Day 6

Another beautiful day in paradise. We headed south again towards Hattaras Island and the light house to (1) enjoy the beaches and (2) pick up a shirt at the light house that Doug wanted. We spent the day at a couple different beaches. Towards the end of the day Rick started talking to a fisherman who lived nearby. Beth asked for a dinner recommendation for sea food and he recommended the Quarterdeck in Frisco. Enroute to the restaurant we pulled over in a day-use area to enjoy the sunset.

Day 5

Beth, Doug, and Gloria near the Roanoke Marshes Light House on Roanoke Island at Manteo.
Watching the winning game of the World Series
Siblings on the Roanoke waterfront.
Roanoke water front.
Roanoke Marshes Light House.
Elizabeth II.

Today we went to Roanoke Island to visit the Lost Colony, Fort Raleigh, the Elizabethan Gardens, the Elizabeth II at Festival Park, and another light house. Rick stayed back at the house and did some exploring on his own, using one of the bicycles here at the house.

Festival Park is across from the Manteo waterfront. History comes alive, with actors playing the part of the “natives.”. We toured a 16th-century ship called the Elizabeth II.

Twenty-three years before Jamestown (1584), the dream of an English-speaking nation began on the shores of Roanoke Island. This small island was home to the first temporary English settlements in the New World, sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh during the years 1584 to 1587. Roanoke Island Festival Park celebrates this period of Roanoke Island History through history-made-fun and a passion for the arts.

On Elizabeth II, a representative 16th-century sailing ship, we met sailors like those who sailed across the Atlantic in 1585. They were dressed in period garments and spoke Elizabethan dialect. They brought the history of the voyages to life at the Settlement Site, where we were introduced to the game of Skittles and worked with their k-nives carving tools.

Day 3 and 4 Lighthouses

Monday we went north a few miles to the light house at Currituck.



After we were unable to make the ferry to a couple wineries we went south and visited the Bodie Island lighthouse.



Tuesday we again headed south and stopped and visited the Cape Hatteras Light house.


Next we had to catch a ferry for a 40 minute ride to Ocracoke to visit the Ocracoke lighthouse.

Day 4 Whales

Sunday and Monday were cloudy, windy, and rainy. That didn't stop us from having fun. Yesterday we visited the Currituck Beach Light House in Corolla. Doug and Beth climed to the top while the rest of us looked around down below. We tried to visit some wineries only to realize we had to take a ferry and got there too late and had to wait till the next one so we gave up that idea. We also visited Bodie Island light house. I'll post some of these pictures later.

Roger and I caught the sunrise this morning. After breakfast we drove further south to Cape Hatteras light house and Oracroke Island lighthouse. The ocea was violent near Rodanthe and water and sand were over the road. County crews closed the road right behind us to other travelers while they tried to make the road safer.

After visiting the light house on Oracroke, we pulled off and walked over a sand dune to the ocean. As we got to the top of the dune we caught something off in front of us coming up out of the water. A WHALE!!!! It just kept going back and forth in front of us. I talked to someone who said he had been coming to the Outer Banks for years and had never seen one. It was a great day.

Lighthouse pictures to be posted tomorrow.