kitty Hawk, we stopped for ice cream at The Chill Spot in Corolla. It was really pricey. They had interesting sundae options – yum!

Heading back to Kitty Hawk, we also visited the town of Duck. They have ¾ of a mile boardwalk along the Currituck Sound. Parking was available at the Town Hall. The boardwalk provides links to stores and other town amenities like the amphitheater, fishing areas, and kayak launch.

Village of Duck - Boardwalk Stroll

We decided to play some putt-putt golf at Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf. They put us on the gold course.  While the course wasn’t overly challenging, we had not played in quite a lot time so our putting skills were lacking. Regardless, we had a fun time in great weather!

Outer Banks Road Trip - October 2017 - Day 3

October 21, 2017

Bodie Island Lighthouse

Cape Hatters National Seashore, ready or not, here we come!  We started at the north end, since that was pretty much where we were staying at.  Our first site visit was at the Bodie Island Lighthouse in Nags Head.  The lighthouse was closed for climbing, but that did not stop us from checking out the area. There was a short boardwalk to a viewing platform. Please be sure to take the short trek!!  So many people did not walk over there, the trail looks longer than it actually is.  The viewing platform provided nice views and it was really peaceful out there!  The lighthouse that is there now is the third one that stood in the area. It is 170 feet tall and opened in 1872.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

The next site we visited was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton. Again, the lighthouse was closed for climbing, which was probably a good thing since this lighthouse was about 12 stories high (193 feet tall)!!  That would have been a lot of steps! This lighthouse opened in 1803. There is also a visitor center in the area as well as a hiking trail. The hiking trail was less than a mile long, but did not really offer much in terms of views.

Continuing south, we stopped for lunch at a little place called Kat’s Deli in Hatteras. It was okay, nothing to fancy. There were not a lot of options in the area that were open for lunch.

Ocracoke Lighthouse

We reached the end of the road…what to do…  The state offers a free car ferry ride to Ocracoke Island, which is home to the southerly portion of Cape Hatters National Seashore.  We decided to ride the ferry. We ended up having to wait about an hour and a half before getting on, but we were one of the first to get on. There are retail shops next to the ferry queuing area, and we did check a few of the shops out. The ferry ride lasted about an hour, lucky me I had a book to read! There was not much to see once on the ferry – just lots of water!  Once back on land, it was a 13-mile drive to get to the only town on the island, Ocracoke. Ocracoke is decent size with the locals and visitors mostly getting around on golf carts. We visited the National Park Visitor Center and then had some ice cream at The Fudge & Ice Cream Shop. The ice cream was really good! Nearby was the Ocracoke Lighthouse. Parking was VERY limited at the lighthouse, only 4 parking spaces with no additional parking nearby. Parking is limited to 15 minutes. We ended up having to driving around and then waited for a space to open up. Again the lighthouse was closed to walk up.

After the lighthouse visit, we headed back towards the ferry location. There was a sign stating that the ferry time that we had hoped to be on was cancelled. Since we had a little extra time, we took a short hike. This hike offered slightly better views than the previous hike. After the hike, we drove the rest of the way to the ferry line.  There were quite a few cars in front of us…we really hoped that we would fit on the next ferry! We ended up being the second to last car to make it on – yikes, that was close!  In the area of the ferry there was a bathroom and vending machines. There was also a little beach area.

Off-roading is very popular along the beach, not just on Ocracoke Island, but all along the Outer Banks.  We did not do any off-roading during our visit.

Outer Banks Road Trip - October 2017 - Days 1 and 2

October 19, 2017

On the road again, can’t wait to get on the road again… You guessed it, another road trip!! After work, we hit the road for a long weekend in the Outer Banks (North Carolina).  We go to the Columbus area where we stayed at the Best Western Canal Winchester Inn – Columbus South East.  It was just okay, I probably would not stay there again.

Gilford Court House National Military Park

October 20, 2017

We had breakfast and were packed up and ready to go by 8am.  We had decided to take the longer route to get to the Outer Banks because we wanted to visit a few National Park sites that we had not yet visited.  Gilford Court House National Military Park was the first site of the day.  The battle that was fought here back in 1781 was one of the largest and most contested battles in the American Revolution, and helped lead the way to the Cornwallis surrender at Yorktown.  The site was not too busy.  The video was just starting when we arrived so we watched that before exploring everything else.  The video was good and worth the watch.

Raleigh, NC Capitol

Onward we go…continuing with our visits to the state capitol, we were able to swing by Raleigh. We arrived just after 5pm, so there was plenty of free street parking available.  The capitol was not overly large, but was a very pretty building that demonstrates Greek Revival style architecture. The capitol was built in 1840 and is listed on the National Historic Landmark registry.

Back on the road we FINALLY arrived to our accommodation for our Outer Banks visit!  We stayed at a lovely place called Beachwoods in Kitty Hawk. The place boasts as being a 4 seasons resort. There were a ton of amenities – indoor pool (with a few waterslides), outdoor pool, tennis court, volley ball court, and nature trail. Totally worth staying at if you are in the area for a visit.