June 25 - Furtherest point south

Driving south on the Outer banks takes one down to the island of Ocracoke. The reason we had to visit was because Ant had just done a school report on pirates. Blackbeard – the most feared of them all - was tracked down and killed here by a Virginian naval vessel in 1718. The best part of the outing was the ferry ride to get to the island. Due to the demand they were running seven ferries simultaneously. The harbor staff packs an incredible number of cars onto the deck of the boat. After leaving the harbor the boat meanders through a narrow channel for 40min. The shallows on either side were sometimes only ½ foot deep. Our first stop on the island was a little pirate store and museum. They directed us to the beach on the island overlooking the bay where Blackbeard was killed. We found a wonderful seafood restaurant on the harbor front. Gran treated us to a lunch of Spanish Mackerel.

We were surprised to find more Civil war sites all along the Outer banks. The inland waterway was a crucial supply route from the south. We also visited the Hatteras lighthouse. The islands are slowly migrating to the SW and shore lines cannot be artificially protected. To prevent the destruction of the lighthouse it was cut off its foundations and moved on rails ½ mile inland in 1999. It is quite astounding that something so tall can be moved as a whole unit.

We decided to skip Roanoke Island. The pamphlets implied it was quite commercialized and it was a bit of a drive from the campground.