Day 2: Hatteras Island and Virginia

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Wednesday morning dawned very ominous looking as I got up and got on the road. The free breakfast at the hotel was surprisingly adequate so I didn’t have to stop anywhere. I headed south on the beach road and got to about mile post 50 and it started POURING. There was no place to stop so I just kept going until I got to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, my destination.

It was by then only sprinkling, but when I got into the visitor center, I learned the lighthouse was close due to thunder. Once they hear thunder, they close it and won’t let anybody climb up until 30 minutes after they last heard thunder to avoid people get struck by lightning. Since it was still thundering, I figured it wasn’t going to be anytime soon. With a break in the rain, I drove to the spot about 3000 feet away where the lighthouse used to be until they moved it in 1999. erosion had made it too close to the beach.

With that excursion foiled, I headed further south until I reached the end of Hatteras Island. It wasn’t possible to go any further without taking a ferry, which I wasn’t sure I had time to do. So I parked the car near the ferry and got out in another monsoon. I decided there was nothing to be done, put on my raincoat and umbrella, and walked out on the wharf to watch the ferry go out. Then I did a little browsing in the shops nearby and bought a Christmas ornament.

Around 11, I headed back north the way I had come and stopped to do some souvenir shopping. I ate lunch at Subway and then got back in the car. The Seashore is all protected and was a pretty cool drive when it wasn’t raining so hard I couldn’t see. There is a bridge you cross that has seagulls and pelicans hovering in mid-air near the edge, watching the water. You want to look at them but you can’t take your eyes off the road.

I did not stop at the Bodie Lighthouse as it was all shrouded for restoration, but I did glimpse it from the road. I headed north to Virginia, and had to run across the street to get the picture this time. In the background are more ominous skies, which opened up almost immediately after I got to the car. I bought ice cream for myself and gas for the car, then settled in for the remaining 6 hour drive to Waynesboro, VA. At least it finally stopped raining. About 20 miles out, I got into the Blue Ridge Mountains and the scenery changed.

I arrived at the Residence Inn about 7:00. The hotel was pretty new and really nice. They were even having a cookout so I got free burgers for dinner. I did manage to lock myself out of my room within 5 minutes of arriving. Out of practice, I guess.

Since I had been sitting all afternoon, I figured I needed some exercise so I went swimming. I couldn’t remember the last time I was in a pool.

Today I only added 6 states to my license plate game for a total of 33.