Driving up to Kitty Hawk

One of the most remarkable geographical features of the U.S. state of North Carolina (pop. 10 million) — besides the highest mountain in the Appalachian chain, Mount Mitchell — is the long strip of coastal sandbars called the Outer Banks. The Banks are a string of barrier islands and they are far off shore for much of their length. They enclose a very large body of salt water.

My home town is at the very southern end of the Outer Banks. I grew up about 12 miles from Cape Lookout. Along with Cape Hatteras and Cape Fear, Lookout is one of the three sharp North Carolina capes that jut out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Eastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks —
Raleigh, the state capital, is 150 miles from Morehead City

I should have titled this post "Driving Miss Mary and Miss Annie" — they are my mother and her sister. I'll be driving them up to Kitty Hawk on Thursday morning. We are just going for fun, mostly. We'll spend the night in Nags Head, and we'll drive through Outer Banks places named Kill Devil Hills, Whalebone, Rodanthe, Little Kinnakeet, Salvo, and Ocracoke.

On the way north, we'll take the inland route, passing through the towns of New Bern, "Little" Washington, Plymouth, and Manteo. The inland trip covers about 190 miles (300 km) and takes 3½ hours.

On the way back south, we'll drive down the length of the Banks, and we'll ride two ferries. There's a short ride of 45 minutes or so from Hatteras Village to the island called Ocracoke, which is very narrow and about 12 miles long. You can only get to Ocracoke by boat, and the population of Ocracoke Village is about 500.

Here's the route of the trip.
Roads are in red and ferry routes in blue.

The second ferry ride takes 2½ hours. The ferry carries cars and passengers from Ocracoke Village over to a place called Cedar Island, in Carteret County, N.C. I was born and grew up 9in Carteret Country, and spent my childhood here. Cedar Island (pop. 350) is a 45-minute drive through salt marshes and a string of little fishing villages from my home town, Morehead City.

The distance from Kitty Hawk to Morehead City via Hatteras and Ocracoke is only about 150 miles (250 km), but because of the boat rides the trip takes 4½ hours.

The Outer Banks are amazingly narrow. In many places you can see the ocean waters on one side and the sound waters on the other as you drive down the road. There are extensive salt marshes on the sound side, and there are long beaches and often heavy surf on the ocean side.

The N.C. fishing industry is on the decline, and the old villages are being overtaken by development aimed at tourists and summer residents. The old English-sounding brogue is dying out. But despite rampant overbuilding (vacation homes and strip malls), the Outer Banks are still a world unto themselves.

I'll be on the road and won't be blogging for the next couple of days.