Ramblin Ways: OUTERBANKS OF NORTH CAROLINA

On Monday I made the move from Williamsburg to Avon, NC which is maybe a bit more than half way down the upper part of the outer banks. I was expecting just basically beaches and no much else, but was entirely ready for the ocean. Not as wild as the rocky coastline of Maine and much of New England, but it is beautiful in it's own way. There are miles and miles of beaches, which you are allowed to ride on, but not this old lady. Even though I have 4 wheel drive I would still be really nervous about driving in the soft sand. They say you have to lower the pressure in your tires to give it more surface area to grab into the sand, but with the weight I have in the truck I would not be wanting to lower the tire pressure from 55-65 down to 20 psi.

On Monday I took my time coming down, because I knew that Sarah, my granddaughter would be arriving late in the day. I only had 200 miles to drive so stopped a couple of times and just generally enjoyed driving at a leisurely speed rather than a flat out 65 mph. I am slowly getting the hang of this retirement thing......

Sarah and I decided to go out for dinner, one of my favorite things to do and one that I can not seem to do alone so it is nice to be able to go when I have someone to share it with. We had had some showers come through earlier so we decided to walk the half or three quarters mile to the restaurant. We didn't think about the weather and I am sure you know were this is going. Just as we finished dinner and were leaving it started to rain. I guess it could be called a monsoon. You know like the movies done in the south pacific where the rain is driving almost side ways. We ended up with our shoes off, wading through puddles and laughing all the way back to the camper.

I haven't walked in the rain in years and it was so much fun. We were literally soaked to the skin and turned the camper into a mini lake before we got out of the wet clothes and into jammies. To bad we didn't have a bar of soap we could have had an outdoor shower. LOL!!!!!

On Tuesday we started out to find a bakery that a friend of Sarah had recommended. Along the way we stopped at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. I have seen articles about it and everyone seems to give it a different height. This one is open to climb to the top so we decided what the heck. The ranger told us there were 257 steps to the top - pause for thought don't you think. After all I am 64 years young but I thought what the heck I can do this. They told us there was a landing every 31 steps and let me tell ya I stopped at every one. Some for longer that others, but when we reached the halfway point it seemed easier to go from there to the top. It was a windy day and as we went up the wind got stronger. They said it was blowing about 31 mph at the top and to make sure everything was secure or it would blow away.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest in North America standing 198 to 210 depending on the source of information. Having 257 to 263 steps to the top again depending on the source.. The Outer Banks is also called "The Graveyard of the Atlantic" with over 500 ships sinking off its shores. This lighthouse was commissioned due to a very real need for it in 1870. There is a detailed history of the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras Light Station In 1999 it was moved 900 feet inland due to the encroaching ocean. I have not looked into the move, but would imagine that it would have been a site to see as there are 1,250,000 bricks stacked 200+ feet high. Curiosity will drive me to find out more about it.

To give you an idea of how strong the wind was when we were out side at the top our hair was blowing straight up . Following are some pictures from the top.