October 21, 2017
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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