Outer Banks of North Carolina

It started raining this morning about the time we left Norfolk, VA and rained on us all the way to Kitty Hawk, NC. Then it stopped and we were able to be a "tourist" before it started raining again right after we got on the ferry. First stop was Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers National Memorial. In the picture at right, the big boulder is where their plane left the ground on Dec 17, 1903 and history was changed.  They completed 4 flights that day and the white markers represent the 4 flights. The first flight was 120 ft and went from the boulder to the first white marker. The 2nd flight was 175 ft, the 3rd flight was 200 ft and the last one to the marker that you can barely see in the distance was 852 ft and lasted 59 seconds. After the 4 the flight, the place was caught by a guest of wind, flipped over and damaged beyond easy repair.

On down the road is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  The lighthouse is 187 ft tall and is the tallest lighthouse in the United States. The lighthouse was build in 1870. It was relocated in 1999 due to beach erosion at it's original location. When it was built, it was 1600 feet from the water but when it was moved, it was only 100 feet from the ocean. The lighthouse, including it's base, was put on steel beams and slowly moved 2,900 ft to it new location which is again 1,600 ft from the ocean.  The lighthouse keeper's house was also moved. It really is a beautiful structure and no, we did not climb the 256 narrow, winding steps to the top.
Then it was back on the road to catch the ferry from Hatteras to Orcacork Island where we are spending the night. We lucked out with the ferry since it runs every 1/2 hour and we only had to wait 15 minutes. Last weekend, the wait was about 3 hours. There is no bridge to Ocracoke Island so ferry is the only way to get there. This ferry is a 40 minute trip. The bottom picture is of a ferry like the one we were on as it passed us right after we left the dock. We were going out and it was coming into the dock. There were about 30 vehicles on the ferry and everyone in line did not get on so they had to wait for the next one. They told us that a squall line was coming in and sure enough, it started raining before we left the dock.  At times it was just a light rain and at time it just poured.  However, I was surprised that there was no wind so it was a pretty smooth crossing. The ferry we take in the morning over to the mainland is a 2.5 hour trip.