Carolinas - August 2010

   My travel blog picks up again from the last week in August 2010 … I was making the annual trip to Hilton Head for golf and beach time with my good friends, but decided not to do the 12 hour drive in one shot down I-95. I’ve been wanting to see the Outer Banks and take the ferries across since the last time I went to Hatteras with my father on a fishing trip in the early 1970’s. Thirty seven years later seemed long enough to wait.

   Along the way I was thinking about places I've always wanted to stop and explore, one of them is the Wright Brothers Memorial near Kitty Hawk, where man’s first powered flight was made. There’s an old but still impressive monument and a small museum documenting how the Ohio bicycle makers started tinkering in their shop during winters and managed to become the first men ever to build and fly an airplane.

   I continued south toward Buxton where the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse stands. Not long ago it was moved inland a few hundred yards to protect it from beach erosion. From there I arrived at the ferry dock and waited in line for about 90 minutes to catch the free ferry to Okracoke Island. The 45 minute ride was smooth and landed me on the north side of the island where it was a 20 minute drive to the main town. There I got stuck in a small traffic jam behind golf carts on the main street. It was dinnertime and people were all headed out to eat.

   Since the hotels on the island didn't look all that appealing, I decided to go and see the terminal for the Cedar Island Ferry to the North Carolina mainland. I had a reservation for next morning, but they could get me onboard for the 6 pm departure, so I decided to skip dinner and go. This ride was a beautiful two and a half hours but wasn't quite as smooth as the first. I got out of the car for pictures and locked the door out of habit and the rocking motion of the ferry set off my car alarm. I had to run back embarrased to turn it off . Once ashore it turned out to be a very rainy night so I stopped along the road for bad fast food and a cheap motel to catch up on sleep.

   Next morning I needed to find a good breakfast and afterward turned south toward Charleston where I had a great dinner and a fun evening walking around the old part of town before bedtime. Next day I had a tee time reserved at Kiawah Island and played a round at Osprey Point before finishing my trip through Beaufort and finally into Hilton Head later that afternoon.

   Next day I met Joe & Fran when they arrived after all night driving. Next came Steve & Marianne with Ted & Theresa in the back seat, and not much later Steve & Sandy with Janet & Al arrived. Since Mary had to work the first part of the week, she flew down to Savannah on Wednesday to spend a couple of days relaxing. We figured out it’s been twelve years in a row that we’ve all been making this trip to Carolina for golf and sun and we look forward to it every year still (smile).