Cape Hatteras

Day 11:  Nothing like waking up to the sounds of the ocean waves beating the shoreline!  Fresh and relaxed, we had our coffee on the deck, just taking in the sights and sounds of the beach.  How I'd love to have that permanently!

In the A.M. we drove a short distance to the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse--the tallest in North America.  What a magnificent structure!  It's unimaginable that it was moved (in one piece!) to a new location because its original spot was too close to the ocean's edge.

Ocracoke

Day 10 (continued):  Ocracoke is the southern-most island of the Outer Banks.  It's the famous haunts of Edward Teach AKA "Blackbeard" the pirate.  He was beheaded offshore and his ghost lives there forevermore!  We headed to the first of many lighthouses for some photos and then lunch.

Late afternoon we drove to Hatteras Inlet to catch another ferry ride to Cape Hatteras Island; this one was a quick 30 minutes.  We found the Cape Hatteras Hotel which was going to be home for the next two days.  A martini on the deck overlooking the ocean's edge was very welcome end to our day.

Heading to the Outer Banks

Day 9:  We left Lee and Jan at Myrtle Beach and we headed due north for the second week of our journey.  At Morehead City, NC we spent the night at a Quality Inn and guess who was waiting for our arrival?  Earleen Dorries from Breese!  She recognized our Carlyle address and was hoping to be there when we arrived.  Larry knew her brother and some members of her family.  Turns out she's been living on the coast for a long time--actually since her husband retired from GM.  Larry had a good long chat with her before we left.  While there we explored the neighboring town Beaufort, which was established in the 1700s.  Lot of history there.

Day 10:  At 9:00 Sunday morning we left Morehead, NC to catch our 2 1/1 hour ferry ride from Cedar Island to Ocracoke which is the southern tip of the Outer Banks.  About 50 vehicles fit onto the ferry across the Sound.  It was a relaxing trip--time to read my novel and the morning's newspapers.  

BIRTHDAY !

Day 6-8:  Today is my birthday, guys!  We are celebrating by golfing at

Tiger's Eye Golf Course in Ocean Isles, NC.  What a fantastic course--just gorgeous!  Believe it or not, I shot the best round of my life here with scoring a birdie even!!!

  In the evening we celebrated with a dinner at our condo and enjoyed every minute.  On Day 7 we beached it, and on Friday we golfed Myrtlewood Golf Course which paralled the Intracoastal Waterway.  And. thanks to the "Gulf Gods," I shot another high scoring round (at least for me!!)  Makes you wonder,  doesn't it???  Man, I'm loving it down here..

Beaching it!

,Day 5:  Nothing planned but to spend the day on the beach.  Water temp is 82 and warm; the high today is reaching the low 90s.  The wave action is rather calm.  We were hoping to see some effect of Hurricane Igor, but everything is back to normal.  Good day was had by all.

Carolina Golfing

Day 4:  Wake -up call this morning was the sound of the ocean's waves hitting the beach.  What a joy!  Tee-time today is noon at Oyster Bay Golf Course in Sunset Beach.  It's technically located in North Carolina, about 35 minutes north of here.  Course is ranked #19 in Golf Digest; it was rather difficult to play what with all the water holes.  I won't begin to tell you my score on it!!!  We even found a few critters on the course--a fox of all things and several of their black squirrels.  The squirrels really look like cross between a squirrel and a raccoon.  Big, too!

Travelin' to the Carolinas

Day 1:  This morning, Friday, we left home at 7:30 and headed south by east.  Our destination:  Cumberland Falls, Kentucky.  We pulled into the Dupont Lodge around 3:30, their time.  Just in time to get situated and have cocktails on the cottage porch.  Tomorrow we hike to the Falls.

Day 2:  The Falls is only one of two in the world to create a "moonbow" at night.  During bright moonlight, a white rainbow is created below the Falls.  The only other one to do so is Victoria Falls in Africa.  Quite a spectacle!   What with my bad knee, we managed to hike and enjoyed the trails along the Falls.  Beautiful!  The Falls drop 60 feet and is 120 feet wide.  The locals refer to it as the Niagara of the South.  Later in the day we took a short ride into town to see the "Birthplace of KFC" in Corbin.  Sander's Cafe marked the beginnings of Col. Sander's multi-million dollar enterprise of frying his famous chicken.  The museum was interesting....
Day 3:  Today is a driving day--heading for the beach in South Carolina.  Arrived there later than we thought--4:00 in the afternoon.  Jan and Lee were already waiting for us in the lobby.  We got tucked into our two-bedroom condo and had cocktails on the lanai as we took in the gorgeous view of the Atlantic shoreline.

"Carolina in the Morning" (Al Jolson, 1947)

Appropriate theme song for us...we're heading out to the Carolinas on Friday.  We should be back the first week of October.  Let's hope the hurricanes stay out to sea!  Keep posted for our travel adventures and photos.