This is another (rare) post that does not involve Fenway except that we missed him very much! Last week Taylor and I headed to North Carolina's Outer Banks - specifically Ocracoke Island. We hopped on a (long) flight to Charlotte, flew from Charlotte to Greenville, drove to Swanquarter and then enjoyed a 2.5 hour ferry ride across Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke. All of the travel was worth it as we enjoyed beautiful weather and had a lot of fun!
Thanks to Tyson and Addie for the ride from and to the Greenville Airport.
I knew a little about the island from reading Ocracokers and I enjoyed seeing the sights I read about... the historic lighthouse, wild ponies, the small village and the landscape Alton Balance describes with great detail.
Some interesting pieces of information I picked up from reading, but also from my visit: Ocracoke got its first paved road during WWII (the US military had a strong presence on the island), the island has its own distinct dialect and it was home to Blackbeard the pirate. Pirates are a main theme of the island. You can read more about the pirates here.
Mostly we enjoyed the beach, but we also went fishing (I reeled in my first fish!) and socialized. I met friends of the Riches - the Tolson family, Pookie, Trudy (she now has my apple pie secrets) and many more. Happy birthday (belated) to Casey Tolson!
We also enjoyed fresh seafood as Taylor and Tyson caught fish - Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel - and Keith and Taylor raked clams. Dale also brought all of us some shrimp! Needless to say, we ate well.
All Taylor had to say was, "It was grand." I second that! Fenway didn't go with us this time (he stayed with Linda and Joanne at Bay Area Bed and Bones), but in the future we hope he gets to come along.
A big thanks to Lori and Keith for hosting us for a week!
The sunset over Pamlico Sound.
The view of Ocracoke from the Swanquarter ferry.
In Greenville the Rich boys enjoyed some Hooters Tall Boys.
Tyson and Addie
To a west-coaster the whole driving on the beach is strange, but you get used to it.
Miss Lori and Tess body-surfing!
Some of the village...
Parker's Creek was named after Taylor's great-grandfather.
The island's historic lighthouse is right next to the Parker (Rich) house.
Neighbor puppy "Mojo."
Taylor outside Brian Walters' surf shop.
The island is still home to the Banker wild ponies... you can read about them here. And the park service offers the ability to adopt a pony - they will send you a photo of your pony for a contribution of $27. All $$ goes to feed and house the ponies.
Email me for more info!
The sunset from the loading point for the Hatteras ferry.
