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Sunset Beach
We made the drive to Sunset Beach with no real expectations. We didn’t really know what we were getting into, we just wanted to make it the last beach before reaching South Carolina.
It was a very nice place but there was nothing interesting to do. At least we didn’t see anything. It was just a bunch of house and we drove up and down the entire island.
I wouldn’t recommend going to Sunset Beach unless you have rented a house. For that it looked great. Good looking beaches and bike rental places and little docks to reach the Intracoastal Waterway.
But we couldn’t find anything funky to do so we just went back over the one-way bridge and started heading back to Greenville.
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Britt’s Donuts
This places rocks.
Open since 1939, Britt’s Donuts has the best donuts I have ever tasted. As Little Richard would say, “these things will make your big toe jump up into your boot.”
This unassuming spot was probably my favorite shop or restaurant that we visited. It is just a simple counter with a very simple menu.
They have donuts, coffee and soda. That’s it. And its not a bunch of different flavors. Its one flavor: glazed.
So don’t order a chocolate filled or something like that. Just say, “I want two donuts and a coffee.”
Better yet, make it a half dozen.
We went there Wednesday night and we just had to go back Thursday morning before we left Carolina Beach. Britt’s Donuts is awesome.
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Carolina Beach Boardwalk
This beach still has a bit of an old school flavor, especially at night.
Wednesday night there was a DJ blasting oldies at the boardwalk, while children rode the carnival rides and about 100 adults played cash bingo just a few feet from the beach.
We had dinner with some of my friends at El Zarape, a Mexican place right on the main drag in Carolina Beach.
It was fairly typical Mexican food, but its always good to know where you can get reliable and safe food when you are out of town. This place was good for that.
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Carolina Beach
By the time we got to Carolina Beach Wednesday it was around noon so we went looking for something to eat.
We came across a great local spot called A&G Bar-B-Q and Chicken. It is just a small greasy joint where the locals come in an say hi to each other.
I got a plate of fried chicken and barbecue and it took me back to my childhood when my grandmother would fry chicken every Sunday. It was really good. I haven’t had fried chicken like that in a long time.
The meal was very inexpensive and the place offered some great local character, much better than some chain place. I highly recommend it if you don’t mind greasy spoons and down-home southern cooking.
After lunch we headed to the boardwalk to check out the local scene.
There are about two blocks of the typical beach stuff like t-shirt shops, an arcade, henna tattoo shops, cotton candy and a small carnival.
The boardwalk itself borders the beach, which was full of people around 1 p.m. Wednesday. It wasn’t too crowded though. It was possible to find a spot to enjoy the sun.
Kyle Reese, of New Jersey, was visiting with his wife and two small children. He said they come to Carolina Beach because it is inexpensive and not as crowded as other places.
“Its quieter and less assuming than Myrtle Beach,” he said. “Everybody here is super nice and its much better than the Jersey coast.”
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Cape Fear River
We traveled to the very end of Pleasure Island through Kure Beach from Carolina Beach to Ft. Fisher State Park.
But we didn’t stop at the park, we kept going until we came to the end of U.S. 421. Just past the Battery Bucahanan Tour Stop is a stretch of rocks that cross the Cape Fear River to a small island.
You can walk out on the rocks and see all kinds of local wildlife like crabs and sea gulls and hundreds of hermit crabs scurrying around all over the place.
We watched a family trying to catch crabs with chicken bait tied to strings out in the river. This spot is free and really neat. Its a little out of the way but I’m sure its gorgeous at sunset.
We were going to take the ferry across the river to the town of South Port but ran out of time.
This guy and his family were crabbing in the Cape Fear River.
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Surf City
We spent the night Tuesday in Surf City on Topsail Island.
Surf City has a fairly remote feeling to it. Its a small town with a little drag of the typical beach stores and restaurants.
We ate dinner Tuesday night at Max’s Pizza at the recommendation of the lady who checked us in at Tiffany’s Motel in Surf City.
We got a really nice room a block from the beach for less than $150. The room had two queen beds, cable, etc. But we could not get the WiFi to work and no one was manning the office after 10 p.m.
Max’s Pizza felt like a joint that I used to go to in my hometown growing up. Its where all the locals eat.
The booths are old wooden things and the pizza is dynamite. I got the House Special Pizza which had about everything you can imagine on it and a special blend of cheese made in-store.
There were high school kids and Little League players eating with their families. It definitely did not feel like a touristy place, which was great.
We didn’t spend much time at the beach in Surf City because we got there late. But it looked like a really nice beach and it probably doesn’t get too crowded.
I liked Surf City and could imagine going there for a weekend with some friends. Its not too expensive and it isn’t very far from Greenville.
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Hoop Pole Creek
We stopped by the Hoop Pole Creek Clean Water Preserve in Atlantic Beach to investigate trail that leads out into the woods and over the creek.
We passed a family of kayakers who were taking advantage of the protected waters of the preserve.
It is one of the last natural refuges for fish, plants and wildlife at Atlantic Beach and is owned by the N.C. Coastal Federation.
The self-guided tour through the coastal marsh takes you through some beautiful overhanging plants and the site serves as one of the few places where shellfish are still harvested commercially in the area because most shellfish areas have been destroyed or harmed by pollution.
You can access the trail right beside the Food Lion along the main drag at Atlantic Beach. We highly recommend walking the trail to get away from the noise of the beach and take in some great natural beauty.
Don Kline pulls a kayak to through the preserve at Hoop Pole Creek:
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El’s Drive In
We stopped at El’s Drive In in Moorehead City to try their famous shrimp burgers at the recommendation of the Mickey Roberson, a business owner on Ocracoke.
The shrimp burger, served with ketchup, cole slaw and fried shrimp was awesome.
For less than $10, you can get a great burger and fries without even getting out of your car because the waitresses come right up to your window to take your order.
But so do the sea gulls hanging around in the parking lot.
Our waitress advised us to roll up our windows or the gulls would come in the car and grab fries right off our the dash.
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Morehead City and Atlantic Beach
We met up with Mary Kurek, an author and visibility consultant who does public relations work for Atlantic Beach and Morehead City.
She has followed us on our CheapBeach Twitter account for the entire trip and recommended some great places to visit that are a little out of the ordinary.
We also met Linda McGregor, who operates Yoga for You, a very nice yoga center in Morehead City where locals get the first lesson free and anyone is invited to join in the classes.
Kurek and McGregor told us to recommend the White Swan between Atlantic Beach and Emerald Isle for good barbecue on the coast. They said it is probably the best place to get barbecue at the beach. We wanted to try it but we were full from eating at El’s Drive In.
Kurek also mentioned a place called the Tackle Box which features a large bar in the shape of a ship’s bow and the Monkey Bar in Atlantic Beach where all the locals hang out.
Atlantic Beach has everything you would need for a good coastal experience, Kurek said, including great food, awesome beaches, diving and entertainment.
Kurek signed on of here books “Who’s Hiding in Your Address Book? Introducing the Ideal Network for Successful Women.”
Here is McGregor in a yoga pose at her studio in Moorehead City:
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Woozy on the ferry
I got a little bit sea sick on the ferry ride from Ocracoke to Cedar Island. I think its because I tried to sit up on the sun deck and read a book to pass the time.
The world started spinning pretty seriously and the clouds looked like they were moving 100 MPH, but they weren’t. I had to go inside the cabin and take a nap, which did the trick.
Note to self: don’t read on a boat.
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From Ocracoke to Cedar Island. Impossible? Nope.
The N.C. Ferry System is having some serious problems right now.
When we decided to stay until Tuesday on Ocracoke we tried to call the 1-800-BYFERRY number to reserve a ticket for the ferry to Cedar Island.
We could not get through until after hours. So we called at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning to book a ticket for the 10:30 a.m.ferry but the lady on the phone said it was booked for the day.
So we decided, with the help of some fellow campers, to just frive up to the ferry station and try to get on standby or something.
The ferry workers said we could buy a ticket at 8:30 a.m. so we waited and bought a ticket, no problem.
The ferry was less than half full when it left Ocracoke. It holds 54 cars and there were only about 20 aboard. So the lady on the phone was mistaken and we she scared us into thinking that we were stuck on the island.
The N.C. DOT ferries are painted with university colors and logos of colleges in North Carolina. As luck would have it, we ended up on the purple and gold ferry and a very familiar East Carolina University pirate was watching us from the captain’s booth. It was a brief reminder of home for the next two hours as we crossed the Pamilco Sound.
We passed the ferry going from Cedar Island to Ocracoke about half-way through our journey.
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Creek Side Cafe, Ocracoke
We found a local hang out when we had dinner Tuesday night at Creekside Cafe in the village.
A singer-songwriter named Jeff Miller was playing original and cover acoustic songs under an umbrella outside of the screened in bar where we sat.
The food, typical bar fair, was really good and the locals who were sitting around the place were funny to listen to. They have a sort of love-hate relationship with tourists and they traded stories about the silly things they have heard on the island.
Apparently musician Jimmy Buffet likes to come hideaway on Ocracoke and nearly all the locals we talked to mentioned spotting him and trying to treat him like everyone else.
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Ocracoke Lighthouse
We visited the Ocracoke Lighthouse late Monday evening just as the sun was going down. It may not be as tall as some of the other lighthouses we have seen on this trip but it has character. Its shaped more like a an up-side-down ice cream cone than the others and its solid wide.
At 75 feet about see level, its non-blinking light can be seen for a full 360 degrees for a distance of 14 miles. The walls are five feet thick at the base and made of brick with a mortar covering.
The Ocracoke Lighthouse is the second oldest lighthouse in use in the United States and it is totally worth the short drive from the heart of Ocracoke Village to see it up close.
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Stuck in Ocracoke
A catfight somewhere in the distance woke me up in the middle of the night and I couldn’t go back to sleep, so here I am up and at it since 4 a.m.
We are camping at Teeter’s Campground on Ocracoke Island, touring the North Carolina coast for a week and trying to accomplish it on a small budget. It ain’t easy.
When Josh and I pulled into this place we were a little skeptical. First of all, it’s full of RV’s and they look like permanent fixtures here, rather than one or two-night setups. But the price was right — 20 bucks.
So, not to judge a book by its cover, we rang the bell at the end of an arrow painted on the side of a weather-worn sign hanging on the side of a garage that said, “Office. Ring the door bell”.
About a minute later a man came out, took our 20 bucks and told us where the bathroms were. They also had a big sign on them. This one, a notice that you would be prosecuted if you were thinking of using them but were not camping at Teeter’s Campground.
The man also pointed to a spot about 50 feet away where we could set up our tents, and after a short discussion clearing up just exactly where his finger had pointed, we said thanks and headed that way.
We set up the tents and headed for the village.
The Ocracoke lighthouse was the fist stop on the list of things to see so we made our way there, passing an endless mass of tourists, some walking and some maneuvering rented bicycles on the side of the narrow roads.
The lighthouse was bathed in nice light in the setting sun and I shot some pics for a good 30 minutes as it slowly faded.
We made our way back to camp because it started to drizzle and we hadn’t covered the tents with the flys, then decided to get some bug spray and a bite to eat.
We found a place called Creekside Cafe where about four groups of people were sitting and chatting quietly while a musician entertained under an umbrella just outside the screened-in porch with an accoustic guitar.
The meals cost about 10 dollars each, which is a good price for these parts during the first week of summer.
After the meal we headed back to camp and wondered about our chances of actually getting a ferry today.
The talk of the locals in the village is all about the current state of that enterprise’s ability to get tourists on and off the Island without it being a bad experience. They want you to come back, next year.
We tried to make a reservation online but the Web site was down and informed us to call the toll-free number. That number gave us a message that all lines were busy, and when we finally got through it was too late to make a reservation, by three minutes.
So, this morning we will spend our time trying to secure a passage to Cedar Island, although it wouldn’t bother me a bit if we don’t make that ferry.
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SmacNally’s in Ocracoke
We had lunch at SmacNally’s with the self-proclaimed “best burgers in the state,” at the recommendation of Mickey from Treach’s Hole in Ocracoke.
The bartender William said no one has ever complained about the burgers.
He wasn’t kidding. The burgers, priced around $10 with fries, were out of this world.
I had a Greenhead burger, which is served with provolone cheese, pesto sauce and tomatoes. It really was one of the best burgers I have ever had. And the fries were great too.
If you are in Ocracoke, you have to stop at this place. It is right on the pier of Silver Lake, where you can watch fishermen coming and going with the day’s catch. Its out in the sun and the staff will chat with you like they have known you for years.
I have to agree that they have the best burgers in North Carolina, at least as far as I can taste.
Here is Greg’s burger and fries. Looks good doesn’t it?
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Ferry to Ocracoke
We passed this ferry on the trip from Hatteras to Ocracoke.
We waited for an hour to board the N.C. DOT ferry to Ocracoke Island from the village of Hatteras.
The trip took about thirty minutes and boat was followed closely by a flock of seagulls, presumably watching for someone to throw some food overboard. We heard one captain admonish his passengers on a ferry going in the opposite direction to refrain from feeding the birds.
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Graveyard of the Atlantic
The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is right next to the ferry to Ocracoke. Its free but donations are suggested.
The museum has some awesome artifacts including the actual original 1854 lens from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse that was disassembled at the order of the Governor of North Carolina during the Civil War so that the lighthouse would not aid enemy ships.
The lens went to various places in the Confederacy including up the Tar River from Washington right through Greenville to Tarboro. It was restored and donated to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum only a few years ago.
The museum features hundreds of other artifacts, photos and maps of where ships have sank along the North Carolina coast, where treacherous waters lead to the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” nickname.
There is a model of the U.S.S. Monitor that sank off the coast of Cape Hatteras in 1862. The ship was discovered in 1973 and was designated as the first national marine sanctuary in 1975.
We also saw a bell from the U.S. L.H. Establishment and a great little gift shop with cool maps, replicas, art and general tourist stuff.
Close up of the bell.
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Frisco Native American Museum
We arrived at the Frisco Native American Museum before it opened around 10 a.m. and didn’t want to wait for an hour to get in but we went ahead and checked out the nature trail behind the museum.
We saw all kinds of native plants with markers explaining what the plant’s were, when they bloomed and how the Native Americans that lived on Hatteras Island used the plants.
We also stumbled upon a frightened group of geese and ducks who looked a little surprised to see us. They probably get the run of the place until the museum opens at 11 a.m. every morning.
We wanted to go inside but decided to trek on to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras.
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Books to be Red
We also met Leslie Lanier, owner of Books to be Red in Ocracoke.
Lanier opened her shop with a friend who has since left the island in 1995.
One side of the shop features books, both local and national writers. The other side features pottery from all over the south.
She said she thought it was a good idea to combine a book store with a pottery store.
“I love books and have always wanted to own a book store,” she said.
“People who like books will search out every book store they can find. But people who don’t like books can come in here with them and check out the pottery and other stuff we have.”
Lanier, who has lived on Ocracoke for 22 years, said the island has changed just like everywhere else. It is growing with more building and more outsiders.
“But the beach doesn’t change,” she said.
“Even today, you can find a spot where there is no one but you — even in the busiest part of the summer, you can be alone — if that is why you like Ocracoke, it hasn’t changed.”
The beaches are protected as part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore and much of the island is unihabited.
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Teach’s Hole and Mickey Roberson
This is Mickey Roberson. She is the nicest lady on the coast. She found us on Twitter and showed us around her awesome shop, Teach’s Hole, in Ocracoke.
She told us all the cool things to see and do on Ocracoke. She showed us around and told us about what its like to live there.
Her shop is full of wonderful pirate and Blackbeard toys, books and flags. The attached Blackbeard Museum features some great artistic renderings of the pirate who called North Carolina home and was killed right off of Ocracoke.
I scored an awesome replica of the flag that Blackbeard flew on the Queen Anne’s Revenge, his most famous ship.
The museum has short documentaries on Blackbeard and several authentic artifacts taken from ships discovered around the island. Roberson and her husband, George, have operated the shop for 18 years. Stop in and meet them, you will be glad you did.
Roberson pointed out all the things we just had to before we left Ocracoke.
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A lighthouse at dusk.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is very beautiful up close.
Greg and I went at about dusk Sunday night and the pink light of the sun shined brightly on the white sections of the 150-foot tall beacon.
We took photos and kicked around at the park, which is operated by the National Park Service, for about 45 minutes. It costs $7 to climb to the top, but we arrived after hours and did not have time Monday morning to go back.
Here is shot Greg took from about 200 yards away.
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