OBX 4 Last morning on Hatteras Currituck Island with Corolla Light Our last day on the OBX Apr 23

Since it was our last day on the OBX I got up before dawn to get some pictures of the sunrise from the beach.  It was much colder than I had thought it would be so I spent a lot of time burying my feet in the sand to keep them warm, but, other than a lone runner on the beach, I was all alone and it was a beautiful time of day.

                    

After bidding adieu to the indomitable Gracie, we headed north from Avon on our way to Camden to see Don's cousin, but decided to drive all the way to Currituck Island to see Corolla Light (technically the Currituck Beach Lighthouse) before crossing over.  I had wanted to see the wild ponies but with the MoHo we could not drive there and could not leave the pets for as long as a tour would take so we didn't.  

Our drive took us through the very built up, very commercial areas of Nags Head,Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills site of the Wright Brothers Memorial, which we would have liked to visit but opted out due to time constraints.  After being on the less populous islands, driving on divided highways and seeing all the typical chain stores was a bit jarring.  Our drive continued through the other largely seasonal vacation communities until we arrived in Corolla.  

Pea Island bridge

Bringing in the early morning catch

Out to sea

Pelicans over the dunes

Bodie (pronounced body) Island Lighthouse
just south of Nags Head

Leaving Kill Devil Hills headed north

After walking around the historic village and the lighthouse (we did not climb up) we walked the nature trail and spent some time bird watching with a very enthusiastic group of birders who were jealous of my telephoto lens with which I managed to capture a photo of a bird they said was hard to find.

School house in Corolla Historic Village

The outhouse

pathways around the lighthouse were bordered by clamshells

Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla

As a fundraiser for the Wild Ponies, schoolchildren painted wooden horse cutouts and they are installed as a fence around the store

One of the shops and its nautical decor

Boardwalk to the marshes along the nature trail

Red-winged blackbird in the marshes

Currituck Sound

Mallard Synchronized Swimming

An Arctic Tern which was probably migrating but off its route (according to the birders who were excited to see him)

After the nature trail we ambled over to gawp at the Whalehead Club which was originally a private house.  While grand and huge, I was interested in the story behind it.  The original owner, Edward Knight, an industrialist,  conservationist and avid hunter, remodeled a previously existing hunt club (waterfowl) into a mansion for his wife so they could hunt together, since she was not allowed to hunt at the all-male clubs.  Market hunting had been outlawed on the Outer Banks and the only hunting allowed was at private clubs.  The Knights sold the house 21 years later, it later became a private club and then in 1992 Currituck County bought the property and it became public.

The Whalehead Club

Porch at the Whalehead Club

Bridge over calm waters

Springtime maple leaves and seeds

After leaving Corolla we drove south back to the bridge that would take us across to the mainland and put us on the road to Camden and one of my favorite people, Cousin Nancy.

A whimsical mailbox

Roadside birdhouses

Bridge over Currituck Sound to the mainland