Day 07 – Ocracoke / Bodie Island
After a good night’s sleep, we awoke rested and ready to head south to Ocracoke Island. The hotel has a nice breakfast, but it doesn’t start until 8am. They did have a small continental breakfast which we took up to the room.
Sunrise from our balcony.
Another sunrise photo from our balcony. Jennette’s Pier is about a mile south of our hotel.
The sun is finally poking up above the horizon. We’re done with breakfast, so it’s time to head out.
We wanted to catch an early ferry over to the island. They run every half hour, so we left at 7am, aiming to get on the 8:30am ferry. We took our time driving there, and arrived just as the 8:30 ferry was pulling out. We were second in line for the 9:00 ferry, which was fine. We walked around the visitor center and picked up some information on places to see and restaurants in Ocracoke.
We just missed the 8:30am ferry, but we are second in line for the 9:00 ferry. The crossing takes just over an hour. In the summertime, during peak tourist season, there can be over 100 cars waiting for the 30 or so spaces on each ferry. Waits can be hours long.
The ferry information center is a nice place to wait for the next ferry.
Inside the ferry information center is this model of one of the ferries.
Looks like our ferry just arrived. We’ll be loading soon.
Here we are, squeezed into the line of cars. Luckily, there were not many cars loading, so the middle row was empty. On the return trip this afternoon, we were squeezed in next to a pickup truck that we couldn’t even open our doors.
We climbed up to the observation deck and enjoyed the fresh sea breeze. Beautiful day!!
Enjoying our view and the fresh breeze.
Along the way, we passed another ferry heading from Ocracoke to Hatteras.
After a little over an hour, Ocracoke was within sight. Here, we are passing another ferry. About 6 are running at any given time.
After the ferry unloaded, it was about 12 miles to the town of Ocracoke.
One of the big attractions in town is the Ocracoke Lighthouse.
The steps to the top of the lighthouse were closed. Too bad!
It was fun walking around Ocracoke. The lighthouse is never far from view.
We beat the lunch crowd to Ocracoke Oyster Company for lunch.
Not wanting to risk raw seafood before an hour-long boat ride on choppy waters, we opted for a mahi-mahi sandwich and potato.
Since there is no ferry at 1:30pm, we aimed to get to the ferry for the 1:00 crossing. We arrived in plenty of time, and were about 10th in line. According to the GPS display, we have reached the end of the road. It’s either the ferry or a 10-mile swim to get back to the hotel.
Soon, we were SQUEEZED onto the ferry and were on our way. We were wedged in so tight that we could barely open the car door, much less try to get out. We stayed in the car for this crossing. I did get a photo of another ferry as we passed.
Back on dry land, we headed north. We did stop to visit the Bodie Island Lighthouse, another popular landmark. Photo #2 was taken with me and my dad back around the mid 1960s. I’m 20 years older now than he was in this photo!
Another “40th Anniversary Photo” of us at Bodie Island Lighthouse.
The steps to this lighthouse were also closed, but you could get a good look up inside. That’s a LOT of steps!
We walked out the boardwalk to the marsh and observation deck. (See next photo for information)
Information plaque on the boardwalk by Bodie Island Lighthouse.
One last photo of the Bodie Island Lighthouse, then it’s time to head back for supper.
We looked at a few nice restaurants, but they all wanted $35-$50 per each for just one plate of food and a side dish. We decided to splurge (it is our 40th Anniversary, after all, eh?) and went for the $50 buffet at Captain George’s Seafood House. We had one of these in Virginia when we were there from 1985-1989. All you can eat crab legs, steamed shrimp, scallops, several types of fish – and that’s just one of the 5 serving islands! Tons of desserts, “regular” food, and more! We took our time and enjoyed a 2-hour feast!
I think we got our money’s worth.
Back at the room, we were surprised to find this group of seagulls making a racket outside our patio door. It was like an Alfred Hitchcock movie! Turns out the upstairs neighbor was feeding them.
As the sun was setting, we walked out on the beach for a little stroll.
Our balcony is visible to the right, third floor, and second from this end.
Beth and I settled into our balcony chairs to enjoy the last bits of sunlight.
Thanks for joining us on our travels to Ocracoke and Bodie Island today. Hope you enjoyed it!
See you tomorrow as we explore the Elizabethan Gardens and the Wright Brothers National Memorial.
Proceed to DAY 08
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