If you are a regular reader of this column, you will know that my wife and I like to take road trips and usually they are for at least a couple of thousand miles. You would also know that before moving back to New York State, I lived in North Carolina for close to 30 years and consider it my second home.
Well, we just recently returned from another of our little excursions.
We drove the "back roads" down through the low country of Virginia and
North Carolina staying a couple of days in the delightful city of New
Bern after which we took U.S. Highway 70 east to N.C. highway 12 to
Cedar Island. There is no reason to go to Cedar Island except that it
is the terminus for the ferry to Ocracoke Island. Ocracoke has a
magnetic attraction that draws us to it should we get anywhere within a
gazillion miles of it, but not during the summer!
It's not that summer on the island is all that bad weather-wise; it's because it's all that bad people wise. This tiny little island is comprised primarily of beach! For most of its 15 miles or so, the eastern side of the island facing the Atlantic Ocean has some of the great Outer Banks beaches. Unspoiled.....uncluttered.....uncommercialized.....undeveloped..... unobstructed, just sand, wind and waves.....endless waves.
On the southern end of the island is the Village of Ocracoke. Small and loaded with rental properties and all the supporting characters of tee shirt shops and restaurants needed to support and make happy all those who come to inhabit the one square mile of "civilization" during "the season." Years ago, when I first visited the island, this was a fantastic little fishing village and if you listened to the locals talk, you would swear you were on the coast of Maine. There was a mixture of southern and New England "down east" twang in their speech that I've never heard anywhere else.
Unfortunately, that's all gone. Oh, there are still a few fishing boats around, but nothing like it was 30 or 40 years ago before the Outer Banks were found. Now, the quaint little village homes rent out for a thousand dollars a week or more to visitors with accents even I can hardly understand.
But it's the beaches that still hold the magic of the Banks. If you read about the local history, you will wonder how this remote little island has packed so much into so little. Ocracoke anchors the middle of the barrier islands that run from the Virginia/North Carolina border all the way south almost to the North Carolina/ South Carolina border. It's much better known northern neighbor of Hatteras Island with its famous lighthouse is much bigger and much more populated. To the south, there are a number of uninhabited islands protected by state and federal governments and then comes Top Sail and Wrightsville Beach.
But Ocracoke remains one of the most intriguing islands because it is so remote. To get to the island from the south, you have to take a two-and-a-half-hour ferry ride from Cedar Island which itself is at least an hour's ride from anywhere. From the north, you have to drive to the southern end of Hatteras and take yet another ferry to reach Ocracoke, although this one is only about 45 minutes in duration.
But the real issue is, is it worth it? You'll have to take the trip yourself to get the answer and to do that, I would suggest you first drive to a spot somewhere north of the village sometime between October 15 and April 1, wear a medium-weight jacket and tennis shoes, get out of your car and take the short walk over the dune until you reach the beach and just stand there. Your mind and body will dictate how long to stay. You can close your eyes if you wish. Let your thoughts drift and your soul be absorbed.....and you will have your answer. Is it worth it?
If the answer is no, catch the next ferry. If you're not on it, you've come to the same conclusion that my wife and I have. Stick around, there's more of the same a few yards in either direction.
Should you like to visit, call The Captain's Landing for a room and tell George we sent you.
See you outdoors!
You can reach Dick at rtotino@nycap.rr.com
It's not that summer on the island is all that bad weather-wise; it's because it's all that bad people wise. This tiny little island is comprised primarily of beach! For most of its 15 miles or so, the eastern side of the island facing the Atlantic Ocean has some of the great Outer Banks beaches. Unspoiled.....uncluttered.....uncommercialized.....undeveloped..... unobstructed, just sand, wind and waves.....endless waves.
On the southern end of the island is the Village of Ocracoke. Small and loaded with rental properties and all the supporting characters of tee shirt shops and restaurants needed to support and make happy all those who come to inhabit the one square mile of "civilization" during "the season." Years ago, when I first visited the island, this was a fantastic little fishing village and if you listened to the locals talk, you would swear you were on the coast of Maine. There was a mixture of southern and New England "down east" twang in their speech that I've never heard anywhere else.
Unfortunately, that's all gone. Oh, there are still a few fishing boats around, but nothing like it was 30 or 40 years ago before the Outer Banks were found. Now, the quaint little village homes rent out for a thousand dollars a week or more to visitors with accents even I can hardly understand.
But it's the beaches that still hold the magic of the Banks. If you read about the local history, you will wonder how this remote little island has packed so much into so little. Ocracoke anchors the middle of the barrier islands that run from the Virginia/North Carolina border all the way south almost to the North Carolina/ South Carolina border. It's much better known northern neighbor of Hatteras Island with its famous lighthouse is much bigger and much more populated. To the south, there are a number of uninhabited islands protected by state and federal governments and then comes Top Sail and Wrightsville Beach.
But Ocracoke remains one of the most intriguing islands because it is so remote. To get to the island from the south, you have to take a two-and-a-half-hour ferry ride from Cedar Island which itself is at least an hour's ride from anywhere. From the north, you have to drive to the southern end of Hatteras and take yet another ferry to reach Ocracoke, although this one is only about 45 minutes in duration.
But the real issue is, is it worth it? You'll have to take the trip yourself to get the answer and to do that, I would suggest you first drive to a spot somewhere north of the village sometime between October 15 and April 1, wear a medium-weight jacket and tennis shoes, get out of your car and take the short walk over the dune until you reach the beach and just stand there. Your mind and body will dictate how long to stay. You can close your eyes if you wish. Let your thoughts drift and your soul be absorbed.....and you will have your answer. Is it worth it?
If the answer is no, catch the next ferry. If you're not on it, you've come to the same conclusion that my wife and I have. Stick around, there's more of the same a few yards in either direction.
Should you like to visit, call The Captain's Landing for a room and tell George we sent you.
See you outdoors!
You can reach Dick at rtotino@nycap.rr.com
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