Ocracoke, NC

The day after the Brew-A-Que, Kevin and I headed for the coast.  This time, Ocracoke.  The main reason for the trip was to see the Ocracoke Lighthouse...and not just see it.  They don't let anyone climb it anymore, but they do open it up one day a year for people to peek inside.  That day is the 4th of July and this trip was planned solely for that opportunity.  Our last NC lighthouse!

Ocracoke is tough to get to!  You must travel by ferry and there are basically three options: 1. Drive down through Nags Head to Hatteras and take the 60min. ferry over.  2. Drive to Cedar Island and take a 2hr. 15min. ferry.  3. Drive to Swan Quarter and take the 2hr. 40min. ferry over.  A little-known fact about Kevin, he HATES driving.  He'd rather take a train, ferry, boat, bus, plane, than drive...even if it takes longer.  In this situation, we drove to Swan Quarter and took the longest ferry ride of all to get to Ocracoke.  This made him happy as a clam!

And even that was tricky!  We purchased tickets on the way (fail...because you can't purchase same day tickets...they were for the next day- unbeknownst to us), so even though we arrived in time to get on the ferry, we had to wait in a holding line for everyone who had purchased the correct tickets to get on before us and only if they had room would we be allowed on.  This was stressful since we made it to Swan Quarter in time, but would have to wait 3 hours for the next ferry if we missed it.  And finally, we were allowed on, but just by the skin of our teeth...there was room for maybe a car or two.

When we arrived, we checked into our B&B- Crews Inn Bed & Breakfast and set off to explore. 

We walked to the lighthouse and made a loop on Lighthouse Road before getting ice cream and driving up to see the wild ponies.  We had dinner at Howard's Pub the first night.

Day two was all about Portsmouth Island.  Portsmouth is an abandoned island and tours take you to the old abandoned village before you get on dune buggie/4 wheelers to explore the coastline. 

This was NOT ideal for a pregnant lady and I really felt like we'd jostled the mess out of Baby B by the time we returned to Ocracoke.  Between the boat ride there and back and the crazy bumps we hit on the 4X4s, it was not an ideal situation.  But, our guide was awesome and it was pretty neat to see this ghost island!

We had walking tacos for lunch back on Ocracoke and then spent some time at a coffee shop working before exploring a bit in the artisan village and checking out the British Cemetery.

That evening was the town square dance which we followed up with ice cream and fireworks.

Ocracoke does the 4th of July right!  They have a whole list of events to be part of and we woke up the next morning eager to get going!  First was to see the newest colt of the wild ponies (Jobelle).

We left there to get breakfast back at the Inn and missed the boy scouts flag raising...but we were just in time to be near the front of the line for the viewing of the Ocracoke Lighthouse.  This is what we came for!

It was SOOO hot out, so after seeing the lighthouse, we walked over to Springer's Point and sat in the shade for a bit.  This is the spot Blackbeard is said to have had all of his pirate parties...and some say his head is down an old well on the path to the beach.

We went to get lunch and then found a great spot on the street for the annual 4th of July Parade.  Amazing!

That evening was storytelling outside of the bookstore and then we drove out to the beach to see the sandcastle competition entries.  We were going to stay for the bonfire, but it wasn't dark yet and we were hungry.

The next day we started at Springer's Point where I found ALL of the sea glass (some was from Blackbeard's boat, I just know it!).  Then we went to Teach's Hole to learn all things Blackbeard/Pirate.

We got ice cream that afternoon and went to the Ocracoke Preservation Society before dinner at the Flying Melon.

The next morning, it was time to trek back home.  We were up at 4:30am to get the Hatteras ferry.  We chose this way to go home because I really wanted an Apple Ugly from the Orange Blossom Bakery & Cafe.  Priorities!

Vacations are always a great time to relax!  We've seen all of the NC lighthouses now...we'll just have to wait until Baby B is old enough and do them all over again!