Post 31 Outer Banks, Williamsburg, Charlottesville

Outer Banks NC, Williamsburg and Charlottesville VA April 30-May 9

Similar to Myrtle Beach, we opted to stay away from the more touristy northern area of the Outer Banks and booked a southern campsite on Hatteras Island. This area of OBX is narrow, so there was direct access to the ocean beach from our campground and to the beautiful sunsets on the bay side, directly across the street.

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore stretches 70 miles north to south through eight villages. There are a few National Park Visitor Centers along the way for information and local activitity information. Our campsite was in the village of Rodanthe - you may have heard of or read the book, Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks. Life moves at a much slower pace here.

Nice seasonal weather made for great exploring. Our first stop was Bodie Lighthouse which had NP rangers on site and a small bookstore. The rangers were happy to answer any questions and eager to share their knowledge about the 1872 lighthouse. One of the rangers had made their own scrapbook about the lighthouse to share with guests. Bodie Lighthouse is painted white with three black horizontal bands as its visual identifier.

We visited the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke island. The island has been the scene of historical dramas spanning over three centuries. Algonquins, European settlers, Civil War soldiers and African Americans have played their parts. 

Between 1584 and 1587 England took its first steps toward establishing a permanent settlement in North America. The expedition that landed in Roanoke was led by John White. The settlers included 115 people including men, women and children.  They arrived too late in the season to plant crops and John White returned to England for supplies.  His return was delayed by three years due to the Anglo-Spanish War.  When he finally returned, he found the settlement abandoned.  The only clues were the letters "CRO" carved into a tree and the word "CROATOAN" carved into the stockade post. The colony was never found and became known as the Lost Colony of Roanoke.  Researchers continue today to try to solve the mystery of their disappearance. 

During the Civil War, Union troops occupied Roanoke Island, which hosted a colony where the formerly enslaved prepared for life after the war. The National Historic Site preserves sites and commemorates their histories.

Climate change has affected the area and The Nature Conservancy is working to make the Albemarle Peninsula just west of OBX more resilient to climate change. That region has the highest concentration of Black Bears in the country! Also, the two wildlife refuges on the peninsula have the only existing wild population of Red Wolf. There are signs all over warning of wolf and bear crossings. We drove a wildlife loop and were able to see a very large male Black Bear grazing in a field.

On another day on OBX we traveled to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Built in1870, it is the world's second tallest brick lighthouse at 198.5 ft. In 1999, due to erosion, it was moved 2,900 feet inland. It's visual identifier is black and white diagonal stripes. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the lighthouse was surrounded by scaffolding and no longer black and white! During its periodic restoration a couple of years ago, lead paint was found throughout - in some places 20+ layers of it, plus big rusty areas needing replacement. Needless to say, restoration has taken much longer that expected and won't be finished until late 2027.

OBX living is quite laid back. Think the Salt Life logo, quaint bars and restaurants, weather worn cottages, marsh grass, blowing sand and dunes.

We left the beach behind to head to Williamsburg, VA.

On our way to Williamsburg, we made a stop at the Wright Brothers visitor center.  It was here on the Outer Banks that the brothers tested their flying machines. Just, wow. The Age of Flight began there. There was a great model of their plane in the Visitor Center.

Once we arrived in Virginia, we spent our first day in Jamestown, the site of the first successful English colony in North America.  There are still archeologists working at the site, uncovering new artifacts every day.

Day 2 was spent in Colonial Williamsburg, similar to Olde Sturbridge Village for our Massachusetts friends.  As the Jamestown colony grew, the Capital was moved to Williamsburg. Many of the buildings are original with the history intact.  The staff are dressed in period costume and there are demonstrations of village crafts- weavers, blacksmiths, silversmiths, coopers.

We moved on to Charlottesville and Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.  "Thomas" happened to be there that day and enlightened us about the process of writing the Declaration of Independence. He spoke about the 50th anniversary of the declaration as if it were 1826. He was very excited about the experiment in democracy lasting 50 years! 

Monticello was very forthcoming in addressing the fact that Jefferson was a slave owner and even had a large section devoted to the story of Sally Hemings, his slave and mistress with whom he fathered 6 children.  Until 2018, there was no acknowledgement of Sally or of her relationship with Jefferson.

A visit to both a brewery and a cidery ended our time in Charlottesville.

Tomorrow we head to New River Gorge National Park, the newest park in the National Park system.