It's a chilly and foggy day for our trip from Nags Head down the Outer Banks along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
We passed this Futuro house at the Outer Banks in Frisco, NC between mileposts 65 and 67. Sid (the spoilsport) wouldn't let me get off the bike and peek in the windows...something about private property. It's really quite small for a house...and it already has residents!
Wait, I'll back up to the start of Day 10.
Dawn of Day 10 on the road: chilly and foggy. It seems I am not destined to get that spectacular sunrise photo on the Atlantic after all...*sigh*
By 9:30 we are packed and ready to leave Nags Head. Much of the fog is gone. We have an easy day ahead of us. We will follow Hwy 12 down the Outer Banks along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Miles and miles of unspoiled beaches with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Pamlico Sound on the other. In spite of the fog we saw some kiteboarders in the Sound near Rodanthe, NC, a mecca for "wind junkies" because of its 300 miles of waist-deep water and consistent winds. It's not unusual to see windsurfers and kiteboarders all over this place.
I've learned a bit about this sport on the internet. There were only a few kiters on the water, and this is my best photo from a moving motorcycle. Go here for some good photos: Outer Banks Kiting. This article from AARP was really informative: Flowing' in the Wind.
It was sputtering rain and the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was closed so visitors were not allowed to climb the 268 steps to the top. But the museum was open, so I could absorb everything there was to offer about the tallest lighthouse on American shores.
There was also a fascinating exhibit about the U-85. The first Nazi submarine destroyed during World War II by Americans, which was sunk off Bodie Island. Apparently, the Germans had a stranglehold on US supply lines and shipping routes in the early stages of the war. U-85, a Type VIIb, German submarine went down after an attack by the USS Roper on April 14, 1942. Sid and I were surprised to learn that German subs patrolled just two miles off the Outer Banks during most of WWII! The wreck of U-85 is a favorite for recreational divers since it sits upright in just 100 feet of water.
Sid is now the lighthouse seeker! We saw this in the distance. Thinking it might be a converted lighthouse, Sid traveled some side roads to find this elaborate rental house on Pamlico Sound. Fog prevents us from seeing the Sound behind this house that rents for $7100 per week in the prime season and only $3100 in the off season.
In order to get to our destination for the night, Ocracoke Island, we had to take the ferry from Hatteras. On the ferry we met seven bikers from Brunswick, Canada, old farts like us, who flew into Charlotte and are spending two weeks traveling many of the same roads we are traveling. This is their 8th year to travel through the southern US during the spring. A few of them bring the bikes on trailers to the destination city, and the rest fly.
I met this couple from Virginia on the ferry with their little girl. The husband drew the gulls by tossing cashews into the air. It was a sight!
I had a great time photographing the gulls who were vying for the cashews. Later, a guy in a truck donated a bag of Fritos to the feeding effort saying we were "brave" for getting so close to all the seagulls!
People out here are serious about fishing. It was not unusual to see trucks with coolers and rod holders mounted to the front bumpers. I was in awe of this sight and glad for the opportunity to catch a photo while the truck was sitting still on the ferry.
After checking in to our motel, the Pony Island Motel on Ocracoke Island, we headed to the Ocracoke lighthouse. This little island is rich in history, settled by ship builders who stripped the land of all its timber, and frequented by Blackbeard, a vicious pirate who preyed on ships for five years before being killed here in 1718.
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