Ocracoke

 Tenth Monday after Penteost

Lectionary Texts:

Monday:

2 Samuel 12:1-13a

John 6:22-27

Psalm 51:1-12 (UMH 785)

Today is Travelogue Day. We are going to Oracoke Island,  in the North Carolina Outer Banks. First, I'll say a few words about the Outer Banks. They are a long, skinny chain of barrier islands separated from the mainland by the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. The islands are, north to south, Bodie (pronounced "Body") Island, Hatteras Island, Ocracoke Island, and Portsmouth. Portsmouth Island is no longer inhabited, the last residents leaving in 1971. South of Portsmouth Island are the Core Banks, also uninhabited. Bodie Island is not really an island, but a narrow peninsula stemming from Virginia. It is, however, closer to being an island than Rhode Island. 

There is one inhabited island between Bodie Island and the mainland, That's Roanoke Island, with the Dare County capital city of Manteo. Marianne and I have a little down house where we spend most of the summer and several week long trips during the rest of the year.

Now to Ocracoke. Marianne and I went there at least once every year from 1984-2018. We had booked reservations for October 12-15, 2019, but Hurricane Dorian hit, not hard where we are in Manteo, but distastrously for Ocracoke. Much of the island's village was flooded away. It would be another six months before Ocracoke would be open to visitors. Covid kept us from going in 2020. We plan to go sometime this summer, if only for a day trip. 

Ocracoke is 14 miles long and only an average of half a mile wide down to the south end, where is widens out to 2 1/2 miles. It can be reached only by ferry, or small boat, or small plane. Highway 12 runs the        length of the island. At the south end is Silver Lake, a harbor cut into the sound. Much of the village surrounds Silver Lake. Year round population of the village is about 700. 

There are three ferry routes. Two are from the mainland, one from Cedar Island (also not  an island), the other from Swan Quarter. Each runs twice a day, By far the major traffic is from Hattteras Village, on th south end of Hatteras Island. There are numerous ferrries, running every 30 minutes during the day and every hour at night up till 11:00. The Hatteras ferries are free. The trip used to take 40 minutes, but storms over the decades have changed the channels so much that the zig-zag ride was an hour and 10 minutes. The ferry landing is at th northern tip of the island, although my understanding is that now some ferries go to Silver Lake on the south end.

The very ride is stunning. Glistening waters with Pelican inhabited little islands, terns and gulls flying overhead, great white egrets and white ibises in the marshes, waves breaking between the two islands. I've done this ferry ride about 150 times and I've never grown tired of it.

 

The drive on Highway 12 the length of the island has a rugged beauty, Its 14 miles of uninhabited coastline is nature you seldom see on the east coast anyore. Stop by the road at one of several tiny parking lots and walk across a boardwalk to the beach. You can look as far as you can see in either direction and not see a building or another person. The beaches are gorgeous white sand. The dunes that border them have graceful sea oats blowing in the breeze. 

We'll complete our drive down to the Village next time.

Lord of the Earth,

For land and wind and sky and sea, we give you thanks.

Amen.

 

Faithfully,

Christian