North Carolina USA 27July - 3 August 2015 arriving/departing Raleigh, the State capital we hired a car in Raleigh and drove via overnight stops in Goldsboro and Pine Knoll (near Beaufort) to the Outer Banks aka OBX, staying 4 nights at Shutters on the Banks in Kill Devil Hills
interred here are the remains of some 1500 soldiers who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. NC is VERY proud of its prominence in this conflict and the fact that it contributed more soldiers to the carnage than any other state in the South.. this section also includes a House of Memory, with plaques detailing NC s involvement in virtually every known theatre of warfare - a sobering reminder of man s inhumanity to man DAY 2 - historic Oakwood Cemetery Raleigh
Raleigh is in the process of restoring many of the homes still standing from Confederate days, with many avenues in the Oakwood district now showcasing some fine examples of the eclectic architectural styles typical of 19th century America. (above) the chaotic Queen Anne style Capehart Crocker House was moved to this location in 1979 (above right) built by Fannie Heck s father in 1869, this Second Empire house once stood on an acre of land on Blount Street (below right) some of the buildings may well collapse before they can be restored!
DAY 2 - haute cuisine, Goldsboro-style! Noel had been gagging (good word that) to sample some famous North Carolina BBQ and had identified Wilber s as the best place to do so - which is why we stayed in Goldsboro the fare on offer (left) speaks for itself, but I will add just one further word - DIGUSTING! This is pulled pork with sides of potato salad & coleslaw and the thing on his fork is called a hushpuppy! At least he did not order another prominent menu choice i.e. FRIED GIZZARDS!!! To add insult to injury, Wilber s must be the only eatery in the USA that does NOT serve beer (my empty plastic plate is testimony to my opinion of the food!) fortunately, the Bear avoided bloodshed by suggesting Logan s Roadhouse for dinner an inspired choice, as the drinks were cold, the steaks were tender and we could walk there from the Holiday Inn - my first meal since LAX!
DAY 3 - New Bern & the Tryon Palace Bern is Swiss for Bear - no wonder this one looked right at home in the restored stables! a tour of the house is a MUST - our guide was not only knowledgeable but extremely funny this site is more remarkable for what it is NOT than for its historical significance i.e. the building, surrounding grounds and formal gardens were only completed in 1959! The original Palace constructed in 1770 for Lord William Tryon, the first Governor of NC, was completely destroyed by fire in 1798 and never rebuilt. Eventually the foundations disappeared below Interstate Highway 70, which crossed the Trent River directly behind the property. incredibly in 1945, a group of women dedicated to the restoration of New Bern convinced the NC General Assembly to re-route the highway, build a new bridge and construct an exact replica of the Georgian mansion on top of its original foundations - ONLY in America!!!!
DAY 4 - by ferries & HWY 12 on the Outer Banks safely ensconced in our trusty Chevy Equinox (below) we spent about 3 hours crossing Pamlico Sound from Cedar Island to Ocracoke aboard the Sea Level, a ferry just like this one Ocracoke is the southernmost and smallest of the four OBX lighthouses
(above right) our second ferry trip from Ocracoke to Hatteras in a much smaller vessel only took about an hour - we were front row on the grid with my favourite vehicle, a Chevy Silverado, totally dwarfing our little Equinox (left) at 210 feet, spectacular Cape Hatteras lighthouse is not only the tallest on the OBX but also in the whole of North America, although it is only 15th highest above sea level (main image) our first view of the Atlantic ocean from our room at the eponymous Shutters on the Banks - EXCELLENT!
DAY 5 the Wright Memorial Kill Devil Hills don t ask - he does this at most monuments! on 17 December 1903, the Wright Brothers made the first recorded POWERED flight - they flew a bi-plane 852 ft in 59 secs. This excellent memorial at Kill Devil Hills (not Kitty Hawk) is well worth a visit, even if you are not as interested in the subject as we are. The life-sized bronze & stainless steel model of their aircraft and the human figures surrounding it are particularly impressive and so invite tactile visitor interaction...
incredible houses on the OBX poor quality/fuzziness of images due to most being shot from moving car! OBX architecture was one of the many reasons NC was on my bucket list although many of the seafront buildings around the major villages are holiday rentals, the sheer size is staggering particularly as they are built of timber and perched on timber piles sunk into the sand. Of course, major weather events cause the sands to substantially shift and VOILA the houses end up in the Atlantic Ocean! Despite this, new builds are everywhere must be a right bugger getting insurance?
DAY 6 Bodie Island, Oregon Inlet & Rodanthe the Herbert C Bonner bridge spanning Oregon Inlet is 2.5 miles long & has recently been rated the third most dangerous bridge in the USA! This is due to the shifting sands below it rather than the drivers - we hope! despite exhaustive research on the location, I have since discovered that this house is NOT the one featured in the Richard Geer tear-jerker Nights in Rodanthe! Still worth the effort, as it clearly shows how perilously close to the ocean they build... (right) the third of the OBX lighthouses is actually inland and guides mariners through the treacherous narrow Oregon Inlet channel where it meets the Atlantic - most deep sea fishing charter boats access the sounds by passing under the bridge (above)
water pressure is a problem on the OBX as most of the Barrier Islands are only a few feet above sea level - these distinctive towers also serve as county/town markers the northernmost of the OBX lighthouses is almost impossible to spot from local roads because of the tall trees surrounding it - not a common problem in Australia?
emergency services in this area are down to the US Coastguard DAY 7 traveling the beach on Highway 12 once HWY12 hits the sand just north of Corolla it is 4 wheel drive vehicles only but still a designated highway! People wishing to fish/swim/picnic or stop for ANY reason must do so in the middle of the beach, whilst continuous traffic whizzes past on either side - really SCARY! This beach provides the ONLY access to the hundreds of enormous holiday rental properties scattered for miles up to the Virginia border, which can be cut off for days - even weeks - during bad weather wouldn t want to forget the Aerogard? (below) we zoomed along the beach highway with Corolla Outback Adventures in a Chevy Silverado - YES!!! (below left) some of our companions took up more space than others
DAY 7 Wild Spanish Mustangs Corolla & Carova the 87 Banker Spanish Mustangs now roaming a 7,544 acre preserve north of Corolla are all that remain of the bloodlines which landed on these shores over 500 years ago. The herd is listed as critically endangered - only one category above extinct - as inbreeding has reduced the gene pool to unsustainable levels and increasingly causes birth defects...these horses are completely wild with no modern protection such as vaccinations, dental or hoof care. If an animal requires acute medical intervention, it can never be returned to the herd as the risk of spreading disease is too high. Steve, our driver & guide, offered to take our photo with the horses - and then immediately fired off a selfie - a sure way of ensuring all the punters remember him!
DAY 7 sunset sail on Roanoke Sound we spent our final OBX evening aboard the topsail schooner Downeast Rover, embarking from the historic town of Manteo (pronounced man-ay-oh) on Roanoke Island. The ship carries only 25 passengers...it is BYO food and booze...so the two-man crew can easily handle the sail work! it DID get a bit breezy on the Sound! he would Bearly have kept his head above water during Hurricane Irene how good is this an Osprey mum feeding her chicks in her nest atop the channel marker - photo OP!
storm brewing on Croatan Sound sunset over Shallowbag Bay next episode Queen Mary 2