Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Outer Banks Vacation Part II: The Adventures



We went two places run by the National Park Service down at the Outer Banks. However, the lands pass available for $80 is only good for admission to one place, Kitty Hawk. It won’t cover the climbing fee at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.


The Kitty Hawk Memorial was interesting to visit. It was $4 a person, so $8 for the two of us. It’s been over 100 years since the first flight by the Wright Brothers so it was kind of fun to go. It was very educational if you like geeky aeronautical things or mechanics. The historical stuff was kind of neat too. They had an oral history project, a reconstructed camp cabin and hangar, and a few replica planes complete with mannequin in period costume.


It’s definitely more of a family place to go where kids can fly kites and run around. There is a massive lecture hall there where I guess more serious stuff takes place after they wheel in a plane. Also, if you are a pilot, there is a small airstrip there, but no tower.


I didn’t want to climb the hill to the monument there, but it’s a great way to burn off some energy, and no, you don’t have to walk all the way from the main visitors center. You can drive over and park at the bottom of the bill, and save yourself a little energy to walk up in the heat. Honestly, don’t go on a really sunny or hot day because there is no shade at all.


The big attraction for the Outer Banks is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It’s the world’s tallest brick lighthouse. However, it’s not in the original location and there are a few other lighthouses out there, like the Bodie Lighthouse. It’s $7 per person to climb the tower, so $14 for both of us. It’s a lot of stairs. They even have a defibrillator at the top just in case. I was definitely huffing and puffing, but it was a lot easier to climb than St. Peter’s in Rome. It’s less steep and much wider. However, you do get dizzy going down because you go down much faster. The view is very nice. The water is really beautiful from there. But don’t go with really small kids since they have to be 3′ 6″ high to climb the stairs alone. They don’t let you carry kids since the stairs are iron and a slip would be rather nasty.


It’s an hour down to Cape Hatteras from the park entrance in Nags Head, but fear not, there’s a few towns along the way within the park itself where you can stop for lunch and gas, so don’t feel like you have to buy gas before entering the park, though it is marginally more expensive per gallon in those towns. BTW, if you do stop for a convenience store snack, look for some frozen burritos from a local place. I didn’t catch the label, but I had the chicken one with the blue oval sticker. It was really tasty, but needed some spicy hot sauce.


Lastly, there is night fishing and bonfires on the beach. The fires have to be out by midnight and when the sun sets later in the evening later in the summer, that doesn’t give you lots of time to get a big roaring fire going. But it’s still nice to kick back with a few beers and a fire.


Personally I don’t think the Outer Banks will be my beach of choice since I kind of like people watching on the boardwalk in Jersey or places like Cape Henlopen or Half Moon Bay which are more like day trips from the city. But I definitely won’t say no if my friends organize a trip and invite me down. It really was pretty there with some of the cleanest beaches I’ve ever visited.



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