Waves, North Carolina - October 13 - 14, 2015

Waves, North Carolina - October 13 - 14, 2015

October 13, 2015

The day started with a meeting about today’s travels.  We are driving 164 miles to Waves, North Carolina.  Actually, we will be staying at an RV Park in Rodanthe, NC.  On the way there we were able to see the results of the recent storms in the area.  They had lots of large equipment moving the sand back to the correct location.  There is a lot of movement of the beach sand in the area.  Luckily, the roads were all in good shape, so we didn’t have any problem with that. 

Along the way, we saw the houses that were built up on “stilts”.  With the movement of the sand and water, we could see why that was necessary.  We understand that often the first floor of the house also gets filled with sand during some of the storms.  They even tape up window sills and doors, to keep the sand out.  Yuk.

We were glad the directions in our book were good, since we couldn’t find the address of the RV Park on the GPS.   Once we were parked and got settled in, we pretty much stayed in the coach for a while, as it was very windy. 

In the evening the staff had prepared a Shrimp Boil.  This was a new experience for us.  Wow.  They had about a 8 – 10 foot table set up with paper on it.  When it came time to serve the dinner, they brought out multiple containers of the boil (shrimp, clams, sausage, potatoes, carrots, onions) and poured it on the paper.  Everyone got to dig in and eat.  After the dinner, there were numerous desserts that some of the ladies had made.  Once again we had plenty of food.  Yum.

After the dinner, we played Bingo with our signed Bingo cards.  There were prizes for those that got Bingo.  We were one of the lucky ones and won a package of “Minnions” bandages.  They told us that the prizes would be life changing.  J

We went back to the RV to get ready for another fun filled day.

 

October 14, 2015

Today we were able to go on another bus tour of the area.  It is the best way to learn so many details of the area.  Allison had lived in North Carolina a good share of her life, so was able to tell us so much about the things like the hurricane season (preparing, evacuating and cleaning up).  We were able to see firsthand some of the results of even a minor storm.

Our first stop was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  I know I have seen pictures of the We were able to go up to the lighthouse, but it is closed for the season, so we weren’t able to climb to the top.  Stan was SO disappointed.  He loves lighthouses and climbing to the top is his favorite.  NOT

“Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Outer Banks are a group of islands on the North Carolina coast that separate the Atlantic Ocean from the coastal sounds and inlets. Atlantic currents in this area made for excellent travel for ships, except in the area of Diamond Shoals, just offshore at Cape Hatteras. Nearby, the warm Gulf Stream ocean current collides with the colder Labrador Current, creating ideal conditions for powerful ocean storms and sea swells. The large number of ships that ran aground because of these shifting sandbars, including the Civil War ironclad warship USS Monitor, gave this area the nickname “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” It also led Congress to authorize the construction of the Cape Hatteras Light. Its 210 foot height makes it the tallest brick lighthouse structure in the United States and 29th in the world. Since its base is almost at sea level, it is only the 15th highest light in the United States, the first 14 being built on higher ground.”

Next we went to Chicamacomico Life-Savings Station Historic Site & Museum.  We were told about the development of the stations, since the outer banks were the location of many shipwrecks.  Life-savings stations were located about every seven miles along the coast.  Every night employees would walk the beach looking for shipwrecks.  They would meet the employee from the next station about half way and exchange tokens to show that all of the beach had been covered.

In later years the, the life-saving stations had been formed what is now known as the Coast Guard.

“Throughout the decades before and after the Civil War, the Outer Banks was well-known as a flagship for Life Saving Stations all along the coast, stations that were the precursor for the modern day Coast Guard. These stations, established from the Currituck beaches all the way to Ocracoke Island, were sentinels for passing sailors, and provided many rescues for ships lost or wrecked on the notorious waters off the coast.”

As though one lighthouse wasn’t enough, we got to see a second one – Bodie Island Lighthouse.  By this time “everyone” on the bus is giving Stan a bad time, knowing that he has had his fill.  Of course a climb wasn’t possible because it was also closed for the season.

“The current Bodie Island Lighthouse is the third that has stood in this vicinity of Bodie Island on the Out Banks in North Carolina and was built in 1872. It stands 156 feet (48 m) tall and is located on the Roanoke Sound side of the first island that is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The lighthouse is just south of Nags Head, a few miles before Oregon Inlet. It was renovated from August 2009 to March 2013, and was made climbable by the public.”

At last, we stopped for lunch.  Everyone was getting a bit hungry.  There was WAY too much food, and it was great.  We had a nice room over the water.  Beautiful!!

The tour guide then asked if anyone was interested in climbing up the highest sand dune in the area.  We thought she was kidding, since she asked us that about the lighthouses, only to find they were closed.  Of course, Bev was all over it, and Stan not so much.  About half of the group took off their shoes and walked up the sand dunes.  It was great after our huge lunch.  The sand was so fine and warm on the feet.  Allison the tour guide nicknamed Bev “Zippy”.  She loves to walk fast when she can. 

The last stop on the tour was the Wright Brothers National Memorial.  Stan really enjoyed this, and spent most of his time in the museum.  Bev opted to walk thru the grounds to the Memorial with several others, and the bus, with the museum viewers, picked them up on the other side. 

“Wright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came here from Dayton, Ohio, based on information from the U.S. Weather Bureau about the area's steady winds. They also valued the privacy provided by this location, which in the early twentieth century was remote from major population centers.”

We went back to the RV until dinner time.   We went to “Dirty Dick’s Crab House”.  With a name like that we didn’t want to miss it.  Joan Derks went with us, as Jack was pooped and just wanted to rest.  We weren’t that hungry, so we had an appetizer – which turned out to be huge – but good with clams, oysters, shrimp, and fries.  It ended up being plenty for all of us, and we took some home for Jack.  Of course Joan & Bev HAD to buy shirts.