North Carolina's Crystal Coast

Hey Everybody!

I have made it to the Outer Banks!! Tent is up and I expect to spend a few days exploring. But first I better catch you up for the past couple of days. Yesterday morning I drove about 70 miles inland to Cliffs at Neuse State Park. It's a pretty park with lots of trails, although I failed to see the cliffs. I went to see the "must see" cliffs - what I saw was eroded hillsides. That's not the same thing in my mind, but still it's a pretty place. The problem with this particular trail is that after hiking down to the river - there are more stairs around the bend - I had to hike back up :-). Swimming is prohibited as the river has steep drop-offs and unmarked underwater hazards...not that it looks all that inviting.

Next stop was the Swansboro area. It seems to be a pretty small town, but close to beaches and all kinds of outdoor recreation. This is the Bogue Inlet fishing pier and beach on Emerald Isle. No surfers yesterday ...the water was unusually calm. And the marina at Nicky's where I had dinner. It was one of two places recommended by a local...and it was fine, but not so good that I'm recommending it.

So, this morning I started the day at Hammocks Beach State - it's a $5 ferry ride. And well worth it! It has primitive campsites, but limited ferry service until summer I guess, so I didn't get to camp there, but would love to.

This is the sign near the park entrance....we need to have these in FL! How cute is this sign?! And this is Hammocks Beach - as you can tell it is not too crowded. Infact, in season the ferry runs hourly until the beach reaches capacity. I don't know that number; sorry.

After checking out the beach I hit the road again. I wasn't sure where I'd land for the night because I didn't know whether I'd stop and explore something or if there'd be room on the ferry today, but I lucked out! This is the ferry - the trip is just over two hours from Cedar Island. This Last photo is of Ocracoke just before we reached the harbor. Notice the lighthouse...it's the only one on the Outer Banks that is solid white. I haven't explored much, although I did manage to get to the beach after sunset just to see it before I went to bed.

For now, I am in my tent for the night after dinner at the Flying Melon, which was very tasty. And I look forward to riding my bike all around the village and wandering the beach tomorrow. Hope all is well wherever this post finds you. More soon....