Touring Adventure - Outerbanks of NC
March 2002
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Marina District at Beafort

Historic District at Beaufort

The end of the road at Harkers Island

Tryon Palace

The Duke of Beaufort was one cool dude - check out the Dragon on his family crest

Sunset view from our room at the Atlantis Lodge

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Day Five - Cape Lookout & New Bern Area Tour - 159 miles, 65 degrees

We left Atlantic Beach around 9:00 am and crossed the bridge to Moorehead City, then east on 70, to Beaufort (pronounced bo-fort) and took a tour of the historic marina district. Here you could tour a ship-building museum, eat at one of the many seafood restaurants, take a walking tour of old 19th century restored homes and buildings, shop some of the antique stores, or ride the high speed cigarette shark ferry to Cape Lookout. We then continued east on 70 to Harkers Island Road where we crossed to Harkers Island over a turntable bridge - we hadn't seen one of these in 30 years.

Harkers Island is mostly residential with about 6 private ferries that will take you to the barrier islands making up the Cape Lookout National Seashore. The official visitors center is at the far east end of Harkers Island. These barrier islands are low, narrow, ribbons of sand running from Okracoke Inlet on the north to Beaufort Inlet to the southwest. The barrier islands are 56 miles long with low dunes covered by scattered grasses, and large expanses of salt marsh on the sound side. The barrier islands are uninhabited with no established roadways. Some of the ferries will transport a 4wd vehicle or maybe your KLR, but remember the sand can be deep on these barrier islands. For a unique experience you can camp on the islands and there are even a few private cabins with generator electricity and running water available to rent. Be warned that the mosquitoes and gnats can be a problem during the summer. This sounded a little too rustic for us. The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is still operational and available for tours from April through November. We were told that there is a chance of being stranded on the barrier islands if a bad fog rolls in, so visitors are told to take food and water just in case they have to camp over night!

The wild ponies live on Shackelford Island. Their population is controlled to a herd of about 100 ponies, and if you're lucky you might see a few. We did not venture out to the barrier islands; instead we headed back to 70, taking a shortcut on Merriman Road to Laurel Road and then over to 101, a two lane backroad to Havelock. You'll know you are getting close to Havelock when the fighters buzz you as they are landing at Cherry Point, the worldest largest Marine Corps Air Station.

From Havelock we took 70 west and turned off to go to the historic district of New Bern, North Carolina's second oldest city. Settled by German and Swiss settlers in 1710, the town is named after Bern Switzerland. Bern also means Bear, and you see bear designs everywhere. We ate our picnic lunch at a harborside park and then took a riding tour of the historic district. We saw many restored homes dating into the 1800s and some even older. We came upon the historic Tryon Palace and gardens, home to the British Royal Governor William Tryon from 1770-71. During and after the Revolutionary War, the Palace was used for meeting of the government and as a residence for elected governors of the new state. The state capital was moved to Raleigh in the late 1700s and the Palace buildings fell into disrepair. In 1798 the main building burned to the ground and was not rebuilt. The grounds were built over with homes and business, including a major roadway and bridge. With a tremendous effort in the 1950s, the Palace grounds and residence were reconstructed. The homes that had been built over the grounds and the roadways were demolished. Today the Palace is furnished with 18th century artifacts, however none of the furnishings were originally housed at the Palace. From architectural documents and inventories, the Palace and grounds are thought to be very similar to it's original appearance. You can purchase a guided tour of the buildings and gardens for $15 a person. The tour was interesting but we kept thinking that it had all been rebuilt and the British Royals that first inhabited the area where not exactly a great bunch of folks to admire. We did see a neat crest with dragon - check out the Duke of Beaufort crest.

After a good cup of coffee at the Trent River Coffee Company on Craven Street, we headed back across the bridge and east on 70. We made a quick stop at the local Harley shop, getting directions for a back road to take us over to 17. Williams Road and Brices Creek Road (1004) took us thru the Croatan National Forest and had a few good turns. We then headed south on 17 and then 58 east back over to Emerald Isle and our hotel room at the Atlantis Lodge.

DAY FIVE SUMMARY 

New Bern looks like a good place to stay, the places near the old downtown are probably expensive but cheaper rooms can be found along 70. This might be a good place to be your starting and ending place for a Outerbanks tour.

The Outerbanks from Moorehead City southward toward Emerald Isle is also a good place to stay. There are a number of places on the beach from high price lodging to cheaper rooms and even a few places to camp. This part of the Outerbanks is pretty much just places to stay, the scenery is all residential/commercial beach. Our favorite place is the Atlantis Lodge at mile marker 5 at the north end of this island. This is a family owned 3-story lodge, furnished in 1960s motif. The rates are very reasonable for an efficiency room with micro, stove, coffee maker, etc.. running about $75 per night, seasonal rates are higher. There is also a large lounge area with a pool table where a group of riders could party. The Lodge allowed us to leave our trailer in one of their extra parking lots while we on our three day tour. Whether you stay at the Atlantis or anywhere else, make sure you find out ahead of time if it's okay to leave your trailer. During the season, the island traffic is heavy and parking could be a problem. There are also the Sheraton, Ramada Inn, and other chains hotels/motels. If you are looking for lower priced rooms, there are plenty on the mainland in the Moorehead City area.

Be sure to bring an extra loaf of bread for the seagulls. They'll swoop down and eat right out of your hand.

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