For this week, though, I'm Omi again, or grandmother, and want to be around the boys. Ethan is now in 4th grade. Owen is 3.5 and in preschool and Ben is 18 months.
Last Saturday Erin, Nick and the boys and I went to the Outer Banks (OBX) and concentrated on kids' stuff. None of us had been there before. It was Columbus Day weekend and Duck, NC had its Jazz Festival which clogged up the streets. Parking was at a premium and the sun was hot. We did a little of everything: walk along the boardwalk, eat pizza, have ice cream, comb the beach, visited an arcade and the Wright Brothers National Memorial. We climbed up Kill Devil Hill where the brothers tried out their first plane. It was fascinating to sit on that former dune and be high enough to see both the ocean to the east and the sand dunes to our south.
Yesterday, with the boys back in pre/school and Erin and Nick at work, I drove back down to the OBX with the goal of seeing Cape Hatteras and hiking the short trails that are found along the OBX. It's not a hiking mecca, but there's plenty of wildlife to watch. The northern OBX has wild horses and hogs and the entire area is home to sea turtles and various water fowl.
I tried to do everything yesterday. My first hike was in Jockey Ridge State Park in Nags Head, home to the tallest sand dunes on the East Coast. There are two trails and I did both. I started on the southern loop, which traverses dune biodiversity, staring in loblolly pines and oaks, up a dune and back down to the sound where ospreys nest. Water is very calm there. The other trail, Tracks in the Sand, begins off US158 and travels a mile west to the Sound. People like to hike to the high point and fly their kites off the sand dune. It was 9am and the sand was still cool and the sun not yet hot. The trails are easy to follow, but there's also plenty to see by going off trail and exploring.
I will always enjoy sand dunes. My first hikes were along the Indiana Dunes with my mother so many years ago. I still like those dunes.
I focused on nature. After the hike I drove down to Cape Hatteras. This is the part that the boys wouldn't have liked, driving down a two-lane road with nothing to see but oversized beach houses, tshirt shops and stores catering to tourists. My goal was to see the lighthouse, walk the beach, and return north to the horse preserve. It's a lot of driving but I stopped several times for short walks. d There are two lighthouses on the Cape. I stopped and walked around at both. The more northern one, Bodie, is by an inlet with a boardwalk. The more popular one, Cape Hatteras, is surrounded by beach flora. I walked down to the beach where I picked up several seashells for Owen.
I could see distant clouds far off the coast. Waves were getting stronger. Lots of people were out fishing and crabbing. Not many were in the water swimming.
The drive back to Nags Head wasn't all that thrilling. It was warming up and the only hiking was on the beach, where cars can drive with permits. I preferred to be in more secluded areas, but the entire OBX is now focused on huge beachfront properties and tourism, neither which excite me.
I did like Corolla and the Wild Horse Preserve on the southside. The historic town has been preserved. Outside the historic district is the wealthy part, that 100 years ago was home to an impressive water fowl hunting club. There's now a wildlife education center next to it.
While my rental car was not allowed in the preserve (Only ATVs can enter, and only with permit), I parked at the preserve on the north end of Corolla and hiked the boardwalk and marine trail, both which added up to just over two miles. This was a very pleasant hike through live oaks and towering loblolly pines, although I saw no animals. Two other women were also hiking through and noted the same thing. The trail ended up at an estuary.
It was now approaching sunset which means not much else to do. The beach on the ocean side was getting more stormy. Locals strolled here, but not much else was happening. It was time to get ready for the drive back to Virginia Beach.
I crossed the Wright Memorial Bridge into Point Harbor at sunset. I was hoping to stop at the Weeping Radish brewpub (weird name for a brewpub), but it was closed when I got there at 6:30pm. It's the oldest microbrewery in the state and it was closed!!!
I hiked a total of 8.85 miles, all in short trails of two miles and shorter. I finally had a meal at a Hardee's in VB and opted not to have any beer today.
(I will fill in the details later)
No comments:
Post a Comment