Ocracoke Island & the Outer Banks NC

 We got up at 4 am to make it to the ferry terminal almost 2 hours away. We saw a very pretty sunrise, which we never see. The ferry began it's 2 1/4 hrs journey to Ocracoke Island.

It was cold & windy so we stayed in the car. Steve slept & I enjoyed the ride.

The Ocracoke Lighthouse

The Lighthouse Keepers Home

View of the harbor.

The ferry terminal

A couple of memorials to soldiers

I wanted to visit the Workingman's museum which I think was about the Fishermen. They changed their days.

We walked up quite a ways to Alberto's Taco

Stand for lunch & of course bought fudge at the candy shop. (You have to buy resort fudge!)

On the ferry over to Hatteras/Outer Banks

Last evening after picking up my antibiotic, we got to our campsite.

The little water leak Steve had tried to seal last week in our tank, became bigger, wetter, faster. Steve tried to seal it. No luck!! We just had gotten our tank filled because there is no water at the CG.

I was checking the battery level because we are at a National Park campground & there is no electric. We only had 1/3 of a charge. I learned that without battery you can't use propane on your refrigerator. You can't use your water pump to bring water to the sink or toilet. You can't use your propane stove or water heater or furnace because of stupid electronic ignitions!!!

So we tried to conserve as best we could with little stick up Led lights. We needed the refrigerator & the water pump.

So today, our vacation outing included a trip to Napa auto parts to charge our batteries & Ace hardware to get sealant & patches & more LED lights.

Those trailer batteries have sat in the garage & we have had mostly electric sights so we haven't needed them but figured they were charging. They were not!

We visited the one museum we couldn't put off till tomorrow. That was the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station. (Algonquin for shifting sands)

Prior to 1871, when boats sunk, no one on shore could rescue people. A bill was put before Congress after hundreds of deaths to establish Life Saving Stations.

In 1874, this was the first for NC. All equipment was stored in it. It also had a day room for the crew 4-6 men.

They slept upstairs on the 2nd floor. Someone would watch for ships.

Because of fear of fire, there was a separate cookhouse for cooking & bathing.

This was the Rescue Beach Cart. They would shoot a line out of a cannon to the ship. Then they would send the people in a harness on the line back to shore.

This was the Life Car. They would fit up to 7 people, then send it on the line through the rings & back to shore.

The  Surf boat was self-righting & self bailing. It could take up to 8,000 lbs. fully loaded. It originally had oars & a steering rudder.

This was the 1911 Life Saving Station.Notice the lookout tower. They kept a log of all ships that sailed past. They could also look for flares from a ship in trouble.

This was the cookhouse. Water was caught from gutters. The wells were full of salt. Now

there are 2 Desalination plants on the Island.

This is called a Beehive Cistern

 Inside the 1911cookhouse

Day room

The Keeper/Captain kept his log books, charts, training guides, wreck reports.

This is where they hung their wet clothes.

There was an armory here as well.

We didn't go upstairs but that is where the crew slept. There was also a room for the

shipwreck survivors as well as one for the visiting Superintendent of their district.

The crew quarters held up to 8 beds.

The surfboat in the 1874 station was the actual rescue boat used to rescue British on an oil tanker, when a German sub torpedoed their ship, the "Mirlo" a few miles offshore here. It was the single most highly awarded maritime rescue in US history. The crew from the Life station battled their way through flames hot enough to blister the paint. They towed the ships crew to safety & 

back to shore. They saved 42 men. 7 men had drowned when their lifeboat capsized.

So after our shopping adventure & the museum, we headed back to our trailer for lunch. Steve hooked up the batteries & spent a good amount of time fighting the leak. We hope it works!! Steve squeezed in a nap & we had dinner.

A boring end to a boring day! Sorry!