Just Winging It; Kitty Hawk, NC
- Melanie
- Mar 30, 2024
- 5 min read
If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance. --Orville Wright
WHEN: Week of 3/1/2024
WHERE: Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
WHY: to see where we started to fly
SHELTER: Hotel/Resort
PERKS: wild horses, bears, red-wolves and very few tourists
REGRETS: trying to save money by coming during the off-season, most things are closed
Surprise, we took selfies in front of some lighthouses. I know it is hard to believe but this is the first time I (Mel) went to see the lighthouses around OBX. I have been to the OBX a dozen times and spent most of my time inside doing puzzles with my dad and Nanna. They are both gone now and Bob needs to see the world. I can't believe my fella lived in NC for 19 years and never made it to OBX. How easily life can get away from people.
Anyway, enough Bob & Mel shaming for the day. Lighthouses of OBX (more pics below)
Currituck Beach Lighthouse: We saw and didn't take photos, closed for the season.
Bodie Island Light Station: (middle photo) We walked around and got our National Park Passport cancellation stamp (NPP). Closed for restoration.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: (third photo) We went inside the Museum of the Sea, the old caretaker's house. NPP cancellation stamped here. Closed for restoration.
Ocracoke Light Station: We saw from a distance, no photo, and no available parking nearby that could accommodate my mobility issues. NPP cancellation stamped at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. Closed for the season.
Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse: (first photo) The only one open and fairly accessible.
Cape Lookout Lighthouse: We visited here previously in November 2023.
Oak Island Lighthouse: Way down at the border of NC/SC; on the bucket list though.
Old Baldy Lighthouse: Way down at the border of NC/SC; on the bucket list though.
Not a Lighthouse
We are always up for an animal encounter adventure, and when we heard that the wild horses of Corolla don't know it is off-season and were busy being new parents we could not resist. There is only one way to get there and that is by 4x4. There are plenty of services to help you get out to Currituck If you don't have a 4x4. And of course, we expected to see horses and were warned about all the rules and the tree stumps on the beach but we were not prepared for all the houses and the Ghost of Wash Wood Station that we thought was an old lighthouse. Wash Wood Station was a 1917 U.S. Coast Guard rescue station.
Yes, people live among the wild horses and some of the houses are available for rent. Of course, there are no real roads and water lives where it wants to live.
And eventually, we flew to the moon!
Well, not we...but humans. What we really came to OBX to see was the Wright Brothers National Monument. We didn't take too many pictures but there is plenty to see and plenty to learn while being reminded that humans can often set our own boundaries and maybe we should spend more time knocking them over. Wheelchair friendly, $10 (free with park pass) and we got an NPP cancellation stamp.
Ocracoke, Pea Island, and Beach Wandering
I guess it wouldn't be a trip to OBX if we didn't put our feet in the sand and it seemed kind of important to us to drive the entire NC Route 12. Well, we almost did. We made it from Currituck's tippy top to Ocracoke's bottom. The area that we missed was a ferry route of 4.5 hours round trip (not including wait and load time) from Ocracoke to Cedar Island. Speaking of long ferry trips. Thank goodness Bob and I are really into each other and think every minute spent together is a minute well spent. We used up 5 hours (including wait and load time) of our life riding a ferry to and from Ocracoke Island just so we can never regret having missed it as part of our trip. I remember going 15 or so years ago and being quite entertained but things have changed and it was super boring. It is really hard for us to get bored...remember we live in a 37-foot RV and spend many hours looking at donkeys and horses at home-base. Therefore, spending another 135 minutes plus wait and loading time to get to Cedar Island wasn't worth it for us. One day we will just drive around from the south side of the banks and finish exploring.
Going on a Bear & Wolf Hunt:
If you know me then you may have heard me complain that I have never seen a living bear in the wilderness.
It isn't my environment, people around me see them often...and I see dead ones. I jokingly said to my daughter before we left for OBX that doubt I will see a bear on this trip.
BUT WAIT!!!
We did see a bear! We wandered the open roads of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (free, NPP stamped at Pea Island ) and just when we were about to give up we saw one. If you follow the bear scat you will find the bear.
We found lots of red-wolf scat (below) as well but never found the wolves. You can learn more about the Red Wolf Recovery Program and keep up with live wolf counts.
Current red-wolf counts:
Known/collared (wild): 18
Total estimate (wild): 20-22
Red Wolf SAFE (captive): 263
We looked for the Lost Colony but couldn't find them. The Roanoke Colony vanished from Fort Raleigh and left very few clues to their disappearance. Fort Raleigh has an informative and interactive visitor center along with some fantastic trails that end at the beach where the colonists may have last been seen by their loved ones before they headed back to England to get more settlers. Wheelchair friendly (trails & beach are not accessible), free and we got an NPP cancellation stamp.
Well worth the stop, especially if you have kids. Very interactive and we got an opportunity to learn about the red-wolves and Bob got to play pilot. Wheelchair friendly, Free and we got an NPP cancellation stamp.
NC Aquarium & Jeannette's Pier ($2 to $13, accessible)
This is the one thing we paid for on this trip. We have an ongoing goal to do free activities throughout our travels. We did end up getting the NC Aquarium membership for $79 which covers all 3 of the aquariums in NC as well as Jeannette's Pier. We felt this was a deal with their AZA reciprocity program that will come in handy as we travel.
Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse & Roanoke Island Maritime Museum, Manteo, NC
We enjoyed the small sound town of Manteo. It was one of the few towns with the most shops open that didn't feel like it was still 2020. I talked to a local shopkeeper at That Art Place in the Stock-Aide and she said that 2020 was one of their best years. Plenty of people working from home settled into the town of Manteo to be stuck on a permanent vacation. The town is picture-perfect and we could have happily gotten stuck there ourselves.
Lighthouse stripes help sailors identify where they are located. 
Left OBX feeling salty; see everyone on our next adventure as we wrap up our Virginia bucket list.
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