Thanksgiving and the Outer Banks
Leg 8 – North Carolina 10/29/2021 – 11/28/2021
Weeks 3 and 4
Week 3 was not that exciting. I returned from my trip to OR/WA and spent the remainder of the week doing chores; laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning etc. It was brought to Bill’s attention that vacation time needed to be scheduled. We decided to make a spontaneous trip over to the Outer Banks. I found a cute little cottage on VRBO with a water view and off we went.
We took the most direct route over and drove by so many cotton fields along the way. There were cotton fibers all along the road resembling patches of snow in the grass. We were both curious what the cotton felt like just off the plant, so we found a safe spot to pull over and grab some. It felt just like the cotton balls you buy at the drug store except that it contained the seed. Then we wondered how much the bales of cotton we saw in the fields weighed. Oh Google… and our trip down the rabbit hole began. These are just a few of the tidbits we found and there is so much more, if you find this sort of stuff interesting.
- The large bales in the field weigh about 25,000 pounds and fit perfectly into the back of a tractor trailer.
- A typical gin can process about 12 bales per hour
- A bale of processed cotton weighs about 400 pounds
- That 400 pounds of cotton can make 1,217 t-shirts, 2,419 Fruit of the Looms or 215 pairs of jeans
4 hours later we arrive at our darling little cottage just in time for sunset. We grab a glass of wine and go out to the water to enjoy the beautiful colors in the sky.
We came to the Outer Banks to see Kitty Hawk and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Wright Brothers National Monument
The birthplace of aviation. This is where the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine took place. Being that our son is now a pilot and has loved planes and flight since he was 5 years old, this was a special place for us. It took them four years creating, experimenting, failing and going back to the drawing board to finally succeed on December 17, 1903. I am thankful they did not give up. After we walked thru the small museum that highlighted the highs and lows of the Wright Brothers journey to the first flight, we walked out to the field where those flights took place.
How do you describe the feeling of standing on the same ground where history was made? We have done this several times and the feelings are incredible. Bill made the comment that it would be cool to time travel and witness these historical events. Since time travel isn’t possible, we just used our imaginations. Imagine the area with no roads, houses or trees. Imagine miles and miles of sand. Imagine having to carry the glider to the top of the dune over and over to test the controls that would guide the glider. You see, the brothers believed they needed to master control of the aircraft before adding power. Once they gained controlled flight, the engine was added. Imagine the excitement when the aircraft left the ground and took flight! There were four flights that day. Orville won the coin toss and piloted the first flight. It lasted 12 seconds and went 120’. The second flight was also 12 seconds but went 175’. The third flight was 15 seconds and 200’. The fourth and final flight of the day lasted 59 seconds (just shy of 1 minute) and went 852’. I cannot begin to imagine how the brothers and all their assistants felt at the end of the day. Were they able to sleep that night?
25 years after the flight, the cornerstone was laid for the monument that now sits on top of Kill Devil Hill where the first gliders were launched. They also dedicated the First Flight Boulder that marks the takeoff point of those first flights. Over 3,000 people attended the dedication, including Orville Wright and Ameilia Earhart. The last addition to the park is a bronze sculpture depicting the 1903 flight. As you are walking around the sculpture you really capture what these gentlemen felt that day. This park alone was worth the 4 hour drive from the Raleigh/Durham area and I am so happy we finally got to see it.
Wild Horses of Corolla
Our lovely VRBO host had a wealth of information on “Things To Do In The Area”. While I was scanning thru the brochures, I saw something about wild horses. Wild horses? On the beach? My interest is peaked. What I find out is this herd of approximately 100 horses are direct descendants of Spanish Mustangs dating back to the 1500’s. For more information on the history of the Banker Horses and how they came to the Outer Banks click here.
It was a little windy and rainy. We drove to the north end of NC Hwy 12 and started the 12.5 mile drive on the beach in search of the horses. We made it all the way to the VA state line and did not see one horse. We did see several neighborhoods out there though. It was really odd to us that there would be so many houses out here where the only way in and out is via this beach access road. As we headed back south to Corolla, Bill thought it would be a good idea to go up and look around some of these neighborhoods. Well, lo and behold, we found 2 horses! They were snacking on some grass next to one of the houses. How cool is that? We continued to ride around but sadly did not see any other horses. After a little more reading I found out that during the winter months the horses tend to stay more towards the scrub and houses. They are more easily spotted along the beach during the summer months.
Currituck Beach Light House & Whalehead Club
On our way back to the cottage we stopped in and walked around the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and the Whalehead Club right next door. The lighthouse went into service in 1875. It is 162’ tall and constructed of 1 million red bricks. It can be seen from 18 nautical miles. We opted not to climb to the top. The short walk around the grounds was enjoyable though.
Next door is the Whalehead Club. Whalehead is a 21,000 square-foot mansion. It was built by Edward Collins Knight, Jr in 1922 for his wife. She was not allowed to hunt with the all-male hunt clubs. How’s that for love? They both enjoyed hunting waterfowl and he did not want her to be denied her passion. The residence was restored between 1999 and 2002. It is now open for tours. The rain let up and we just walked around the grounds and enjoyed the views. Again, I like to imagine what life would have been like back then. To live in such a grand house with those gorgeous views. Imagine all the fabulous parties they must have hosted here.
Time to head back to the cottage for dinner and drinks 😊
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Another stamp for my National Passport book. We drove to Hatteras Landing Marina, the farthest south you can go on NC 12 without having to hop on a ferry. The sky was a beautiful blue and the sun was shining bright but… it was very windy and frigid. We stopped at the Bodie Island Lighthouse and the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. They were both beautiful. The first Cape Hatteras lighthouse was constructed in 1799 and lit in 1803. However, it was unable to effectively alert ships due to its size and color. It was short and blended with its background. The lighthouse we know today was lit in 1870 but did not receive it’s famous black and white pattern until 1873. Due to beach erosion the lighthouse was relocated to its present-day home in 1999. We braved the winds and took a short walk on the beach and I collected a few sea shells. You cannot come all the way to the Atlantic Ocean and not walk on the beach right? It was a beautiful day for a drive in the jeep. We could have taken the jeep across the dunes and onto the beach, but a 10-day OHV permit was needed. The cost was $50 and we could not justify the cost. If we were here in the summer and could enjoy the beach then we absolutely would have done it. The coastline here is amazing; natural and raw beauty.
Thanksgiving
It’s time now to head back to the Chapel Hill area and celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. Everyone gathered at my in-laws and we had a very lovely and delicious dinner. Bill and I smoked a small turkey in our Davy Crockett Green Mountain Smoker. I even cooked a pumpkin pie in there. (Sidebar… I never thought to cook a pie on a smoker, but it can act as an oven. When I was looking thru the Green Mountain literature, there was a recipe for cookies. Well, if you can bake cookies in there, you can surely bake a pie. If you want to find out how that turned out, click here.) We had a battle of the turkeys. A traditional roasted turkey prepared by my sister-in-law and the smoked turkey prepared by Bill. They were both deeee-licious!
I don’t know about you, but I am so happy the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was back this year. I love to watch the parade and have done so every year since I was a little girl. Last year, I had to turn it off. Staging the floats to just go around the block to be on TV and no audience was painful. I was so happy to watch it this year and was happy that my father in-law was there to watch it with me. We have watched it together, I don’t know how many years now, and I missed that as well. It was so nice to spend Thanksgiving with them this year. Everything felt… almost right. We were missing 2 special boys at our dinner table (my boys). Thankfully, I was able to enjoy an early Thanksgiving with them earlier in the month.
We ended our stay in North Carolina with a competitive game of dominos (Grandma won) and a campfire. Cannot forget the AMAZING jelly donuts from NC Jelly Donut either. If you are ever passing thru Mebane NC, take exit 153 on I-40 and get some of these donuts. They are the BEST!
We enjoyed our long visit with the NC Butrico’s and will be returning in the spring. Now it is on to the Sunshine State!
