Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Ocracoke excursion
I'd hate to call it an ill-fated trip, but it was pushing it, that's for sure. Ocracoke Island is at the very tip end of the chain of barrier islands. It's only accessible by ferry. The idea was to give the kids the treat of a ferry ride, go to Teach's Hole, and see the village area where Popi wanted to show Noni a shop and check out the British Cemetery.

We began the day with a wait of over an hour to catch the ferry over. An hour sitting on the hot pavement. Then, when the ferry arrived, our car, third in line, didn't make the ferry. We had to take the next one. We were parked at the very rear of the boat which meant we sat over the exhaust. I about choked on the fumes the whole way over to the island. The indoor passenger area of the ferry was small and cramped and the a/c wasn't getting the job done. The ride sucked, quite frankly.

When we get to the island everyone heads down the highway, the thirteen miles it takes to get to Ocracoke village. My husband made himself super popular by pulling out of the caravan with no warning and turning into his ultimate destination, Teach's Hole. We had some difficulty and considerable angst gathering everyone together after that. M was happy because he accomplished his goal for the day, he bought Emma a pirate's hat at Teach's Hole.

Next we moved on to the village of Ocracoke. My grandmother decided it was time for lunch once we were in the village and we had considerable difficulty finding a place. Dining was al fresco everywhere and the heat was broiling. My grandmother is around 86 years old and has problems with her legs so dining in the broiling heat was not the optimal choice. We broke up the group so it would be easier to find sitting space, to no avail. They ended up eating at a dockside bar and grill set-up under umbrellas. I wondered if my grandmother thought we were trying to do her in, the conditions were so miserable. We honestly did the best with what we had to work with.

After the meal it was decided that grandmother needed to be in a/c, no matter what. Popi ended up giving her a driving tour of the few sites to see in the village. They swung by the British Cemetery and the Ocracoke Lighthouse. My little family bolted for the ferry after the cemetery because we had accomplished everything we'd set out to do and moving a crew of twelve around in three vehicles is a difficult mission under the best of circumstances. Plus, we were having Chinese food for supper and needed to get back to Hatteras Island.

The ferry ride back was considerably nicer for us. We got one of the good ferries that had tons of air conditioned indoor passenger space and lots of room on the observation decks. By the end of the trip we were feeling like it wasn't so bad after all.

Oh, and we somehow left all our cameras behind and everyone else was too overwhelmed by the conditions to remember to take pictures. Here's what we got...

Them on the ferry without us...


The one single picture taken on Ocracoke Island.


Them on the ferry ride back...without us.



Emma proudly wearing her pirate hat her daddy bought her at Teach's Hole. He bought her the pirate ship too. A love of all things pirate is something they share.

Written at 8:24 PM by Highlandgal.
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