Weekend Road Trip: North Carolina’s Outer Banks

Paradise in N.C.

 

 

Our WeeKend Road Trip this week takes us to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. First stop, Jockey’s Ridge, the tallest sand dune in the eastern United States. The height of the dunes vary from 80 to 120 feet depending upon the weather and winds.

Jockey’s Ridge is located in Nags Head, N.C., home of world-record fishing, shipwreck remains, and the pirate, Blackbeard.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in the country. Standing at 208 feet tall, it’s also the tallest brick lighthouse. The light’s beacon can be seen from 20 miles out to sea, warning sailors of the dangerous Diamond Shoals off the coast of Hatteras.

In 1999, the 6,250 ton Hatteras Lighthouse was moved further inland due to an ever-eroding shoreline. A circle of stones marks the lighthouse’s original site. In the photo above, the lighthouse can be seen in it’s new location.

 

Names of former lighthouse keepers are engraved in each stone in the circle.

 

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla, N.C. was first lit on December 1, 1875. It remains unpainted to distinguish it between the two nearby black-and-white-striped lighthouses.

The marsh near the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.

Walkway through the marsh.

 

A family of geese enjoy their protected status.

Beach at Nags Head.

Nags Head coastline.

Footprints in the sand are the only sign of human presence. Part of the attraction to Nags Head is the seclusion.

 

 

 

 

 

4 replies
  1. Lee Lofland
    Lee Lofland says:

    Elena – You’re so right. The two coasts are like night and day.

    JD – I just got back from there last week (really current photos), and I already wish I was back there.

    * I just returned home from St. Louis where I spoke at a RWA event. What a great group. Thanks for letting me be a part of your program, guys.

  2. Elena
    Elena says:

    It always amazes me how differently beautiful the Atlantic and the Pacific are. These photos are lovely, and remind me a lot of the coast off of Georgia, especially the marshy areas.

    Thank you for another wonderful weekend roadtrip.

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