Lighthouses of the Outerbanks

The Outer Banks of North Carolina are known for the their beaches and lighthouses. The first picture is the Hatteras Lighthouse on Hatteras Island. We climbed up the interior...268 steps.

Evie on top of the Hatteras Lighthouse and the beaches to the south. Below is a look at the town of Hatteras to the north.

The last time we visited, the lighthouse was being moved on a crawler from its original position due to the beach being eroded. Below are two pictures, the first shows the track the lighthouse followed and the second the site (you can still see the old stone foundation on the edge of the beach).

Below is Bodie Island Lighthouse which is to the north of Hatteras Island.

North Carolina Ferries

We reported taking two ferries on our recent trip. The ferries on the short runs, such as those between the Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island, as pictured below are basic. Some have sitting areas while others lack such areas. There are no metal gates as there are on the longer runs that are exposed to rougher seas. As you can see from the last pictures the waves can wash over the front...and our trip was done on a calm day.

There is not fee for cars or passangers on the shorter runs like the Hatteras to Ocracoke. These ferries carry all supply trucks and construction equipment Ocracoke.

Ferry Trip and the Gulls

Yesterday we traveled to Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks via two ferries. The first ferry took us from Swan Quarter to Ocracoke Island. We drove from 12 miles north from the south end of the island where Ocracoke Village is located to the north end to catch the ferry to the south end of Hatteras Island and the town of Hatteras. There was a fee for the ferry from Swan Quarter ($30 for us as we are oversized) but no fee from Ocracoke to Hatteras.

I spend some time watching the gulls and managed to get a few shots along the way.

The first picture is not a gall but a pelican of some sort. I got lucking in the second with the bird zeroing in on a bug (note his beak is just starting to open).