Our adventure to Ocracoke…

During our time in the Outer Banks, my husband, our boys and I took a day trip to Ocracoke Island. I hadn’t been there in 20 years back when my family started taking Outer Banks vacations. My husband had never been there and was wanting to check it out.

We drove all the way down from Corolla Light where we were staying, to Hatteras Island. It is quite a scenic trip. You pass the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Pea Island National Wildlife Preserve, Bodie Island Lighthouse. You cross over Oregon Inlet where they are currently constructing the replacement for the Bonner Bridge. This is the area where ‘Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks’ takes place. You drive through Rodanthe (from the movie ‘A Night in Rodanthe’, Avon, Salvo, Waves- all of which are quaint little villages.  Then through Buxton and Frisco and then Hatteras where you arrive at the ferry.

We took the Hatteras Ferry over, which note to self, get there by 9AM at the latest! It was a beautiful trip. I saw so many sandbars that I would have loved to take a small boat out to explore and look for shells!

Once on the island, we drove about a 12 mile stretch of ocean to the left. At times, you could see straight to the ocean, a couple of yards away! As we got to town, I almost felt transported. It is such a quaint little village. The boys ate in the car on the way over and my husband and I were ready for lunch. We heard of a Mexican food truck that was really good. It is located in the parking lot of the ABC store and across from Teach’s Hole- Blackbeard Exhibit.

After that, we went straight to the Ocracoke Lighthouse. Be aware, there is limited parking. You can not climb this lighthouse but it was neat to see. I realized after we had left, that we should have checked out Springer’s Point, where the story goes, Captain Teach (better known as Blackbeard the Pirate) had a raging two day party on the beach and then met his end just off the shores in Teach’s Hole. Local lore also states that his treasure is buried in some sand dune on the shore! For more info click here.

 

We moved on to the North and drove past some restaurants and inns along Silver Lake Harbor. I checked out the memorial for Fort Ocracoke. The remnants of this fort are actually underwater 2 miles out in the Ocracoke Inlet! It was built at the beginning of the Civil War when North Carolina seceded from the Union. It was then destroyed after the Union victories on Hatteras Island in 1861. The remains were discovered in 1998.

 

 

My husband then found a little wine and beer cafe, named Zillie’s. It is located on Back Road. He always like to try new beer when we are on vacation. He got a six pack of beers to take home. Apparently this was one of the first places to introduce ‘mix and match’ craft beer shop.

Down the road from drove to the British Cemetery, where the bodies of four members of the British Navy are buried. They were found after their ship was sunk by the Germans in 1942.  This cemetery is next to another little one, there are many little cemeteries on the island.

 

 

If you are into antiques, there are several little antique shops around the island. I only stopped into one, Roxy’s Antiques. It is located on HWY 12 and across from Lighthouse Road in the village. I stopped into a cute little shop called Books to Be Red (yes R E D) and Deep Water Pottery. It has, obviously books and some pottery, as well as some specialty gifts. It has a nice size kid section of books and gifts.

 

 

We decided it was time to head back to the ferry so we could beat the busy time. We stopped at one of the beach pull offs and walked the beach. I was looking for buried treasure  seashells. I read that Scotch Bonnets can be found on Ocracoke and I did find pieces of them. Here is a picture of what they actually look like:

 

 

I recommend taking a trip to Ocracoke while you are on the Outer Banks. Give yourself plenty of time to drive to the ferry. I would have loved to have checked out more of the little shops but there were some rain clouds that crossed over the island while we were there. Also, I wish I had more time to walk on the miles of beaches and look for more shells and sea glass. I read that it is a good place to look for sea glass.

Stay tuned for more posts on the Outer Banks…