| Carolina in the morning |
Dan and I headed across the George Washington Bridge and down I-95 (me, with white knuckles), past the industry of Baltimore and the congestion of Washington, DC (don't ever stop for a pee break during this stretch. There's no easy on and off the highway here,) and around Richmond, until we eventually crossed over the North Carolina border. The contrast was like night and day - from heavy traffic and aggressive drivers, to wide open highways sparsely populated with cars. I was home!
We stopped for dinner at Emporia at the Carolina Barbecue, where Dan experienced pulled pork and other Carolina delicacies for the first time: corn sticks, fried chicken, cherry cobbler, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, black eyed peas ... He loved it so much, he had to speak to the owner, which made her proud. I'm guessing few people take the time to thank a restaurant owner for such an enjoyable feast. And feast, we did! I'd been looking forward to Carolina barbecue ever since we landed in Tucson, so I was quite happy that we stopped.
We spent the night in Tarboro, and early the next morning, found ourselves in the Outer Banks, at Kitty Hawk. Dan wanted to see the Wright Brothers Memorial and to learn about the first flight. We checked out the museum exhibits and Dan wanted to know why there weren't any Australians on the Wall of Fame. I had to point out to him that it was an American exhibit, but I was sure that flight enthusiasts had heard of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, pioneer of trans-Pacific flight.
After our visit to see the Wright Brothers Memorial, we headed down the Outer Banks, past the Cape Hatteras lighthouse and caught the Hatteras Ferry to Ocracoke Island. We were going to continue our trip back to the mainland via the Ocracoke Ferry - but alas, it was not to be. You have to have a reservation for the Ocracoke Ferry, and they were booked out. What to do but spend the night on the island in a hotel and eat sea food?
We spent the night watching Dirty Jobs and Ghost Lab on the Discovery Channel with the sound of the water lulling us into pure bliss. The weather turned the next day, but it just added to the experience of being on the water - grey skies, grey sea. It was difficult to say where one ended and one began ...
Click on photos to enlarge:
Labels: Ocracoke, Outer Banks, travel |
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| 3 Comments: |
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I really enjoy reading about your trip! Definitely have to go and visit there some day :-)
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Seven days into November. I am just getting around to catching up with your blog. Glad you had a good time and bet you were tired when you got home. At least Dan got to see a variety of places...different weather, architecture, culture...all within the United States. I enjoyed your visit and hope you come back when you are able. With love...
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David - you definitely need to go. You probably won't want to ever leave!
gardenbug, it took a few days for us to get rid of the jetlag, but now it feels like we were never away.
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Name: Melanie O.
Home: Durham, North Carolina, United States
About Me: Female, American health and beauty-conscious professional who has rekindled a childhood love of dolls.
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posted by Melanie O. at 
I really enjoy reading about your trip! Definitely have to go and visit there some day :-)