Outer Banks Vacation

Recently we took a trip to the Outer Banks of NC. Our trip was unfortunately interrupted by a hurricane and a mandatory evacuation, but we still enjoyed the first part of the week. The weather was perfect and hot. We were in an ideal location and it was very restful and beautiful.

Although this photo doesn't show it, the first two nights there was a blood moon, which I don't remember seeing very much, if ever. When the moon first came over the horizon it was red. When it rose more, it was normal white as this picture shows. I loved the way the light reflected off the water.

Most days during our visit, the water was too rough, and the currents too dangerous so swimming was not allowed. Even no more than knee deep, it almost knocked me over. But the surfers went crazy.

Sunrise is a beautiful time of day in the Outer Banks

We visited Currituck Lighthouse, built in 1873.

We climbed to the top and this is one of the views down the steps.

View from the top of the lighthouse of the Whalehead Club

Learn more about Currituck Beach Lighthouse.

At The Water's Edge

I never knew how deeply I was drawn to the water until we took a vacation to the Outer Banks. Something about the rolling surf and rugged beauty struck a chord deep inside me. How deep? We try to make it to the ocean at least once a year and we sold our house in the country and bought a house a half block from a lake, with a view out the back.

A few years ago, we took a trip to Maine. During a boat ride, we took this picture of a lighthouse on a rocky cliff.



I have this picture on my desk in my office. If I can't be drinking my coffee at the beach, I can look at this picture and remember how it feels.



This is a picture of our campsite one year on the Outer Banks. We stayed on the sound side, right on the water's edge.



And even if we don't make it the fifteen or so hours to the Maine or North Carolina shore, we've been able to find campsites at the water's edge. I make it a point to do it as often as possible.



Is there a certain place you return to time and time again?

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com

The Journey or the Destination??

It's travel week at Fierce Romance. My hubby and I just got back from a 2 week vacation in our RV so I thought I'd share some of the highlights. I love going to new places but I often hate the traveling it takes to get there. Yeah, I know it supposed to be the journey that counts, but sometimes I'd just like to reach my destination, you know?



Like most things in life, our trip had its bad parts and its good parts. First we traveled from our home in western New York to visit family in Georgia. My husband always drives and I'm the navigator. I had my map in my lap, directions from his brother, and the GPS programmed as well. Most of the time all the turns and exits went quite smoothly, but I have to tell you, when we approached one route change and the map and the brother's directions and the GPS all contradicted each other...well, it was enough to make me go crazy! And not quietly.

But we made it there and had a wonderful time. We only stayed three days because you know the saying about fish and houseguests...they both start to stink after three days. So we decided to spend a few days on the Outer Banks, a frequent vacation destination of ours. There's something about the rugged beauty of the islands that calls to me and I love it there. I won't go into all the problems we had on the trip between Georgia and the coast of North Carolina, but let me say that there are way too many people on the interstates going way too fast and when it's raining so hard you can't see the hood of your truck it doesn't make for a pleasant journey.

Once we reached the campground, though, it was great. We couldn't beat the view from our RV.



We spent a great deal of the next day at the beach. It was windy and not particularly warm, but there's something so relaxing about watching the waves roll in and listening to the roar of the surf. I brought along my AlphaSmart and even got a little writing done. (And no, my hair doesn't usually stand straight up like that - I told you it was windy!)



The rest of the week went faster than it had a right to. We shopped and ate at our favorite restaurants - ever been to Dirty Dick's Crab House? - and relaxed. We watched the kiteboarders in Pamilco Sound.



We chatted with the locals and dreamt about having our own place on the ocean, even though we know we probably never will. Before we knew it, we were tearing down camp and beginning the journey back home.

Once again I won't bore you with the details of the six hundred and some mile journey home, but let's just say I long for a time when we can be transported from one place to another. (Beam me up, Scottie!)

We're home now, safe and sound, and that's something for which we are truly thankful. Will I take another trip? Of course. Will I complain about the crowded highways and confusing route signs, the awning getting ripped by the wind and the stone kicked up by a passing truck that cracked our windshield? Um...yeah. Will it stop me from traveling again? No way.

Because the destination is always worth the journey. And I'm looking forward to the trip where the journey is as much fun as the destination.

Did you know most campgrounds have free wireless internet to all their campsites? While I was on vacation, I got an e-mail with the cover for my upcoming release from Ellora's Cave, Chains of Desire, which is coming out on May 29th.



It's my first futuristic and come to think of it - it fits our theme perfectly, because much of the story takes place as Hanna and Jarrod travel on space ships. Their journey is not always smooth either.

So how about you? Do you enjoy the traveling part of travel? What's your favorite travel destination?

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com

Photos: Flowers, Wildlife, Landscape

I love taking photos of almost anything, especially flowers, wildlife and landscapes. Recently, two of my flower photos were chosen by a local hospital to have enlarged, framed and displayed in waiting rooms or corridors. Here are a few of my favorite flower, wildlife and landscape photos I took recently on vacation at the Outer Banks.

Blanket flower growing on the back side of a sand dune on the beach.

Sea oats hold the dunes in place.

Cattails in a marsh.

Marsh near Manteo on Roanoke Island.

This tiny crab is about the size of a nickel. They were all over the beach.

Strike a pose!

Outer Banks: Bodie Island Lighthouse

Later the same day, after we visited Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, we visited the Bodie Island Lighthouse. It is incredibly beautiful, not only the lighthouse but its setting. Visitors aren't allowed to go inside the lighthouse, but it's free to visit.Bodie Island Lighthouse Facts:

Height: 156 feet

Height of Stripes: 22 feet

Stairs: 214

Light Pattern: 2.5 seconds on, 2.5 off, 2.5 on, 22.5 off

Beam Range: 19 miles

Ownership: transferred from US Coast Guard to the National Park Service in 2000

This is the 3rd Bodie Island Lighthouse. Before the first was built, it was said of the Bodie Island off shore area: “more vessels are lost there than on any other part of our coast.” So they needed a lighthouse. The first, started in 1847 began to lean 2 years after completion. It was abandoned in 1859. The second lighthouse was started nearby the same year. Unfortunately this one was a victim of the Civil War. Retreating Confederate troops feared the Union would use the lighthouse to their advantage, so the Confederate soldiers blew it up in 1861. Construction on the current lighthouse began in 1871. It was completed and first lit in 1872. Keeping a lighthouse is an incredibly isolated job, especially in the early days when hardly anyone lived on the island. The light was electrified in 1932 which eliminated the need for a full time Keeper. The salt marsh behind the lighthouse is home to birds and other wildlife.

Vonda Sinclair

http://www.vondasinclair.com/

Outer Banks: Roanoke

One day during our vacation to the Outer Banks, we visited Festival Park on Roanoke Island. Here we went aboard Elizabeth II, a replica (technically a composite representation) ship modeled after the Elizabeth which first arrived in Roanoke in 1585. The design is a 16th century merchant ship. (I borrowed the above picture to show you what the ship looks like sailing. We didn't get to sail.)

Since I write scenes set in the 1600s aboard ships similar to this, I considered this research.

The captain's table complete with all his instruments, food and a rat.

Between decks. The food was cooked here. You can see the pot near the center of the picture. Also most passengers would've stayed here.


The Silver Chalice is Elizabeth II's boat. This small boat would've been used to carry passengers and cargo from the big ship to shore because back then most large ships couldn't get close to shore. Read more about the Silver Chalice here

http://www.roanokeisland.com/index.php?name=silverChalice&last=diagram

And here you can learn more about Elizabeth II

http://www.roanokeisland.com/index.php?name=hisEII&last=eII

Festival Park has many areas to visit including The Settlement, which is a replica settlement similar to the ones the English lived in here in the late 1500s when they first arrived. Below is the smithy or blacksmith shop. The park employs actors to reenact what it might have been like, complete with Elizabethan English accents. Very cool!

Tents in the Settlement.

Festival Park also has many squirrels which are almost tame. They love peanuts. This guy followed us around a while.

Outer Banks: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Today I want to share some pics from my vacation last week to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The beach here at Kill Devil Hills is less crowded and more natural than other beaches I've visited.
We climbed the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest in the US at 208 feet. The light at the top can be seen 20 nautical miles out at sea and in clear conditions it can be seen from 51 miles away. Years ago, the lighthouse served a vital purpose of warning sailors away from the dangerous Diamond Shoals, sandbars that extend about 14 miles out into the ocean. These caused ships to run aground. To give you an idea of how dangerous this area of the ocean is, about 2000 shipwrecks have been found out there and include ships from the 1500s to the 1900s. It is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
Inside the lighthouse, looking down through the center of the spiral steps.

This is the first lighthouse I've visited. It is equal in height to a 12 story building and contains 248 steps. Great exercise! I was sore the next day.

(View from the top to the ground)

The view from the top is spectacular. From here you can see the site where the lighthouse used to sit (below, on the left side of the picture where that big sandy spot remains.) It was moved in 1999 to save it from the encroaching Atlantic and erosion of the shore. As for how this feat was accomplished, I have not researched it. A storm was approaching in this picture.

The view also includes the natural, beautiful and unspoiled Cape Hatteras National Seashore. With so much development and commercialization on most every beach, it was wonderful to see this virtually untouched beach. It stretches for 75 miles from south of Nags Head to Ocracoke Inlet. Amazing! It's home to lots of wildlife.

Here's a great map of the area with all the interesting islands. After you're on the site, click the map to enlarge.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/national_parks/cape_hatt93.jpg
Since we stayed in Kill Devil Hills, we had to drive over 70 miles along these narrow islands to arrive at the lighthouse. We didn't have time to visit all the places we wanted to. If you've been to the Outer Banks, which is your favorite site?

Vonda

http://www.vondasinclair.com/