April 15th, Sunday – Outer Banks, Part Three

We’ve got the best of the best for the next several days.  We’re parked in my mom’s driveway, perfectly level and with electric.  Showers in the house as well as meals.  It doesn’t get much better than this. Thanks mom!

Sunday morning, warm, breezy, overcast with the promise of showers early and then severe weather this evening.  Right on cue, the showers came this morning at 9 am.  No real problem since the front door is just a few steps away.

Once up and moving we all went to mom’s church for morning service.  She has been a member of this Presbyterian Church for more years than I can remember.  It’s always nice to say thanks to our God for the great life that Barbara and I are enjoying and so church is a must for us.

Afterwards we all went to a small country restaurant that mom has been

coming to for years called the Country Biscuit.  Wow, was it ever packed but we were able to find a table and settled in for some promised great food.  We were not disappointed at all.  An hour or so later tummies full we headed for home.

Once home, Barbara began to tackle the mountain of dirty clothes we had accumulated over the past two weeks.  I began to look for a campground in the Charlottesville, VA area so we could stop in and visit Barbara’s sister Carol who is currently hospitalized and will probably be so for the next several weeks.  Both missions were successful.

Then, for a few hours, we all sat and played a game of dominoes and yours truly triumphed over all!

OK, let’s go back for a final time to the Outer Banks.  Yesterday we were at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.  Just a few more notes about some of the exhibits at the museum.  One of the craziest things to occur off the coast of the Outer Banks was what is known as the Chip Wreck.  The picture below details what happened, when and how.

Another exhibit here is about the Alligator which was the Navy’s first

submarine.  The 47-foot-long Alligator was the first submarine ever deployed to a combat zone.  The green torpedo-shaped vessel was a technological wonder on par with the Monitor.  It’s design included a number of pioneering innovations for a ship of its type, including an air purification system and a diver lockout chamber.

Ordered to Port Royal, the Alligator set sail under tow of the screw gunboat USS Sumpter on 29 March. On April 2nd, off Cape Hatteras, the wind picked up and blew a gale from the northwest. When it shifted to the southwest and increased to “a heavy gale,” the Alligator continued to tow smoothly. But by 5 pm the seas had increased and the Sumpter was taking water. The sub began “towing hard,” and one of the two hawsers attached to her parted so that she began to “steer wildly.” A hurried council of officers agreed that cutting the Alligator loose was the only way to save the Sumpter, whose engines were already laboring with two feet of water in the hold. At 6 pm, that was done. The submarine was lost at sea.

While searches for the wreck of the Alligator have so far proved inconclusive, interest in her continues ashore in libraries, classrooms, studios, workshops, thanks to a dedicated team of historians, naval experts, engineers, modelers, artists, teachers, and students who have joined forces to uncover the elusive submarine’s secrets.

There are so many other exhibits here at the museum but there is not enough time or space to detail them all.  Take a moment and check them out at https://graveyardoftheatlantic.com/gallery/

Moving north now we next went to the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras.  Here’s Barbara at the entrance to the park.

Construction of a lighthouse at Cape Hatteras was first authorized in 1794, however, construction did not begin until 1799. The first lighthouse was lit in October of 1803. Made of sandstone, it was 90 feet tall with a lamp powered by whale oil.

The 1803 lighthouse was unable to effectively warn ships of the dangerous Diamond Shoals because it was too short, the unpainted sandstone blended in with the background, and the signal was not strong enough to reach mariners. Additionally, the tower was poorly constructed and maintained. Frequent complaints were made regarding the lighthouse.

In 1853, following studies made by the Lighthouse Board, it was decided to add 60 feet to the height of the lighthouse, thereby, making the tower 150 feet tall. The newly extended tower was then painted red (now it is black not red) on top of white making the lighthouse more recognizable during the day. At the same time, the tower was retrofitted with a first order Fresnel lens, which used refraction as well as reflection to channel the light, resulting in a stronger beam.

The new lighthouse was lit on December 1, 1870. The 1803 lighthouse was demolished in February of 1871. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse received the famous black and white

stripe daymark pattern in 1873. The Lighthouse Board assigned each lighthouse a distinctive paint pattern (daymark) and light sequence (nightmark) to allow mariners to recognize it from all others during the day and night as they sailed along the coast.

In 1999, after years of study and debate, the Cape Hatteras Light Station was moved to its

present location. The lighthouse was moved 2,900 feet in 23 days and now lies 1,500 feet from the seashore, its original distance from the sea. The Double Keepers’ Quarters, the Principal Keeper’s Quarters, the dwelling cisterns, and the oil house were all relocated with the lighthouse.

One of the most intriguing stories regarding the lighthouse was what occurred to it during the Civil War.  Take a few minutes and read about it here http://coastalcottageobx.com/cape-hatteras-lighthouse-the-mystery-of-the-fresnel-lens/

Leaving the lighthouse we started back toward the ferry for Ocracoke.  While on the way there we came across this strange home along the side of the road.  It is called the UFO

house.  A shiny silver flying saucer house — about as way, way out as you can get and still be on dry land. The portable, prefabricated home was designed in 1968 by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen.  Its owner, LeRoy Reynolds, sometimes dresses in a green alien suit to greet visitors.  It’s current owner has had it since 2000-something. He said he was told by the town to close the door and seal it up. He said no. They are currently letting him use it for storage.  The house is now the mascot of the local art gallery.

Back in Ocracoke, we decided to find a place to get a cup of coffee and maybe a bagel or muffin or whatever.  We discovered this neat little coffee shop on a back road in town.

What was even more interesting were some of the signs they had posted inside.

 

 

Well, there is so much more to share.  The story of the weather station, the ponies that once used to roam the island, the boy scouts who used to ride them bareback, the history of the mail service on the island, how the island was originally supplied by a fleet of boats, the history of the island itself and the list goes on.  But I believe I’m going to call this blog finished.  I encourage you if you ever have the chance set aside several days and go explore the rich history that is everywhere you look in the Outer Banks.  We’re already talking of going back but this time taking Graybeard and staying for several days in one or two of the many campgrounds that are out there.

So our day is done.  It was a wonderful day in so many ways.  We spent the day with my mom, as we well for the next several days.  We laughed, we ate, we enjoyed each others company.  Life just doesn’t get much better than this.  We hope you had a great day as well.

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.  Thanks again for sharing our day with us.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before