After a great day in the mid-section of the Outer Banks, exploring the exploring the Wright Brothers, then visiting the Roanoke Colony, and finally touring the Elizabethan Gardens, we kept close to our lodging for the day.
BEACH
Since the day was perfectly warm and sunny, we began with another morning walk on the beach…
LIGHTHOUSE
…followed by a tour of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, near which our lodging is located.
First shining its beacon of light in 1875, this 158 foot tall tower has 214 steps rising to the top for amazing views.
Looking the furthest north towards Virginia, where the wild Corolla horses live…
After lunch we walked on that boardwalk coming out of the forest to the water of Currituck Sound. More on that below.
The rooftop of the lighthouse overseer’s cottage is directly below…
That fancy house set against the sound with the pond in front is the Whalehead Club.
Built as a stunning home in the 1920s, we plan to tour that tomorrow which is forecast to be a major rain day.
Looking south, towards my favorite shopping, and our most recent excursions yesterday at Kitty Hawk and Roanoke Island, which are far in the distance.
The buildings below is our lodging (more on that in a later post) from which we can see this lighthouse, day and night with its beacon lit.
From our lodging we merely walk down that road to the beach, or we can easily walk over here. So convenient.
All the beach houses in the distance looking out to the Atlantic Ocean.
Finally looking north again, as in the first photo in this set.
Where the houses end is where a refuge for the wild Corolla horses begin.
The house nearest that entrance was a vacation house for Tom Cruise, until too many people kept popping over to say hi, so he sold the place. Sad his privacy wasn’t respected.
HISTORIC COROLLA VILLAGE
After descending the lighthouse, we picked up souvenirs in their gift shop, walked the grounds, then strolled to Historic Corolla Village, which includes this lifeguard station rescued from Kill Devil Hills.
More on these fascinating structures so importantly tied into the lifeblood of this island in another post.
NATURE WALK
After lunch we drove to the Currituck Banks Reserve, which provides this nature trail to learn more about the unique ecosystem on this island.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the middle section of the island is maritime forest…which completely adds to the charm of the beachy locale.
Since they have waxy leaves to resist the salt spray and endure the sea winds, live oak trees and myrtle bushes predominate the area.
Providing a barrier from the elements, these trees help more fragile plants survive.
On the beach side of the island, the maritime forest thins out to a thicket then to sand dunes.
However on the sound side of the island, the maritime forest thins out to the tidal creek area…
Meanwhile we looked for wildlife specific to each area…
Settling on these benches, we spent an hour watching all the birds.
Some small birds chased a raptor from their nest high in one of these trees…that was dramatically interesting!
Of all the wildlife pictures I tried to take, this was the best one…a Red-winged Blackbird.
SUNSET
After dinner we parked near the Whalehead Club to enjoy the brilliant sunset on Currituck Sound.
In this photo we are looking in the direction of the nature path we walked this afternoon.
Then views from the Whalehead Club towards the lighthouse, which has a nightly signal for all, by flashing a three-second white light every twenty seconds.
While every lighthouse is similar to others, each has distinctive differences so boats know where they are.
By day, the outward appearance is unique, while by night, the pattern of light flashed is likewise unique.
As we’ve done each evening on the island, we walked into our lodging while the Currituck Lighthouse consistently flashed it’s signal overhead…so quaint and comforting.
That was a first for me to experience…on this trip of many firsts!
So sad it’s about to come to an end, only one day left. Stay tuned!
