[Bjeanj]

Spending a few days here.

[Velvet]

Very beautiful! Did you see the white lighthouse? I loved the water there, I took off my running shoes to wash out the sand in the ocean and when I pulled it out, it was filled with small sea life! Such fertile waters. Blackbeard, ship wrecks, etc. so much history.

[manaboutown]

Back in the 1970s I spent a lot of time there. Great place! Great people! Love their old English dialect. Oy Toyd (high tide).

[Bjeanj]

We parked and walked over to the lighthouse, but it was closed for lunch, although people were not allowed up the stairs since they were unsafe. We are going to the beach tomorrow. We explored almost all the shops today, and drove north to the other end of the island. Nice to visit, but wouldn’t want to live here. Too salty and sandy. Population is reported to be between 750-900 full-timers. A boatload of rental homes.

[Stu from NYC]

Very nice

[Velvet]

Amazing picture of the lighthouse. I still have magnets of it on my fridge. (And I don’t usually collect magnets.) If you go to the cemeteries you’ll find most last names are one of two family names, as if there had ever been just two families on the island. And you are so close to Cape Hatteras, a bird and sea turtle preserve for many miles along the shore with truly virgin sand. A bit further north Kill Devil Hill where they give hang gliding lessons on sand dunes. When you are learning they fly your glider and they guide you like a kite, especially when it is windy. Wright Brothers first flight. A little further north is Currituck Beach lighthouse with wild horses visiting it every day. True free wild horses. For years and years since I was a teen, The Outer Banks was my summer go to place.

[manaboutown]

Watch out for the green flies. When you came out of the water they will bite you on your ankles especially while they are still wet.

Go clamming. I could mention some Ocracoke Island common names but I won't.

[Bjeanj]

My husband and I have been bitten by those flies and keep spraying insect repellent with DEET. Aaargh!

[Dusty_Star]

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

[Bjeanj]

I finally figured out that if I stood sideways to the waves I stood a better chance of staying on my feet.

[Velvet]

And the sun off the water is powerful. My 6 year old brother got 3rd degree burns after one full day of playing in the ocean. We had to take him to a hospital.

Your photos bring so much joy, reliving the past… I can smell the water and hear the waves in my mind’s eye.

[mntlblok]

Originally Posted by Velvet

Amazing picture of the lighthouse. I still have magnets of it on my fridge. (And I don’t usually collect magnets.) If you go to the cemeteries you’ll find most last names are one of two family names, as if there had ever been just two families on the island. And you are so close to Cape Hatteras, a bird and sea turtle preserve for many miles along the shore with truly virgin sand. A bit further north Kill Devil Hill where they give hang gliding lessons on sand dunes. When you are learning they fly your glider and they guide you like a kite, especially when it is windy. Wright Brothers first flight. A little further north is Currituck Beach lighthouse with wild horses visiting it every day. True free wild horses. For years and years since I was a teen, The Outer Banks was my summer go to place.

One of my earliest vacation memories was witnessing a (white) tornado (whilst over the spit of sand that holds the road) dance on the beach before heading out to sea as a water spout - that had just destroyed a bowling alley and taken a huge chunk out of one of the big sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge. Summer of 1959. It's been hard to find any news reports related to it, though.

Oh, and we were allowed to climb that striped Cape Hatteras lighthouse that trip. Believe I've read that it was bodily moved a couple hundred yards inland since.

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by mntlblok

One of my earliest vacation memories was witnessing a (white) tornado (whilst over the spit of sand that holds the road) dance on the beach before heading out to sea as a water spout - that had just destroyed a bowling alley and taken a huge chunk out of one of the big sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge. Summer of 1959. It's been hard to find any news reports related to it, though.

Oh, and we were allowed to climb that striped Cape Hatteras lighthouse that trip. Believe I've read that it was bodily moved a couple hundred yards inland since.

I wish I could have seen the “white tornado”. Hurricanes yes, every year late August The Outer Banks were evacuated. Only the most stalwart resident stayed, boarded up, through serious hurricanes. And the flooding after each hurricane, the reason why most houses are built on stilts.

The Cape Hatteras lighthouse has been moved inland in 1999 because after years of trying to shore it up with sandbags it was impossible to keep it from the ocean’s erosion. Before it was moved I had a chance to climb all 257 steps and saw the gigantic Frensel lens close up.

The huge sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge would get hot in the summer, but would be super fun. We’d climb up to the top and slide down just like tobogganers but on our rears. My small Welsh terrier would tumble paw over head all the way down, then quickly climb up again. While beside us the hang gliders would be learning to fly their kites at ground school.

[mntlblok]

Originally Posted by Velvet

I wish I could have seen the “white tornado”. Hurricanes yes, every year late August The Outer Banks were evacuated. Only the most stalwart resident stayed, boarded up, through serious hurricanes. And the flooding after each hurricane, the reason why most houses are built on stilts.

The Cape Hatteras lighthouse has been moved inland in 1999 because after years of trying to shore it up with sandbags it was impossible to keep it from the ocean’s erosion. Before it was moved I had a chance to climb all 257 steps and saw the gigantic Frensel lens close up.

The huge sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge would get hot in the summer, but would be super fun. We’d climb up to the top and slide down just like tobogganers but on our rears. My small Welsh terrier would tumble paw over head all the way down, then quickly climb up again. While beside us the hang gliders would be learning to fly their kites at ground school.

What I remember most about those fun sand dunes was how painful it was on my little legs when the wind really picked up. Have been back a few times over the decades and can tell that I'm conflating and mixing up memories, but during one trip to those dunes I swear there was a little pond down at the bottom somewhere that had large goldfish swimming in it. I think. :-) Don't think I was ever there with the hang gliders, but knew folks who had tried it there. It's a magical area to me.

[Velvet]

Magic… yes. The National Seashore is harsh but absolutely magical. I remember a little pond before one climbed up the closest dune, but when I was there it had tadpoles.