The girls wanted to go up in a lighthouse so we found one on our route north, Bodie Lighthouse (pronounced Body). It had just been renovated so it was in beautiful condition, and they had just reopened the staircase to visitors.
I knew it would be a long walk, something like 238 stairs but I thought we could give it a shot. However, when we reached the park HQ (it's part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore), we learned that a) guests had to be at least 42" to take the tour and b) it was 100 heat index inside the lighthouse. So we would not be taking the tour on this trip! Sad, but the girls are young. We have plenty of time to come back and see the lighthouse again.
We picked up a couple of books and some maps in the gift shop, including a book of ghost stories of the Outer Banks for Shelby.
Maybe next time we can also visit the Cape Hatteras lighthouse that was recently moved inland due to beach erosion. Kind of impressive to move an entire lighthouse but there you go. I would also love to see some of the wild horses that roam the beaches in certain parts of the Outer Banks. So much history there! I had been several times, and even went to hang gliding school before, but never visited the area with kids of my own, which is always more fun.
Another aspect of the history of the area is the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kill Devil Hills. So we drove up to the memorial, which is part of the National Park Service, and looked around a bit. The memorial museum is quite dated and in need of renovation, but they do have a pretty cool life size model of the first plane. It's so impressive to see their invention up close, and see what a marvel of engineering they achieved. Pretty good for a couple of bachelor bicycle mechanics. They flew it four times on the historic day, the fourth flight reaching over 800 ft in distance in a 21 mph head wind.
The hill above the museum has a large monument dedicated to the historic event but it was much too hot to be walking around outside so we just paid our respects and left.
We decided to head west from the Outer Banks and start the long journey home, but not before stopping at the Outer Banks Brewery Company for lunch. They had excellent food, one of the neatest backyards I had ever seen at a restaurant including a fantastic pirate ship playground and a beautiful flower garden, and most importantly, a parking lot that would accommodate two travel trailers. Priorities.
From there we drove west towards Raleigh-Durham, opting to stop at one of the few RV parks in the area in a little suburb called Mebane. Jones Station RV Park is a brand new park, very well landscaped and quiet in the country but close to the interstate and all the shops and amenities of the area. I wonder what it would be like to own an RV park. You would never get to travel yourself, but just meet other travelers and be available at all times. Much more fun to think about that job than to actually do it, I suppose. Highly recommend these folks, though, if you are ever in the area. We were there for barely 12 hours before heading toward home this morning. We are choosing to play this return journey by ear and stopping if need be, one of the beauties of RV travel where we can just pick up and move where the spirit takes us. We are all tired and ready to get home, though, so we may try to push through these last 8 hours and sleep in our own beds tonight. One day early but won't it feel good? If the Outer Banks weren't 12 hours from home, we would be all over it like sand in a swimsuit. Really nice area and in one of my favorite states. I would love to retire to North Carolina one day or maybe just drive all around it in my RV.
The kids are really tired and a little homesick but I dare say they have had a blast, as have we all. The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but miles to go before we sleep. See you back in Kimberly.
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