Currituck Beach Lighthouse

Our early October 2015 trip to the Outer Banks continued with a visit to Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla, North Carolina. The lighthouse is now privately owned and is open for climbing.

Construction of the lighthouse began in 1873 using the same design as the Bodie Island Lighthouse that was built in 1872. A series of spiral stairs and landings is used to reach the light room that houses a first order Fresnel lens. The focal plane of the lens is 158 feet above sea level. An exterior platform was constructed at a level just below the light room. The exterior platform is accessible to visitors, but the light room is not.

View from the parking area

Duplex house for the families of two light keepers

Path from the tower to the Keeper's house

Lighthouse from near the keeper's house

Originally housing for a third keeper, but now a gift shop

Entrance

Looking up

Ocean view from the last window on the climb up

View northwest across Currituck Sound

Keeper's house

View south toward Duck

Historic Whalehead Club and Currituck Sound

Interesting cloud patterns over the Atlantic Ocean

New construction along the Atlantic beach

Exterior of the light room

Looking over the railing

Another view of the keeper's house

Currituck Light

Parking and admission to the grounds are free. Admission to climb the tower is $10 per person. Children seven years old and younger climb free with an adult. Only cash and checks are accepted.

The lighthouse website is http://www.currituckbeachlight.com/.

First Flight, Big Kill Devil Hill, and Centennial Sculpture - Wright Brothers National Memorial

We visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial in early October 2015. After touring the visitor center, we went outside to the open field where the first controlled, powered flight took place. In 1903, the field and dunes were sand, but grass and other vegetation has been planted over the years to stabilize the area for future generations. While a major highway skirts the edge of the memorial today, in the early 1900s it was several miles from the site to the nearest house and road across the dunes. Wilber, Orville and a small group of local men set up camp on the dunes and tested gliders by carrying them up the slopes of Kill Devil Hill dune and gliding down to the relatively flat sandy area to the north of the dune.

The first four powered flights were all conducted on December 17, 1903. A wind gust flipped the Flyer after the fourth flight, destroying the engine and damaging the Wright Flyer I.

A sixty foot high memorial atop the 90 foot high Kill Devil Hill was dedicated in 1932. Around its base is this inscription:

In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conceived by genius achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith.

Replica workshop and hangar

Historical marker below Kill Devil Hill

Twenty-fifth anniversary plaque at the takeoff location

Flight distance markers

Looking back from the end of the fourth flight

Wright Brothers Monument

Looking south from Kill Devil Hill

Looking east to the Atlantic Ocean

Hangar, workshop and visitor center from atop Kill Devil Hill

First Flight Centennial sculpture from atop Kill Devil Hill

Centennial sculpture from the parking area

Wilbur at the controls

Orville helped balance the plane on the rail

The sculpture recreates the historic photograph taken by John T Daniels

Another view of Orville

A closer view of Wilbu

An entry fee of $7 per person is good for seven consecutive days. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($10 for lifetime), Access Pass (free with documented disability) and Military Annual Pass (free for active duty personnel).

The Memorial website is http://www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm.

Visitor Center Museum and Flight Room - Wright Brothers National Memorial

We visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial in early October 2015. The memorial marks the location of the first powered flight on December 17, 1903 as well as the large sand dune utilized for glider testing in previous years. The visitor center was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001 and houses an information desk, museum, gift shop and restrooms.

Visitor Center

Information about the 1902 glider

A small wind tunnel was used to test wing designs

Wind tunnel

Charles Taylor designed and built this 3-cylinder engine in six weeks

Images of the historic day

Replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer I

Another view of the replica Flyer showing the engine and chain drive

Another view of the Flyer

Replica of the 1902 glider

An entry fee of $7 per person is good for seven consecutive days. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($10 for lifetime), Access Pass (free with documented disability) and Military Annual Pass (free for active duty personnel).

The Memorial website is http://www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm.

Huntington Beach State Park - East Coast Greenway

The East Coast Greenway is an ambitious project to link Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida with a nearly 3,000 mile path for non-motorized human transportation. Nearly 300 miles of the greenway pass through coastal South Carolina. One section already complete passes through Murrells Inlet as a bike lane on US 17 Business. At the southern end of town, the bike lane transitions into a separate path through Huntington Beach State Park. At the southern boundary of the park, the route continues on residential streets through North Litchfield before returning to a designated path east of US 17 to Litchfield Beach Resort. This section of the trail is designated the Waccamaw Neck Bikeway. The trail crosses to the west side of US 17 at the resort, but currently ends less than ½ miles south of the resort at Providence Drive. We biked the 7.7 miles from the south end of Murrells Inlet to Providence Drive and back (15.4 miles round trip) during our late September visit to the Myrtle Beach area. Only 2.4 miles of the route is through the state park, but the forest does attenuate the road noise from the adjacent US 17. The route is relatively flat, but there are numerous residential and commercial driveways that cross the trail and require constant vigilance. Parking is available at a roadside gravel pullout at the southern end of Murrells Inlet as well as at shopping areas near the Litchfield Resort. Parking in the state park requires paying the park entrance fee.

Bike trail at the northern end of the Litchfield Resort parking lot

Waccamaw Neck Bikeway adjacent to US 17

Bridge over Flagg Pond in North Litchfield

Canoe in Flagg Pond

Another view of Flagg Pond

Street riding in North Litchfield

One of the more modest homes in North Litchfield

One of the more upscale homes in North Litchfield

Bike trail through Huntington Beach State Park

One of three bridges in the park

Wildlife at Allston Creek in Murrells Inlet

View across Allston Creek toward the inlet

There is no fee to bike or walk this section of the East Coast Greenway.

The East Coast Greenway website is http://www.greenway.org/
The Huntington Beach State Park website is http://southcarolinaparks.com/huntingtonbeach/introduction.aspx