Tag: Outer Banks
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Wintertime in Corolla, Part 2 (Not Water)
Sure, I enjoyed the sand and the waves during our brief hideaway on North Carolina’s Outer Banks (map). However I couldn’t spend the entire time just staring out the window or walking along the beach. We did some other things too. Everything seemed so weird though, partially because of the pandemic and partially because we…
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Wintertime in Corolla, Part 1 (Water)
My travel took a beating in 2020. Little did I know. Little did any of us know. True, I did manage a proper vacation to Bermuda just before the pandemic struck. Then we hid for brief periods away from everyone else at lakes in Pennsylvania and in Michigan. That helped. Hopefully someone reading this page…
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Ocracoke Light Station
Ocracoke Island, North Carolina (March 2012) The primary reason we went through the trouble of riding the ferry to Ocracoke Island from Hatteras was to see the old lighthouse (map). Construction of this version occurred in 1823 although lighthouses watched over Ocracoke Inlet since 1795. The need had long been established. English explorers first wrecked…
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Currituck Beach Lighthouse
Corolla, North Carolina (March 2012) Our trip to Currituck Beach Light provided a nice opportunity for a drive-by sighting. Unfortunately that’s the best we could do during the winter. It’s open and free to the public between Easter and Thanksgiving (with a small fee to climb the lighthouse tower). However it’s closed during the winter,…
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Cape Hatteras Light
Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Buxton, North Carolina (March 2012) The Cape Hatteras Light dominates the surrounding terrain. Unquestionably it serves as the most well-known lighthouse along the mid-Atlantic and maybe the nation. The black-and-white spiral paint job beckons tourists down the spine of the Outer Banks. It takes more than an hour of driving south…
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Bodie Island Light Station
Cape Hatteras National SeashoreNags Head, North Carolina (March 2012) Bodie Island Light Station The lighthouse on Bodie Island (pronounced “Body” after an early family of the same name) doesn’t have quite the same level of fame or recognition as its cousin on Cape Hatteras but it’s certainly no less important. All of the lights along…
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Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Roanoke Island, North Carolina (March 2012) We drove onto Roanoke Island from Nags Head. This is the largest island within the Sounds found between the backside of the North Carolina barrier islands and the mainland. Albemarle Sound is to the north, Pamlico Sound to the south, with the much smaller Croatan Sound to the west…
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Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry
Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island, North Carolina (March 2012) We drove down 75 miles of North Carolina’s Route 12, the Beach Road, along the spine of the Outer Banks. This was a long slog even during the winter when the length of highway was blessedly free of tourist traffic. Patience is a virtue. It took…
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Aircraft Carrier, Part 8 (Other Spaces and Places)
I certainly enjoyed my all-too-brief time on the USS John C. Stennis and hopefully I can get another opportunity to do it again someday. However, all things must end so I’ll tie-up a few remaining threads so we can move on to further adventures. Museum A museum on an aircraft carrier? Sure, why not. Behind…
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Aircraft Carrier, Part 7 (Always Working)
The USS John C. Stennis had only been out to sea for a couple of days when we visited. Morale remained high with the crew so early into their voyage, with absolute professionalism in whatever jobs they performed. We watched everyday activities as they took place, the many parts that worked together keeping a warship…