POST 495 - DAY 289 / 32: RODANTHE, OUTER BANKS, NORTH CAROLINA

The OUTER BANKS, NORTH CAROLINA, include a half dozen long narrow barrier islands protecting PAMLICO SOUND and the mainland of North Carolina. About 40 miles North of the main village of HATTERAS, lie three small villages: RODANTHE, WAVES, & SALVO.

SPIA and I have been invited to spend a week or so at the Summer Home of Karen, a long time follower of this blog (we have not yet met one another). Karen's home, DEJA VU, is located in the village of RODANTHE on the PAMLICO SOUND side of SR 12 - the Atlantic Ocean beaches lie a couple hundred feet on the opposite side of SR 12. Last night, our first night in RODANTHE, the constant roar of waves crashing against the sandy shore of HATTERAS ISLAND, were like a sleep potion to me.

I was up and walking as the Sun silhouetted these Ocean Front Homes. From Karen's home, the Ocean Beach is a half city block away.

SPIA snugged under the carport of Karen's home.





The dirt road in front of Karen's driveway...which I spent 5 hours shoveling and brushing away 1/2 inch of mud from the concrete driveway. During the height of Hurricane IRENE two months ago, a good five feet of water flowed freely over the entire island. Any homes or buildings under 5 feet above ground level received flood waters inside.

SR 12 is lined with ruined carpets, furniture, and just plain "junk" removed from homes during the past 2 months. Even today, this "disaster zone" is still in terrible condition. Many grand homes have been undermined, the sand under them having been washed away causing the foundations to collapse. Where front yards once stood, lakes now stand.

My first order of business has been to contact Bonnie at VACATION TRADITIONS, the caretaker of Karen's home, which is rented out when not in use by Karen's family.

Bonnie and I met and together with Bonnie's friend, Gloria (photos later) chatted for nearly 2 hours. We will have lots more to say to / about Bonnie and Gloria. In fact, Gloria rounded up a FEMA Disaster Kit for my use to clean up around Karen's home...the driveway and property is littered with refuse and mud...the first floor of the home, lying just under 5 feet high, has been flooded and must be completely emptied and rebuilt.

I have taken it upon myself to do all I can - with Karen's consent yet to be obtained - to help clean things up while SPIA and I enjoy her hospitality.

A Ocean Side Beach Home.

For the following photographs, I am standing on Highway SR 12 as it passes through RODANTHE.

An Ocean Side Home.

SR 12 looking North East. The home used in the Movie "A Night In RODANTHE" used to sit at the far end of the above Ocean Side Homes.

The "Movie Home" has since been physically moved to a new location about 1/2 block from Karen's home. I am told it is available for rent at $5,000.00 per week in high season.

An Ocean Side Beach Home.

Flooded SR 12. The opposite side of SR 12 is behind the camera. What used to be an elegant neighborhood is now a lake with grand homes collapsing after Hurricane IRENE broke through SR 12, allowing the Atlantic Ocean to create a new channel into PAMELCO SOUND, taking the sandy foundations of many homes with it.

The breach has been repaired. The foundation-less homes stand skewed and tipping towards an unkind fate.








This neighborhood of RODANTHE is known as MIRLO BEACH, which has received terrible devastation .

How MIRLO BEACH received it's name.

The repaired section of SR 12, including a new pile of sand to hold back the Atlantic Ocean. At this point, the entire HATTERAS ISLAND is about two city blocks wide...all sand.



Brian has just emptied his Dump Truck load of roofing damaged by Hurricane IRENE.

Please say HELLO to Brian.

Brian is a building contractor, helping with an Ocean Front damaged home. Brian tells me that there is no Refuse Center on HATTERAS ISLAND. FEMA is in charge of recovery efforts and has directed that all refuse be dumped along SR 12. The County then picks up the piles of refuse for disposal...with FEMA footing the bill.

There is a KOA RV park nearby. As we drove to Karen's yesterday, we passed that RV Park. It appears to be near total devastation. Tomorrow, I will walk South on SR 12 and take a look.

The local Grocery Store and business center. All the businesses to the right are closed, having been flooded. The grocery store stands high enough that the flood waters stopped a couple inches short of coming in the front door.

Uncle SAM filled my Debit Card today (thank you). I bought two loves of bread from the Grocery Store together with a 1/2 pound each of sliced ham and turkey...YUM.





We end today's blog with this photograph of two elegant homes appearing to having avoided damage from IRENE.

Conversations today suggested there may be a need for assistance in "cleaning up" storm damage in RODANTHE. If that is so, I may have discovered my "home" for the next three months. I am a "Workaholic", as my good friends Les and Paul can attest. I have offered my services in exchange for a place for SPIA and I to park - with electricity. It would be my pleasure to help these folks who have lost so much...

We shall see

POST 494 - DAY 288 / 31: CEDAR ISLAND - HATTERAS ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA

Please say HELLO to Dan.

It was to Dan that we went to find our parking place for last night at Chip Stevens BLACKBEARD'S LODGE.

This morning, Dan and a couple of his friends spent some time searching books in Chip's library and searched the internet to find details about the death of BLACKBEARD and his Executioner, Lt. Robert Maynard.

I will give those details at another time...except to say that Lt. Maynard and his partner each commanded small H.M.S. Sloops, both unarmed, while attacking BLACKBEARD'S armed Sloop.
Lt. Maynard was successful in boarding BLACKBEARD's ship and in hand to hand combat, slew him, decapitated (cut off his head), put it on the bowsprit (the long pole sticking out the front of most sailing ships), and delivered it to the Governor of the Carolinas.

Dan is so handsome, just had to post another pic.

The "greeter" in the foyer of Chip's BLACKBEARD'S LODGE, OCRACOKE, NORTH CAROLINA.

Contact Chip at: www.blackbeardslodge.com.


Dozens of vehicles on OCRACOKE ISLAND (and HATTERAS ISLAND, also), have these front-bumper carriers. They are manufactured on the Outer Banks Islands.

In the next few days, I plan to visit the factory and try to beg, borrow, or steal one for SPIA.



Tommy's local Grocery Store in OCRACOKE. I "window licked" a number of times while checking ATM for $$ being added to my Debit Card (no luck so far). Reluctantly, I only licked...had no $$ to purchase anything...sure could use a loaf of bread.


In the early morning, left SPIA at BLACKBEARD'S LODGE and walked North / East on SR 12 toward the ferry boat terminal to HATTERAS ISLAND, 12 miles away. Walked out 7 miles and returned to SPIA.









We then drove to the ferry terminal...waited in line for two ferries due to traffic -large 18-wheelers took up most of the first ferry.

Here, we are about to board the ferry boat.

A Deck Hand directing SPIA into her parking spot on the deck of the ferry boat.

A Seagull supervised the entire loading operation from his piling perch.

PAMLICO SOUND is the shallow bay protected by the OUTER BANKS (Islands). Cutting through the islands are a number of "inlets". the OCRACOTE ISLAND - HATTERAS ISLAND ferry boat crosses one of those inlets...this one 27 miles wide, filled with shifting sand banks.

The distant white water is actually a BEACH, with dozens of people walking out into the Atlantic Ocean Surf...needless to say, not a place for any boat.

The ferry boat follows a series of Red Buoys (to be kept on the "Starboard" side of the boat...and Green Buoys (to be kept on the "Port" side of the boat when returning from the open Ocean. The channel is extremely narrow and twists and turns in time with the shifting sands.

STARBOARD and PORT (Right-hand and Left-hand side of a boat): One explanation of where the terms came from:

200 years ago, sailing ships sailed from Europe to America and back to Europe traveling "clockwise"; i.e., leaving LONDON, ENGLAND, our boat sailed South towards the Equator off Africa, where the Ocean Currents turn West across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Americas, where they turn North along North America...then turn East back to Europe.

Following this current, sailing ships found that "land" (or Ports) were always on the "Left" side of the ship.

Whereas, on the "Right" side of the ship could be found "Polaris" (the North Star).

Therefore, the Left side of the ship became the "Port" side (or Port).

The Right side of the ship became the "Star" side (or starboard).



Our ferry boat passed close by the exposed land mass at the South end of HATTERAS ISLAND.

Entering the harbor from the open sea, all ships in US waters must keep the "Green" buoys on the LEFT side of the ship (the Port Side).

Conversely, the "Red" buoys must always be on the RIGHT side of the ship (Starboard).

The navigable channel will always be found between the Green and Red Buoys. Stray even a few yards on the wrong side of a buoy will most likely result in our ferry boat hitting a pile or rocks or more likely, find itself stuck in the sand of a shallow sea bottom.

Our twin...the ferry boat named OCRACOKE.


HATTERAS ISLAND shore.

A RED Buoy on our ferry boat's RIGHT side as we enter HATTERAS Harbor.

HATTERAS village skyline.

SPIA found her way to the village of RODANTHE, NORTH CAROLINA..the summer home of Karen Estes.

Karen and hubby have kindly offered SPIA a safe parking spot for the next few days.

As we drove North on SR 12 from the village of HATTERAS, we drove by utter devastation caused by Hurricane IRENE two months ago. Many homes were kindling wood. Dozens of RVs and House Trailers lined the highway twisted and crushed from the force of the waves washing completely across the narrow HATTERAS ISLAND. Huge piles of ruined carpets and furniture also line the highway...this, two months after IRENE. Karen's home still has no water or electricity. While we visit, I will make myself useful by cleaning up that which I can.

Talking to a neighbor of Karen's, I was told water STOOD up to five (5) feet deep after the passing of IRENE...no mention of how high the water surge might have been.

The landscape of every home in Karen's neighborhood is a mess...many items lying about that were brought in with the flood...not belonging to the property owners.

We plan to stay at Karen's for the next week or so. We will walk the entire length of the OUTER BANKS, taking photographs and finding folks who lived through Hurricane IRENE.

We arrived at Karen's home just before Sunset.

I walked the few steps to the shore of PEMLICO SOUND just in time to catch the Sun slide beneath the waters in the West...

Going going going...
I enjoyed the above Sunset...hope you did also. Anyone see the "Green Flash"