Saturday, June 4
Sadly, today was the day we had to leave the OBX. We had to get to Hatteras early to be sure to get on the 7:00 a.m. ferry, so we broke camp at 6:00 a.m. and were in line at 6:50 a.m. Arrived at Ocracoke and tried to get on an earlier ferry than the 1:00 p.m. for which we had a reservation. After checking her computer, the friendly lady at the ticket kiosk said “Sorry, sweetheart, not today.” So we took the extra time we had to bicycle around the island.
Ocracoke Island is 13 miles long, and is 20-25 miles from the mainland of North Carolina, across the Pamlico Sound. The year round population is less than 1,000. There is a unique accent and vocabulary called the “Hoi Toider”. It is derived from the Irish and Scottish colonists. They evolved their own dialect and words due to the extreme isolation. Google “Ocracoke Brogue” if you want more information. Ocracoke has a unique history which revolves around pirates, shipwrecks, and offshore battles.
Nowadays, it’s a rustic little seaside village, lots of restaurants, souvenir shops, and galleries. Of course, there’s a lighthouse there, which is North Carolina’s oldest and the 2nd oldest lighthouse in the USA, operational since 1823. It’s only 65 feet high.
They were also having their annual Ocrafolk Festival, with a full slate of musicians, entertainers and artisan booths. We got back just in time to get the van in line to wait an hour to load up. But we could listen to the folk music while waiting. It was a 2 1/2 hour ferry ride across to Cedar Point; we used this time to get in 40 winks, or so. Mary Ann asked a lady with a bike on the ferry about riding on Highway 24. She said we shouldn’t and recommended an alternate route, on Hwy. 58, which we took. It was out on a spit of land in the ocean and was a lovely ride.
We are now camped at a really nice campground outside of Hubert, NC. Our plug in wouldn’t fit the outlet and our new neighbor saw us struggling and came over and resolved the problem for us. By the time we were plugged in we had met his wife, daughter and their family dog and the camp host! Everyone who walked by waved or said hello. At all the other parks, no one even came out of their RV’s. It was nice to visit with some friendly folks. We had Ramen Noodles for dinner (thanks Marie). They were delicious!
Off to Wilmington in the morning.
Mary Ann & Sherri