The Hellwig Family : Our Trip through the Outer Banks

Posted by Gabrielle

We just got back from a wonderful trip through Ocracoke, Cape Hatteras, Bodie Island and Roanoke Island!
On Wednesday, August 6th, we had lunch at the ferry station then rode the 2 1/2 hour ferry from Swan's Quarter, NC to Ocracoke.

The ferry docking.

Benaiah is excited about his first ferry ride,

as is Tobias.

Benaiah, from the seats in the passenger lounge sees his beloved Timothy on the other side of the window!

Nearing the ferry dock at Ocracoke, we saw pelicans, in perfect pairs, perched on the poles. We were even able to watch some dive down to catch fish.

After dinner that evening at our very sandy campsite on Ocracoke we went down to enjoy the beautiful beach. We hadn't been to the beach in a couple of years. And after this we had enough sand and water to satisfy us for a while! In fact, Daddy even went swimming, which looked like a lot of fun!

Tobias and I.

Elliot, the brave, defies the waves!

Oh, and of course, collecting shells was a hit with all, especially the little boys. Here Arianne found some pretty specimens.

Jedidiah absolutely must wash his handful of shells.

Christianna, wet of course, with her shells.

The next morning we took the 40 minute ferry from Ocracoke to Hatteras and, after visiting the Cape Hatteras Light House( we didn't climb it), we had lunch on the road while driving through Hatteras' cute little beachside town and on to Bodie Island.

The Cape Hatteras Light.

We arrived at the Oregon Inlet campground and after setting up our tents we just played, ate and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, had a huge dinner and read for a while.
Pictures from the afternoon:

A detour from the ramp leading to the restrooms resulted in this as several found out:

The giant cactus shoes...

and their owner!

Some of those cactuses were really big!

Benaiah played on a sleeping bag and had a fun time!

Notice Benaiah's hair in the above picture; it was a little breezy. That night it got so windy that we were up at 1 a.m. 'holding down the fort' while Daddy collapsed the tents and packed everything in the van. The wind was blowing in the sides of the tent almost flat on our faces and finally an especially strong gust directed at the side where Benaiah's playpen was tipped it over with Benaiah in it! We spent the rest of the night in the car as the mosquitoes lined the windows, waiting to get in.

The next morning, August 8, on the way home we stopped at a couple of places of interest.

First was the Bodie Island lighthouse. From our campground the night before we were able to see it flashing.

By the time we arrived at the Wright Brothers museum poor Benaiah was so tired that we transfered him from his carseat to the stroller, still sleeping.