I looked at the map for my halfway point between the Outer Banks and my next destination, Chincoteague, VA. Right smack-dab in the middle was the Great Dismal Swamp. PERFECT! Who could resist a place with such a name? Continue reading
Category Archives: North Carolina
“I Want to Marry a Lighthouse Keeper…”
.”…and live by the side of the sea”
(Titled after a song, not an actual desire. I would rather have a light “housekeeper.” haha!)
This will be my last post from the Outer Banks. I have saved the ABSOLUTE best for last. You see, I am a self-proclaimed “lighthouse nut.” Continue reading
No Phone! No Lights! No Motorcar…
Not a single luxureeee….. Like Robinson Crusoe….Only with 4G!
After hearing the Park Ranger talk about the remote, rustic Great Island Cabins over on the Cape Lookout barrier island as the ideal place to “get away from it all,” and fall asleep to the lull of the ocean waves after a night of brilliant star gazing, I decided to leave the Winnie behind for a one night sample. Continue reading
The signpost up ahead reads….
I moved over from the Outer Banks to the mainland as a better vantage point for exploring Cape Lookout National Seashore. I needed to get the 2 ½ hour Cedar Island Ferry behind me, which bridges the 22 mile gap between Ocracoke and Cape Lookout. Continue reading
“A community that Time Forgot”
There is no better bargain on the island of Ocracoke than Captain Rudy Austin and his twenty dollar tours to Portsmouth Island. Twenty bucks will get out a nice ride across the Pamlico sound, some Blackbeard and Seaman’s tales, a visit to a “ghost town,” beachcombing and wildlife viewing, all rolled into one tour! Continue reading
The Road to Ocracoke
Oh, yeah. That’s right. There is none. You must go by feeeerrrry…. That same ferry which took a bite out of my door!
I felt a gravitational pull to Ocracoke Island like I never expected. It is the “unspoiled fisherman’s paradise” you hear about but never seem to find. Continue reading
The First Cut is the Deepest…
…baby, I know!
I first heard of Ocracoke Island from my dearly departed friend and Scuba instructor, Larry “Fitz” Fitzgerald. Fitz taught me how to dive in the miles and miles of underground labyrinth of fresh water caves known as the Floridan Aquifer, Continue reading
Crossing the Bar…
I got news yesterday that my friend and former colleague succumbed to cancer. She was only 59.…a number very close to my heart. I can still hear her laughter….a finer legacy I could not hope to leave. Continue reading
Hangin’ in Hatteras
I’ve had a lot of fun here in Cape Hatteras, in spite of the fact that I didn’t really care for the cluttered and clustered Frisco Woods campground. The island is a culmination of all things I like – long stretches of deserted beach, sunsets on the Sound, shipwreck museum, and scrumptious seafood. Continue reading
12 Seconds that Changed the World
“If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance.” – Orville Wright
Aside from my loving, supportive Mom and hardworking Dad as well as a couple of smarter-than-me siblings, two of the people who most influenced the course of my life were no doubt Orville and Wilbur. Continue reading