Ocracoke Island!

Part of the tradition of visiting the Outer Banks is taking a day trip down to Ocracoke Island. Ocracoke is a small island south of Hatteras, where we stay, accessible only by a 45-minute ferry ride.

Will seemed to enjoy the ferry ride, although it was a little windy. But he could see the gulls flying around, and the other passing boats.


Ocracoke is a really small island. The top 13 miles of it are all National Seashore, which means it's wide open and undeveloped. The southern end of the island is a small town with shops, restaurants, a harbor, and many things to see and do.

Highway 12 is the road that travels up and down the Outer Banks. Here's the southern end on Ocracoke.

Hammocks!
You can buy snowcones from a double-decker bus.

Nerd alert: there's a lot of great history to the island, too. This is the British Cemetery, a small plot of land where four men from the Royal Navy are buried - the only bodies recovered after their boat was torpedoed by a German U-boat during WWII.

One of our favorite shops is called Village Craftsman - it's a great little shop with pottery, jewelry, books, etc. - run by members of the Howard family, who have lived on the island for generations. This sign at their front steps marks the high tide line from various hurricanes in recent years.

The shop itself is on Howard Street, and many of their family members are buried in family plots across from the shop.


Streets lined with shells!

The famous Ocracoke Lighthouse, overlooking the harbor.

We snapped some shots of the beaches along the National Seashore. They are stunningly beautiful, and are regularly rated as some of the best beaches in the world.