THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409260381
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAN AND LANE DEGREGORY, TRAVEL CORRESPONDENTS
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Long : 321 lines
WHEN MOST CARS and campers clear off the bypass; when summer sunsets begin melting into the sand dunes sooner; when winds whip waves along the sound and bucketfuls of fish swim along the shallow surf, autumn has arrived on the Outer Banks.
Most people visit North Carolina's barrier islands in the summer - when temperatures hover just below 100 degrees and hotel rooms are booked months in advance.
But locals who live along the beautiful beaches - and those who visit often enough - know that fall is the most extraordinary season for exploring the Outer Banks.
You can tell it's coming when you can finally make left turns into French Fry Alley. You can feel it when the parking lots are empty at most beach accesses - even on Sundays. And when the traffic lights begin blinking shortly after dark, buggies are allowed back on the beaches and you can enjoy the outdoors all day while barely breaking a sweat - that's when the off-season really turns you on.
Sure, grocery stores begin cutting back on their hours. At least one movie theater already has closed for the season. ``The Lost Colony'' cast long since found its way off these barrier islands.
Even the 7-Eleven clerks are beginning to talk about closing their convenience stores earlier in
the evenings.
But everything we love about the Outer Banks is available in autumn, often free or at fallen prices: an isolated environment with unpredictable but primarily temperate weather; outdoor activities from the hair-raising to soul-soothing; and historic, educational and entertainment attractions.
For the past three years, we have lived in Nags Head and on Colington Island. In summer, we often work late or have company. But by fall we - and most of our local friends - can at last afford to enjoy the area.
``Fall is my favorite time of year,'' National Park Service Ranger Mary Collier said from Buxton last week. ``Everything has a little calmer appearance in autumn. The sun is not so hot. The humidity drops. And the beauty of the landscape is at its peak. Wildlife arrives from nesting areas up north. Sea oats are gracing the dunes. This is an absolutely wonderful time to be on the Outer Banks.''
It's a lot easier to discover the islands when 30,000 - instead of 300,000 - people are staying on these sandy shores.
West Virginia resident David Finck, 45, climbed to the top of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse last week while vacationing with his wife.
``There's cheaper rates,'' he said. ``It's not as hot, and definitely less traffic and fewer people. Plus, the fishing is really, really good.
``Normally, we go to Wilmington each fall. After visiting this area in autumn, we'll probably come back here next year.''
Environment
Anyone who has visited North Carolina's barrier islands knows their beauty. From Corolla to Duck, Kitty Hawk to South Nags Head, Manteo to Ocracoke Island, these ribbons of land are a testament to nature's accomplishments. Pristine places and endangered species still exist among state parks, federal wildlife refuges and along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
They just seem more accessible, isolated and perfect in the off-season.
Some tent and RV campgrounds remain open this time of year. Evenings in the upper 60s are meant for sleeping bags. Stars sprinkle the skies - their pinpoints and the moon's luminescence the only brightness in the black night.
Even the more populated beaches of Kill Devil Hills - where most hotels now offer reduced rates - are less crowded. At sunrise and sunset, you can walk the beach and not see a soul. Evening bonfires are permitted along the dune line in some areas.
If you enjoy wildlife, embark on an environmental tour of the islands. Begin in Corolla, the northernmost Outer Banks beach village, and look for the wild horses whose ancestors are said to have swum ashore from shipwrecks more than 300 years ago. The animals frequent Food Lion or TimBuck II shopping center. Other times, they approach rental cottages.
This might be the last season the beautiful herd freely roams the increasingly populated subdivisions of Currituck County's beaches. A local wild horse support group has secured federal permission to construct a sound-to-sea fence north of the Corolla lighthouse. By next summer, all 23 horses may be corralled past the pavement's end, away from dangerous traffic - and out of sight of most visitors.
If you own a horse or have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, however, you can venture past the road's end anytime. Stay on N.C. Route 12 until the blacktop stops. Then swing north along the beach, toward Virginia's state line. A few subdivisions and some half-century-old Carova homes are intriguingly plopped along the dune-lined peninsula. Watch for horses out here, too. Cows, feral hogs and even goats also are known to graze among the western wetlands.
Driving south toward Sanderling, you pass through an Audubon sanctuary. Here, amid historic hunt clubs, are thousands of waterfowl. Ducks, swan, ibises and other shorebirds - dozens of varieties of each - nest on protected wetlands along the west edge of the island.
On the western edge of the U.S. Route 158 bypass in Nags Head, Jockey's Ridge State Park boasts the tallest dune on the Atlantic Coast. Its huge hills invite children to tumble and roll. Its constantly shifting sands cover 414 acres and are the subject of great geological interest - and free lectures by rangers on some cool autumn evenings. The 115-foot-high view from the steepest point is the best place on the beach from which to view brilliant fall sunsets. Park hours through fall are 8 a.m. till sunset. Admission is free.
If greenery is more appealing than the starkness of this sand mountain, travel across the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, through Manteo north on Roanoke Island, and visit the Elizabethan Gardens. The colorful fall foliage, camellias and chrysanthemums are odiferous, breathtaking and completely different from summer blooms. The 10.5 acres of tediously tended botanical gardens twist around fountains, through trees and alongside unusual statues. Gardens are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Admission is $2.50 for adults. Children age 12 and under get in free.
To the south of Oregon Inlet, the northern 5,915 acres of Hatteras Island are an environmental Eden. Managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge stretches from sound to sea and does not have a single house or business. Only the animals and plants - many of which are federally threatened or endangered - call this area home.
Loggerhead turtles emerge from their nests through October. If you have a flashlight, and don't mind mosquitoes, you can help guide the tiny turtles from their nests to the ocean by volunteering for patrol duty. The rangers need help keeping the creatures away from crabs and other predators, and welcome volunteers most evenings from dark to midnight.
Birds also abound in this area. Sunrise treks along self-guiding trails with binoculars are an option every morning. But field glasses aren't necessary to view the thousands of fowl that feed on the swampy marsh grasses.
At the southernmost tip of Hatteras Island, a free state ferry crosses the inlet between Hatteras and Ocracoke Island every half hour, on the hour, from 5 a.m. until midnight through Oct. 15. After that date, the ferry leaves every hour, on the hour.
Flat, with winding pathways and tree-lined dirt roads, Ocracoke is a fabulous place for a bicycle tour. If you don't own a bike, or didn't bring it with you, the ``slushie stand'' at the curve in N.C. Route 12 - at the gateway to the island village - rents bikes for $2 an hour, $12 a day from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. The family-run business also sells after-ride refreshments.
The Outer Banks' best-kept secret can be shared south of Ocracoke. Portsmouth Island once was a bustling Atlantic shipping port. It brimmed with business until shortly before the Civil War, when a storm shallowed the inlet between Portsmouth and Ocracoke. Large boats became unable to anchor along Portsmouth's shallow shores. No one ever built a bridge to the 23-mile-long island. So families began to leave.
Today, the only ghost town east of the Mississippi River is managed by the National Park Service - accessible only by private, chartered boat.
Dozens of abandoned homes remain much as they were at the turn of the century: Curtains and coffee canisters even intact on some window sills. There's a post office here, a crumbling school house, and a whitewashed church whose wooden pews offer refuge from the greenhead flies and other insects that have taken over Portsmouth Island.
Houses all are uninhabited. But camping is permitted on the edge of this isolated wonderland. And since the area is accessible only by private boats - or Rudy Austin's $15-per-person water taxi, which leaves from Ocracoke Island's Silver Lake - huge shells lie along Portsmouth's eerily empty beaches, prettier than those you find in most gift shops.
Outdoor activities
Fishing and hunting were among the Outer Banks' earliest tourist attractions.
Fall is still the most fabulous time of year for those and other outdoor activites.
Winders, hang-gliders, golfers, kayakers, sailors all begin arriving in early October to take advantage of the blustery blows, head-high surf, warm water, cool mornings and comfortable afternoons.
Canadians, especially, flock to Avon and the southern Outer Banks - reputed to have some of the best fall windsurfing in the world.
``Fall fishing around here is about 10 times better than during any other time of the year,'' said Kevin Holland, manager of Tatem's Tackle Shop in Nags Head. ``This is their migration season, you know. Now is when they start swimming past us.''
Spot and flounder school around piers. Tuna swim near the Gulf Stream. Half-day head boat riders catch sea bass and croaker. And the bluefish begin to blitz the beaches around Thanksgiving every year.
If your own rod and reel are rusty - or your skills feel that way - pier and tackle shop employees from Kitty Hawk through Hatteras Village rent equipment, sell bait and give great advice. All-day deep-sea fishing trips run about $800 per six-person party. But the huge, ocean fish they bring into the docks can be seen for free between 4 and 5 each afternoon at Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, Pirate's Cove Marina and Hatteras Marina.
Commercial catches also are hauled in every day in Wanchese on the western edge of Roanoke Island and at Hatteras Village, south of Cape Point. You can tour the fish processing and packaging plant at North Carolina's Industrial Seafood Park in Wanchese - by appointment. Or just tool around the quaint fishing village and browse through a couple craft shops.
Surf fishing, thigh-deep in the lukewarm ocean or various sounds, is a profitable hobby this time of year. Speckled trout, red drum and sea mullet can be caught on bloodworms, shrimp and squid. Four-wheel-drive vehicles can cruise the beach right up to the waves at Oregon Inlet, Cape Point, and parts of Ocracoke.
Golf comes in every shape and size on the barrier islands. Laughing clowns stare scarily down on crouching gorillas. A moose stands atop a tunnel over one mini-golf hole. And at least four new grass courses offer a balance between the half-dozen tough competition courses and scores of family fun putting places.
You don't have to know a jib from a jibe to sail the sound at Duck. Two-hour catamaran cruises depart daily from 21st Century Sailing's docks. Nature, lunch and sunset trips are offered. Parties of one to 49 are welcome. Cost is $25 per person. Kids and dogs ride along for free.
Landlubbers can fly a kite on the beach or at Jockey's Ridge State Park. Rent a metal detector and comb the sands for treasures. Or tie a chicken neck to a string and drop it off the second bridge west on Colington Road - three miles behind the Wright Brothers Memorial. Within an hour, you can catch an entire pot of blue crabs for free. The seafood shop down the road sells crabs already steamed for take-out, if you strike out.
Attractions, entertainment
Indian summer and almost all of autumn are the most temperate times to tour the barrier islands. But hurricane season also begins when summer ends. On rainy days or chilly weekends, the Outer Banks still offer a wealth of educational activities.
North Carolina's aquarium on Roanoke Island, for example, displays more than 300 fish in glass houses. Sharks swim behind a ceiling-high window. Starfish, horseshoe crabs and other critters offer wet, hands-on excitement in the discovery room's touch tank. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for senior citizens and students, $1 for children age 6 or older. Doors open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from 1 to 5 on Sunday afternoons. Special talks, programs and slide shows often are offered.
Next to the aquarium, Dare County's airport is home to dozens of single-engine and other small planes. Air tours are given from this site north of Manteo, at the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills and from Frisco. Ocracoke also has its own airline.
If history is your high, you can discover the home of ``The Lost Colony,'' a group of Sir Walter Raleigh's explorers who founded the first English settlement in America in 1587. Fort Raleigh National Park now marks the site of the mysterious colony. The settlers disappeared a few years later, leaving only the word ``CROATOAN'' carved on a tree trunk.
Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first music across radio waves from Roanoke Island to Buxton in 1902. Capt. Billy Mitchell tested the first airstrikes from planes to ships between the world wars off Buxton's coast. And, of course, Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first heavier-than-air flight from the dunes of Kill Devil Hills in 1903. A National Park Service visitor center - and replicas of the brothers' shack, hangar and plane - are on display, and are the subjects of daily tours.
At Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station in Rodanthe, you can see the stories of brave men. These 19th century precursors to the Coast Guard searched the beaches for shipwrecks from dark until dawn. Their boats, oars and photographs all are on display.
Farther south, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse offers a 268-stair, breathtaking climb with view to match. From atop this 208-foot-tall candy-striped beacon, you can watch the waves crash along the easternmost point in the country; scan the seas from the nation's oldest and tallest brick lighthouse; or look up at the mirrored panels that illuminate the ocean and guide sailors around the treacherous, shipwreck-lined shores known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
Buxton's lighthouse is open daily for free tours from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. through Columbus Day. The visitor center is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., and contains historic displays and photographs. Historic brick lighthouses in Ocracoke and at Bodie Island and Corolla also are available for viewing.
In the shadow of Corolla's beacon, the Whalehead Club is a remnant of Gatsby-like galas and glittery grandeur. Tours through the waterfront mansion are offered daily from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Admission is $3.
Besides hosting three-day soirees on the cork ballroom floor, serving dozens of diners at the King-Arthur-like table, and housing hunters from the East Coast's wealthiest jet set, the 1925 palace later was the site of a private boys' school and early rocket fuel research station.
On Roanoke Island, a few miles south of Fort Raleigh, the state ship sits anchored across from Manteo's historic waterfront. The Elizabeth II, a replica of a 16th-century craft which might have brought Raleigh's colonists from England, is 70 feet long and supports a 65-foot-tall mast. It was launched in 1984 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the settlement, and is docked beside a gift shop, visitors' museum and the Outer Banks History Center. It's open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. through October, seven days a week. Admission is $3 for adults.
Technically, the state-run history center is on Ice Plant Island. But it's only a two-minute ride across a wooden bridge from Manteo. This impressive collection of maps, books, periodicals, photographs and personal correspondence is housed in stacks and fully catalogued for public use. But assistance from full-time staff is required. Changing historic photograph displays in the gallery space offer easier access, and a narrative approach to local lore.
If Native American history intrigues you, Carl Bornfriend keeps an eclectic collection of ancient canoes, arrowheads, pottery and other artifacts believed to have been used by Outer Banks Indians. The Frisco Native American Museum on Hatteras Island is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are welcome.
Art galleries of every medium and genre color the barrier islands from Corolla through Ocracoke. Much of the work is produced by local artists.
At day's end, when hunger sets in, dozens of restaurants remain open through fall. From the upscale gourmet eateries to drive-up beach road snack shacks, you can please almost any palate on short notice. Most waits for formal seating are shorter - and reservations often no longer are required.
Late evening entertainment is offered at more than 15 nightclubs on the Outer Banks. Local acoustic ensembles play after dinner hours at restaurants. Out-of-town electric bands light up bars and dance floors. The Subdudes, a nationally known rock band, will perform at Port-O-Call Saloon in Kill Devil Hills on Friday.
Pool tables await players in many bars. Community theatre groups offer occassional dramas. And for big-band fans, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra will entertain at the Comfort Inn South, milepost 17 on the beach road, at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 11. ILLUSTRATION: DREW WILSON/Staff color photos
Far left: Ibises shre a driftwood perch along the marsh bordering
Bodie Island on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Left: A North Carolina Department of Transportation ferry arrives at
Silver Lake on Ocracoke Island.
A trio of horseback riders explores one of the vast undisturbed
sections of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Photo
DREW WILSON/Staff
Surf fishermen swarm the beach at Kitty Hawk during a bluefish
blitz, which occurs about Thanksgiving every year.
Graphic
TRAVELER'S ADVISORY
To visit the Outer Banks: Off Interstate 64, take Virginia Route
168 (Battlefield Boulevard) south through Chesapeake and cross the
North Carolina border. Stay east on Route 168 until it turns into
U.S. Highway 158, following signs to Nags Head. U.S. 158 crosses the
Wright Memorial Bridge and Currituck Sound, depositing traffic in
Kitty Hawk, on the Outer Banks.
Alternative route: Off Interstate 64, take U.S. Route 17 south to
South Mills. Then take State Route 343 to Camden. Follow U.S. Route
158 east to Barco. At Barco, drive resumes until U.S. 158 crosses
the Currituck Sound to the Outer Banks.
Travel time from Hampton Roads: Allow two hours.
More information: The Dare County Tourist Bureau, (919) 473-2138;
the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, (919) 441-8144; the Ocracoke
Tourist Information Center, (919) 928-6711.
by CNB