Week Two

Not long after we got on Hwy 168, we passed a sign which indicated that the boundary line between Virginia and No. Carolina was established in 1728. Hwy. 168, through Currituck Co., is a busy road, but rideable. Passed through Moyock, Sligo, Currituck, Barco, and Coinjock. I just love those Native American names!

Lunch at Point Harbor, just before crossing over the Currituck Sound on the Wright Memorial Bridge.

The Wright Brothers National Monument at Kill Devil Hills was on our "must-see" touring list. It is truly the birthplace of modern aviation. The first thing we did when we got there was to watch a 70 min. movie about the Wrights and their four years of glider flights that preceded the powered flights. We viewed the "Hall of Fame" with oil paintings of so many past pilots and air pioneers: Northrup, Cessna, Billy Mitchell, Jimmy Doolittle, Amelia Earhartdt, Jacqueline Corcoran, the Tuskeegee Airmen, and Bessie Coleman (the first licensed black woman pilot) among many others. We saw replicas of 2 of the early gliders, and even the actual sewing machine which was used on the wing fabric! A large granite boulder on the top of a grass covered sand dune dominates the site. We saw the numbered granite markers which indicate the distance of each of the four flights made (and by whom) on Dec. 17, 1903. Lastly, we looked at the two 1903 replica camp buildings which were used as a hanger and a workshop/living quarters.

Our destination was Nags Head. We arrived safely, but communication with the host church had broken down, and we had to make a few phone calls before we got settled. But all is well, and we are so blessed to be on the Outer Banks (OBX) at last!

Miles ridden:
Charlotte - 40
Marie - 34
Road Change: 3 cents

With love from mid-America, Marie Nemec & Charlotte Reicks

The sun comes up early here, and we were not far behind. Out of the church by 6:30 am, and soon into the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. This was the first national seashore in the USA. First stop was at the Bodie Lighthouse. It was built during 1871-72, and it 156' tall. Three alternating horizontal bands of white sandwich two wide black bands. There is an adjacent small white house which served as the lighthouse keeper's quarters.

As I was riding along on Pea Island, I came across the Kuralt Trail, named for Charles Kuralt (1934-1997), a distinguished radio and broadcast journalist. A native of NC, he was the innovator of a popular TV news feature "On The Road." Traveling in a motorhome, Kuralt visited out of the way places across America, bringing them into America's living room. Kuralt had a strong interest in National Wildlife Refuges, and was posthumously awarded a Distinguished Citizen Award by the US Fish & Wildlife Director in 1997.

The next major stop was at Cape Hatteras Ligthouse. It was built in 1870 and is 208' tall. Its distinctive black and white spiral was added in 1873 (a representation is on our ride T-shirts). Originally designed and built by Dexter Stetson, it was situated one mile from the ocean, but erosion had left it just 100 feet from the ocean. In 1999, after many years of controversy, the lighthouse was moved, over the course of 23 days, to a site one mile from the ocean, about 1/2 mi. from its original location. Ruth Hargrave and I were there when they first started moving the lighthouse, back in mid-June 1999.

We took a ferry from the tip of Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island. It took about 45 min. North Carolina has quite a ferry system.

Once onto Ocracoke Island, we had just 14 more miles to go. I stopped to look at the Ocracoke Ponies. Legend has it that they survived the wreck of a 16th century ship. They are different from other horses in the number of vertebrae and ribs. They have a distinct shape, posture, color, size, and weight which set them apart. The ponies roamed free until they were penned in 1959 to prevent overgrazing and protect them from fast moving traffic on the newly paved Hwy 12. The Nat'l Park Service has cared for the ponies since the early 1960's.

Arrived in the village of Ocracoke and saw our third lighthouse of the day. The Ocracoke Lighthouse is just 75' tall, built in 1823, and is the 2nd oldest operating in NC. Its white color was achieved by a "whitewash recipe" - blending lime, salt, spanish whiting, rice, glue, and boiling water. The mixture was applied while still hot.

Miles ridden:
Charlotte - 42
Marie - 35
Road change: 14 cents

With love from Ockracoke (where the locals are called O-cock-ers), Marie & Charlotte

Up very early (4:45 am) so we'd have time to pack up, eat breakfast, and be in line for the ferry that goes from Ocracoke to Cedar Island. Wish we could have spent an extra day on the Outer Banks (OBX).

Great ferry boat ride - 2 1/4 hours across the Pamlico Sound. NC has a fine ferry boat system (7 routes with 24 ferries www.ncferry.org). I went upstairs in the lounge to avoid traveling facing backwards. I worked on trying to catch up on my journal.

Charlotte rode first, after we arrived at Cedar Island. Very remote area, very verdant, with thick vegetation on both sides, and very flat.

Passed through a few small towns. Three Baptist churches in Williston.

Finally got to Beaufort. Very historial, with a lot of traffic. Ate lunch at a picnic table at the Carteret County Courthouse.

Continued on to Morehead City. we chose to ride out on the barrier island, for about 25 miles.

Continued on to Jacksonville, home of Camp Lejeune. I think my Uncle Jack was stationed there for training when he was a Marine. There is a large military presence here in Jacksonville.

Again, we had a communication glitch. We found the church, but couldn't reach the Pastor. We finally decided to just get a motel room. Charlotte called Best Western, and after explaining about our ride, we got a great price of $32. When we actually arrived, the clerk on duty told us she had lost a high school friend to HD, so she was very familiar with this awful disease.

My cell phone rang while I was in the shower, so Charlotte answered it. Guess what? It was the Pastor from the church where we were supposed to stay. He apologized for what had happened, and wanted to come to the motel and meet us. When he showed up, he had the clerk change over the cost of the room from Charlotte's credit card to his. We had a nice visit.

Still hadn't eaten dinner, and it was 9:00 pm. Fortunately, there was a Burger King down the road, so we got something there, and treated ourselves to a soft serve Dairy Queen cone.

We can sleep a little later because we will be eating the Continental Breakfast in the Best Western.

With love from the 12th of the 13 original colonies,

Miles ridden:
Charlotte 40
Marie - 35
Road Change: 19 cents

Marie & Charlotte

Slept well last night, even slept in a bit (5:30 am). Nice continental breakfast (both of us had a waffle and juice).

Today's ride was the same highway all day long - no turns, just Hwy. 17. It was a four lane highway almost all day (a mile or so of construction narrowed route to one lane in each direction.) No sightseeing, so we arrived at 12:20 pm at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church. This church was founded in 1858, and occupied by Union troops in 1865. We were greeted warmly by four of the church staff. Pastor John Misenheimer invited us to have lunch with the staff, if you can picutre this, in "Hell's Kitchen." For those who followed "Dawson's Creek," scenes were shot in this place. We had some nice $1 apiece soft shell tacos, and I had some sweet tea (pre-sweetened ice tea).

After lunch, I took care of some mundane but necessary tasks, like getting the oil changed on the van, doing laundry, and getting a little food.

Fortunately, within the last year, the church had a shower installed. The simple pleasures of life - to be clean!

After it got cooler outside, we drove around Wilmington a little. So much history crammed into a small area! We saw the Riverwalk, and where the Battleship USS North Carolina is moored. Wish we could have toured a little more.

Tomorrow we leave North Carolina. It has been a wonderful state for us.

Miles ridden:
Charlotte - 31
Marie - 21
Road change: 58 cents (the most in one day, so far)

With love, Marie and Charlotte

We drove out of Wilmington, over a draw bridge, and decided to take secondary roads when we could.

We followed River Road, with no shoulder to speak of, which was a better alternative to the freeway-like Hwy 17. At Boiling Spring Lakes, a policeman pulled up behind the van to make sure everything was OK. Good opportunity to share about HD, as I gave him a brochure. All along this road, and our next road, Hwy 211, there were subdivisions, all of which had the name "Plantation" in them. Also, all day today, we passed signs for many golf courses.

Charlotte wanted some tofu, and we needed lettuce for our infamous peanut butter sandwiches, so I stopped at a Wal-Mart in Shallotte (pronounced Shah-LOTE), a town dating to the late 1700's, incorporated in 1899.

Got back on the main thoroughfare (Hwy 17) and continued "leap frogging" right across the state line into South Carolina. Charlotte (on bike) and I (driving the van) both arrived at the Rest Area/Tourist Information Welcome Center almost simultaneously. It was VERY hot (102 degrees) at 1:30 pm. We ate our lunch in the shade, at a shelter with a picnic table underneath. I enjoyed the palm trees in the landscaping. Hadn't seen any of those since I was in California last fall.

We were warned that we could only bicycle a few more miles, and not to bike over the Intercoastal Waterway on the bridge. That was good information. Hwy 17 again became very freeway-like, with controlled access. I loaded up my bike and Charlotte and I drove the rest of the way, through North Myrtle Beach (the typical "Henna Tattoos, $5; Buy one T-shirt, get one free; Beach Chairs; Umbrellas, etc."

Arrived safely at a wonderful hotel, the Hampton Inn, Broadway at the Beach. A friend from the Hunt-Dis list, Maggie Pond, treated us, because she already had a house guest. We really needed a cool place to unwind, rest, and relax after a grueling hot, humid day.

We met Maggie in person for the first time when she and her sister arrived to take us out to dinner. Mary and Maggie live together in a very nice brick house just a block off the ocean. They took us to see their house and the beach, then we returned to near the hotel. We ate outside at the Key West Grill at Broadway at the Beach, a 350 acre tourist attraction, with a central lagoon, an aquarium, Margaritaville, restaurants, clothing shops, an amusement park, etc. Great food and conversation. I had a salad topped with grilled chicken, Charlotte had red snapper, Mary had grilled trout, and Maggie had catfish! Maggie lost two sons to HD. So tragic! Such a precious woman.

We had some ice cream from Ben and Jerry's before they took us back to the Hampton Inn. All of us wished that we had more time here.

I think there are something like 200 golf courses near Myrtle Beach. This is the Mecca for golfers, I think.

Rich full day.

With love from South Carolina, whose motto is "Beautiful Places, Beautiful Faces" (or maybe it's the other way around),

Marie & Charlotte

Morning came early, reluctant risers at 5:00 am. Got the van loaded before continental breakfast. Best breakfast set-up so far; we enjoyed the sausage patties, waffles, yogurt, and fresh fruit. Thanks again, Maggie, for our wonderful stay.

Myrtle Beach to Charleston is 100 miles. We had pretty much determined that we weren't going to ride that far. The heat and humidity is pretty stifling.

Hwy 17 the whole way. In some sections, there was no shoulder on which to ride. With the heavier morning traffic it was pretty stressful, but we made it through. I wore a reflective vest for the first time, and found it did give me more visibility and respect.

Georgetown was the first major town we came through. There was a large bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, a lesser bridge over the Pee Dee and Black Rivers, and a third bridge over the Sampit River.

The Lafayette Memorial Highway is the designation of Hwy 17, from Georgetown to Charleston. It was named to honor the Marquis de Lafayette from France. He came to America, landing in Charleston on June 13, 1777 (along with Baron De Kalb of Germany) to offer their services to the American patriots. They commanded the troops quite gallantly as Major Generals during the American Revolution. De Kalb was killed in the Battle of Camden SC in August 1780. Lafayette was hailed as a hero of the nation.

Another historical place we passed was Hampton Plantation, dating from 1730. Archibald Rutledge called it "the mother plantation of this old plantation country." Upon the death of an ancestor to Rutledge, it was bought by the state in 1971 and turned into a state park.

This area had one of the earliest rice plantations on the Santee River. The area was settle by Huguenots.

We rode quite a bit through the Francis Marion National Forest. On September 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo swept through South Carolina, leveling thousands of acres of mature pine and hardwood trees. In April 1991, school children from 6th grade at St. James-Santee Elementary and students from Moultrie Middle school replanted some of this area, with containerized coastal loblolly pine seedlings. Today, 14 years later, much tree growth has returned to parts of the area.

After riding a cumulative 75 of the 100 miles distance, we loaded both bikes into the van and drove another 25 miles. Along the way, we began to see small primitive roadside stands, where sweetgrass baskets were being sold.

From a distance, we could see a huge new bridge in Charleston under construction, dwarfing the existing girder-type bridges. We decided to drive directly to the Hotel Sheraton, where my sister Meg is covering our two nights stay. Thanks again, Meg.

Got situated in our rooms. After showers, we had some hors d'ouvres in the lounge just 20 feet from our room. It was enough for dinner! Visited with some very fascinating guests.

This was the last day riding on the coast.

With love from South Carolina (motto "Smiling Faces. Beautiful Places),

Marie and Charlotte

Miles ridden:
Charlotte - 40.5
Marie - 32.5
Road Change - none

We slept in until 7:00 am, a real treat. Continental breakfast in the Sheraton, then out for a day of sightseeing in Charleston.

I don't think that even a month would be enough time to see Charleston, to do it justice.

Charleston (originally Charles Towne) was founded in 1670 by English settlers. Originally it was located on the marshy shores of nearby Albemarle Point, but the settlement was relocated to its present site 10 years later. Once a cradle of Southern gentility, it is now one of its last bastions. Ancestral pride runs deeper than the Ashley and Cooper Rivers that shape the slender peninsula on which the city is built.

We took a narrated van tour which went by most of the major attractions. A few places were of particular interest to me.

One was the Citadel, which was started as the South Carolina Military Academy. It is a state-supported military college, with a central parade ground, surrounded by whitish Moorish style buildings with turrets on the corners. The student body numbers about 1600 after the 25% attrition rate. Cadets live all four years in barracks.

Another favorite was the distinctive "single house," a narrow structure one room wide and two rooms deep with its gabled end, rather than its front, facing the street. Often a single house includes a piazza - this city's version of a veranda - which had an outside door. No one knows why there are so many single houses in Charleston, but there is speculation that the design might have been prompted by taxes levied according to how many feet of a house faced the street.

The College of Charleston was founded in 1770 with a male student body, but today there are 6 female students to every male student. The women graduates wear a white long dress, and carry a long stemmed red rose for each year they attended the college; the men wear white dinner jackets. No caps and gowns here!

Charleston doesn't like change. They have had the same man as Chief of Police for 30 years, and the same man for Mayor since 1959.

Four signers of the Declaration of Independence were from South Carolina. South Carolina was the 8th state admitted to the Union. South Carolina was one of the wealthiest colonies by the time of the American Revolution, because of the rice and indigo plantations. But it also suffered more Revolutionary War battles than any other state, scarring both the land and its people. So. Carolina bounced back, and added cotton production, but talk of abolishment of slavery caused a rift between the state and the federal government. The first state to secede from the Union, it was soon thrust into war. Loss of men and property were devastating. Reconstruction followed, with continuing political strife and a sagging economy, but the state sprang back with development of textile mills.

In what we visited today, touring the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier was closest to my heart. Now decommissioned and owned by the city of Charleston, it is the flagship vessel at Patriots Point. At one point in my father's Naval career, he was Chief Engineer of the Yorktown. We wanted to tour the Engine Room, but 5 steep flights of stairs down and then back up seemed above my abilities.

We got to see black ladies constructing those beautiful sweetgrass baskets. The sweetgrass is coiled with strips of palmetto trees and pinestraw needles. Coiling is a process of sewing, and is done with a metal spoon handle as a coiling tool, poking a hole through which the palm is inserted.

Preservation is a way of life in Charleston. I'd like to return and spend more time immersing in this truly historical city.

With love,
Marie & Charlotte