Adios Critters!

We broke camp the next morning and high tailed it out of there. Away from the beach, away from the ocean and away from the mosquitoes. In fact, we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Neither of us ate breakfast and I barely ran a comb through my hair before racing away. Both of us had had enough of those nasty little creatures and we didn’t want to stay any longer than was absolutely necessary.

While on Cape Hatteras we toured the Hatteras Lighthouse. Helping to guide ships on the Atlantic since 1870, the Hatteras Lighthouse stands 198.5 feet tall which makes it the tallest brick lighthouse in the country. It was built to help ships navigate around Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras, one of the most dangerous sites on the Atlantic Coast. Because of shifting coast lines, in 1999 the lighthouse was moved from its original location to safer ground about 2800 feet inland. We didn’t stick around to watch the film on how they moved the lighthouse but you can still see the original location close to shore. The inside of this lighthouse is fairly different compared to others we’ve seen. More detail went into the hand railing and on each landing you’ll find black and white marble squares laid in a diamond pattern. If you decide to climb to the top, we suggest wearing tennis shoes over flip flops as there’s a total of 256 stairs. It’s equivalent to climbing a 12 story building!

 

USS Lancaster Eagle Figurehead

On our way to Williamsburg we stopped at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, VA for a few hours. It was really an interesting museum but to tell you the truth, I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I understood all those nautical terms. I’m still trying to figure out the difference between the aft and stern. And isn’t “port” a good wine?? A majority of the museum was dedicated to the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor but they did have a few figureheads on display which a volunteer explained that each ship had it’s own distinctive figurehead. Since most men didn’t know how to read or write, they were able to identify their ship by it’s figurehead. Kind of like the school busses for kids now days!!

Monitor's cannon in desalination process

The Monitor was the first ironclad built for the US Navy in 1862 and is most famous for it’s rotating turret housing two large guns. On December 31, 1862, while in tow, the Monitor sank during a severe storm off the coast of Cape Hatteras. The wreck was discovered in 1973 and since that time, it’s turret, cannon, anchor, propeller and personal effects of the crew was salvaged and are on display at the museum. What I found most interesting is that remains of two of it’s crew members were found in the turret which was discovered in an upside down position. The remains of the two crew members are at the Air Force Base in Hawaii, awaiting positive identification. And although they have a replica of the turret depicting the way it rested on the ocean floor, they have the original submerged in 90,000 gallons of water in an effort to desalinize the iron. It will take many years, but eventually will be allowed to dry out and placed on display with the other artifacts found.

We’re heading out the door to Williamsburg. See you there!