Day Four Hatteras - It's the weekend!
It's the weekend - so many adventures to have, such little time to go on them.
We finally got to stay in bed for longer this morning. It was lovely. Bill got up and went to work on the blog platform. Once the platform was set up we both started to write and edit content. I worked outside while watching more kite surfers. The wind had kicked up again in the morning so the surfers came back. At about 11am we decided it was time to get out and explore the northern parts of the Outer Banks. Corolla was our destination in search of wild horses and lighthouses. Currituck Lighthouse and Corolla Beach were about 50 miles up Rt. 12.
First stop, find a beach to walk along to see and hear the awesome waves. It seems to be that you can pull off by the side of the road and walk over the dunes. Everyone seems to do it especially if you like to surf. So that's what we did, we pulled off and walked over the dunes to the ocean. It's great as this way you don't run into anyone while on the beach. Miles and miles of sand and water with no one in sight. After collecting some decent shells we moved continued north.
After a brief stop at Dairy Queen we made it to the Lighthouse at 1pm. The Lighthouse was well worth the drive. The 162 ft brick and mortar structure was built in 1875 using 1,000,000 bricks. There are 220 steps to the top and we climbed every single one of them. Along the way there were six platforms that explained the history of the lighthouse. Once at the top, Bill secured his hat to the door knob and we went out onto the very windy platform to experience the 360 degree view. We were greeted with expansive views of the Currituck Sound, Atlantic Ocean and the Northern Outer Banks. After taking far too many pictures we descended and headed to the gift shop that was located in the lightkeepers house. Bill stayed outside and talked to the docent while I did a quick spin round the shop.
Next we headed to over to the South end of Corolla Beach thinking that we would find the wild horses roaming. WRONG, horses are smarter than we thought. After spending some time with Google, we realized that we needed to head further north on Corolla Beach to find them. Back in the car we went.
We'd been told that a "must do" was to go and see the wild horses on Corolla Beach, so away went in search of them. As we approached the beach we were luckily enough to be following an open top Humvee full of tourists. We figured that following them was our best bet to finding the horses. Things were going well until the road turned into the beach. We (or I) took a deep breath and ventured on to the beach in pursuit. Big Red tackled the sand with ease. Bill did an awesome job driving and shouting "woohoo". It was about a 3 miles drive down the beach until the hummer turned off in to the dunes. After hesitating for just a second we followed....in for a penny in for a pound. The sand was a little more dicey but Big Red took it in stride. As we turned the corner we saw three horses grazing in the scrub grass on the dunes, surrounded by houses. Yes, they'd built houses on the beach where the wild horses had been for over 400 years. It took the idyllic vision of wild horses running wild on the beach in an entirely different direction. We decided that if we'd paid $60 for the hummer tour we'd have been really upset. Time to leave the horses to their peaceful homes. We flew back down the beach and back on the road towards the town of Duck.
Duck reminded us of Ephraim in Door County. Same vibe but with an awesome Soundside board walk running on the backside of the buildings. The shops were mostly closed for the season so after a short walk we decided to hit the road and head back to the Bungalow.
We decided to stop for dinner before heading home. We drove into Avon and ate at Oceanas. This is the restaurant where CJ, the hitchhiker that we picked up, recommended to go. It was a good suggestion. We sat at the bar which is always interesting. It's great to talk to the locals, hear the gossip and be part of the community if only for a few minutes. The bar patrons were lively and a lot of fun. The bartender had attitude with the locals but Bill and I were spared. We really enjoyed our shrimp and scallops meals but it was time to head home. We were now both ready to be back in our cozy bungalow.
We had a great day exploring and we definitely slept well.
Day 9 Pictures
