Our RV park here is called the OBX Campground. "OBX" is an abbreviation for Outer Banks, and all the license plates of local residents begin with those three letters. The campground is located in the town of Kill Devil Hills, which is the historic site of the Wright brothers' first flight. (The town of Kitty Hawk, more commonly associated with that flight, is nearby and was the closest community at the time.)
At the Wright Brothers National Memorial, we hiked to the top of a steep hill from which we could overlook the area where Wilber and Orville tested their gliders during four years of experimentation and eventually succeeded in the world's first powered heavier-than-air aircraft flight.
A fascinating metal model of that first airplane and statues of the individuals involved is on the grounds of the memorial.
In 1585 settlers from England led by Sir Walter Raleigh established the Roanoke Colony in what is now the town of Manteo on Roanoke Island. The colonists all disappeared three years after the last shipment of supplies from England, and the cause of that disappearance is an unsolved mystery to this day. The Lost Colony Exhibit is an interesting museum on the exact site. Nancy and I, after reviewing the evidence, were unable to figure out what happened.
Several years ago four friends - two bartenders and two beer brewers, all living in the area - decided to start a rum distillery business - the first LEGAL local distillery - which they named Outer Banks Distilling. They acquired a building in that same town of Manteo, took classes at Michigan State, bought the best distilling equipment they could afford, and began production. They offer tours, and we signed up.
The two former bartenders took us around and described the processes involved. Their catchphrase is "molasses to glasses", because the production of rum, as we learned, always begins with molasses, which they buy from Louisiana. A number of steps are involved - diluting and purifying the molasses, adding yeast to produce alcohol from that mixture, then using the beautiful copper-plated distiller below, which they purchased from Germany, to finally yield the rum that can be sold for profit.
We were told that "kill devil" is old English slang for rum, so they call their product "Kill Devil Rum". The bartender/owners were a riot, we were given a rum tasting at the end, and we highly recommend the tour if you visit the Outer Banks.
The southernmost island of the Outer Banks chain is Cape Hatteras, which supposedly is more vulnerable to hurricanes than any other place in the United States, due to its exposed location, jutting as it does out into the Atlantic. Cape Hatteras is a narrow thread of land, with the ocean visible at times on both sides of the road, and we drove all the way to Hatteras Village, at the far end of the island.
Because of its hurricane history and because it's less accessible than the other Outer Banks islands, Cape Hatteras has been less developed than the others. Still, in Hatteras Village and in several other towns along the way, we saw a large number of the distinctive houses characteristic of Outer Banks architecture. All beach houses built in the last twenty years or so are raised up on pilings so that the lowest inhabited floor is twelve feet or more above the sand, in order to give the building a greater chance of surviving the hurricane.surge that will inevitably come. In the photo below, compare the newer house on the left with the older ones on the right.
On the main Outer Banks islands the great majority of homes are up on pilings and bear some similarity to the house on the left. These buildings tend to be colorful and cheerful, and I am a fan of that architectural style. One downside for us is that such homes require much more stair climbing than older legs prefer.
We like the Outer Banks quite a lot, but the weather and what we hear about summer traffic probably rules the area out for us as a future home.
Our last night in the islands we had a wonderful meal at The Colington Cafe. Driving home, we noticed, on the front lawn of an older home, a group of fifty or so rectangular tanks, each with a light bulb over it. I stopped the pickup truck and Nancy walked over to see what was going on. A gentleman at work confirmed that he was harvesting soft shell crabs. The process is as follows. Small hard-shelled crabs are placed in saltwater tanks, and they are checked at least every four hours. As soon as one sheds his shell in preparation for rapid growth, and before he can generate a hard new shell, he is removed from the tank and packed up with his fellows for sale to distributors and eventually to restaurants. This harvesting only occurs several times each year. Fascinating.
Back in our motorhome we reflected on how much we like and have been impressed by North Carolina. Asheville, Boone, the Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham and Chapel Hill), the Outer Banks - that's a lot of variety, mountains and shore, much of it appealing. The people here seem intelligent and friendly. Great restaurants and fine universities. Excellent roads. Fascinating history. North Carolina is, without question, one of our favorite states.
A fascinating metal model of that first airplane and statues of the individuals involved is on the grounds of the memorial.
In 1585 settlers from England led by Sir Walter Raleigh established the Roanoke Colony in what is now the town of Manteo on Roanoke Island. The colonists all disappeared three years after the last shipment of supplies from England, and the cause of that disappearance is an unsolved mystery to this day. The Lost Colony Exhibit is an interesting museum on the exact site. Nancy and I, after reviewing the evidence, were unable to figure out what happened.
Several years ago four friends - two bartenders and two beer brewers, all living in the area - decided to start a rum distillery business - the first LEGAL local distillery - which they named Outer Banks Distilling. They acquired a building in that same town of Manteo, took classes at Michigan State, bought the best distilling equipment they could afford, and began production. They offer tours, and we signed up.
The two former bartenders took us around and described the processes involved. Their catchphrase is "molasses to glasses", because the production of rum, as we learned, always begins with molasses, which they buy from Louisiana. A number of steps are involved - diluting and purifying the molasses, adding yeast to produce alcohol from that mixture, then using the beautiful copper-plated distiller below, which they purchased from Germany, to finally yield the rum that can be sold for profit.
We were told that "kill devil" is old English slang for rum, so they call their product "Kill Devil Rum". The bartender/owners were a riot, we were given a rum tasting at the end, and we highly recommend the tour if you visit the Outer Banks.
The southernmost island of the Outer Banks chain is Cape Hatteras, which supposedly is more vulnerable to hurricanes than any other place in the United States, due to its exposed location, jutting as it does out into the Atlantic. Cape Hatteras is a narrow thread of land, with the ocean visible at times on both sides of the road, and we drove all the way to Hatteras Village, at the far end of the island.
Because of its hurricane history and because it's less accessible than the other Outer Banks islands, Cape Hatteras has been less developed than the others. Still, in Hatteras Village and in several other towns along the way, we saw a large number of the distinctive houses characteristic of Outer Banks architecture. All beach houses built in the last twenty years or so are raised up on pilings so that the lowest inhabited floor is twelve feet or more above the sand, in order to give the building a greater chance of surviving the hurricane.surge that will inevitably come. In the photo below, compare the newer house on the left with the older ones on the right.
On the main Outer Banks islands the great majority of homes are up on pilings and bear some similarity to the house on the left. These buildings tend to be colorful and cheerful, and I am a fan of that architectural style. One downside for us is that such homes require much more stair climbing than older legs prefer.
We like the Outer Banks quite a lot, but the weather and what we hear about summer traffic probably rules the area out for us as a future home.
Our last night in the islands we had a wonderful meal at The Colington Cafe. Driving home, we noticed, on the front lawn of an older home, a group of fifty or so rectangular tanks, each with a light bulb over it. I stopped the pickup truck and Nancy walked over to see what was going on. A gentleman at work confirmed that he was harvesting soft shell crabs. The process is as follows. Small hard-shelled crabs are placed in saltwater tanks, and they are checked at least every four hours. As soon as one sheds his shell in preparation for rapid growth, and before he can generate a hard new shell, he is removed from the tank and packed up with his fellows for sale to distributors and eventually to restaurants. This harvesting only occurs several times each year. Fascinating.
Back in our motorhome we reflected on how much we like and have been impressed by North Carolina. Asheville, Boone, the Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham and Chapel Hill), the Outer Banks - that's a lot of variety, mountains and shore, much of it appealing. The people here seem intelligent and friendly. Great restaurants and fine universities. Excellent roads. Fascinating history. North Carolina is, without question, one of our favorite states.
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