Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

It seems to me that if you chose to see only one lighthouse in the world, it should be this one. It is a beautiful structure. These pictures are from early spring 2009. Later on in the year when I returned to the Outer Banks for the beach wedding in October, I climbed to the top of the tower. The view is really spectacular.

What makes it even a little more interesting is that where I saw the lighthouse and its Double Keepers' Quarters (in the background of the above picture) is not the same place these structures were located in 1999. As anyone could imagine, moving one 4,830 ton structure even 5 feet could be a daunting task. This lighthouse and its adjoining structures were moved 2,900 feet to the southwest of its original location to prevent it from the effects of coastal erosion.

The Outer Banks are and have been gradually moving westward due to storm driven tides from the Atlantic Ocean picking up sand on the ocean side and depositing it farther west with each stroke. The current Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was completed in 1870 and at that time it was 1,500 feet from the ocean but by 1970 it was only 120 feet from the ocean.

Efforts to protect the lighthouse really began in the 1930s but it wasn't until 1980 (the year I was born) that the National Park Service was able to begin to develop options to provide a permanent solution. Eventually, studies were done and relocation was the best choice. Then the relocation option was debated for years, no really, years.

Finally, Congress appropriated funding to complete the relocation project beginning fiscal year 1998. At some point, the project went through the bidding process which probably also took years. The contract was awarded to International Chimney Corp. of Buffalo, New York assisted by other subcontractors. The tower was lifted from its original location on June 17, 1999 (the summer after I graduated from high school). Made it down a special moving path to be set on its new location on July 9, 1999. So for those of you around 100 years from now, it takes 24 days to move a lighthouse 2,900 feet and about 20 years of preparation.

All of the other structures were moved prior to the tower in the spring of 1999. So the entire Cape Hatteras Lighthouse complex now sits 1,600 feet from the ocean and continues to protect ships from the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

 Information referenced, see -
Link:  http://www.nps.gov/caha/historyculture/movingthelighthouse.htm

South on Highway 12

I had one day to get from Manteo, down to Hatteras Island, then hop a ferry to Ocracoke Island and then hop a ferry to get off Ocracoke back to mainland North Carolina. I needed to see all three lighthouses in the daylight.

So pushing on south highway 12 in between the Bodie Island Lighthouse and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse I passed through the beach towns of Rodanthe:

I didn't have time for Richard Gere's and Diane Lane's 2008 experience in the little beach nook.

Then through Salvo and Avon. Actually, later in 2009 I would return to Avon for a beach wedding. So I guess there is a lot of love to be found on the shores of the Outer Banks.

I just found sand, water and some interesting places to stay.

Bodie Island Lighthouse

The area I've circled in red is a portion of the "Graveyard of the Atlantic".

So the Federal Government, after two tries, were successful in completing the below to appease petitioning ship captains. The tower is still used as a navigational aid.

The two initial Bodie Island lighthouses were actually located south of the Oregon Inlet.

The first one was built in 1847 but was abandoned in 1859 due to significant foundational issues. The 54 foot tower had begun to lean and no amount of repairs fixed the problem.

The second one, an 80 foot tower, was built nearby in 1859. By 1861, the Civil War was in full force and the Confederates blew up this one so that Union troops could not use it.

Below is a picture of the Bodie (pronounced body) Island Lighthouse with its keepers quarters. A 156 foot tower first completed in 1872 and recently restored between 2009 and 2013.

There are public tours of the lighthouse from late April to early October. Of course, I was there in mid-March so I didn't get to go in the lighthouse but the restored keepers quarters are a visitor center and ranger office for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and it was open.

(See http://www.nps.gov/caha/historyculture/bodie-island-light-station.htm )

OBX

To show your true love for the Outer Banks of NC, you must have one of these:

(which you can apparently purchase for $4.25)

But instead I just wanted pictures of the Atlantic and the three famous lighthouses on the OBX.

So I crossed over the bridge from where I stayed the night in Manteo and took a right.

The first lighthouse on the list -- Bodie Island -- but first to the beach.

The beach is actually still a pretty cold place in early spring so I was wearing a sweatshirt but I had the beach mostly to myself.

Manteo, NC

Found lodging for my dog and I at the Island Guest House, late at night.

The next morning I found breakfast, a marina and history. And I was only across a bridge from the ocean.

North Carolina

                            

Looking back now, I must have known subconsciously that I would be leaving North Carolina soon because I did a little exploring around Chapel Hill, Durham and a short trip to the Outer Banks.

It would not have been a real coast to coast trip had I not touched base on the Atlantic Coast first before heading west.

I was living in Chapel Hill at the time (near Raleigh) and a trip from there to the Outer Banks takes about 4 hours.

So I stayed a night in Manteo, NC before reaching the thin piece of sand called the Outer Banks.