By Dray Breezy
Nov 10, 2020
The drive to Hatteras village from Rodanthe was like all the commutes in the Outer Banks, flat and straight, not too long but not too short. Before I hit the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, I stopped at an interesting restaurant in Avon, their name, Bro’s sandwich shack fired up something inside me, that was stronger than my feminist rage, it was hunger. I must admit I failed my allyship test in that moment. But ya’ll take a quick look at their menu, do you forgive me? While their branding appeal eludes me, I was desperate and lazy, so I tore into the cowboy burger with unrestrained voraciousness.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
The area around the Cape Hatteras lighthouse offers minimal activities, but hits all the travel G- spots, trails and beaches. Say it with me folks, trails and beaches. You find a place that has those two things and you’re golden, AND on budget. The Buxton Woods Trail is a 4 minute walk from the west side of the the structure. The trail is approximately 3/4 mile, with no difficult slopes or bridges. Traveling during the age of Rona is exceptionally fulfilling because as we humans have bunkered into our residences, nature has reclaimed her territory. I encountered deer, owls, lots of frogs and much more on my Monday trek. The ecosystem of the trails is a mixture of swamp and familiar NC piedmont flora and fauna. The walk took me about 20 mins with a mid-sized 10lb backpack on. I could have walked to the lighthouse from the trail, it’s head and exit are a couple hundred feet away from the lighthouse but I played it safe and drove. I must note this entire OBX trip, I’ve made use of my Oboz Sawtooth 2 hiking boots which easily repel the accumulation of water and sand.
The Cape Hatteras lighthouse has a weighty history. There have been three iterations of this iconic structure. The first was built in 1803, but was too short and the sandstone composition made it impossible for mariners to view, even in daylight. The second was built in 1853, this was 150 feet, 60 feet taller than the last, and the top half was painted red to increase visibility. This incarnation was better constructed but engineers had not figured out how to buffer the incredible wear and tear to the foundation of the lighthouse from coastal weather events.
Dexter Stetson is a blessin
This issue was resolved through the genius of Dexter Stetson, creator of the “floating foundation” which used a layered combination of pine timber and granite plinths to create a more flexible and adaptable foundation. Some would argue these are simply replicas of the technique used in Venice, Italy, but that would deny how extraordinarily exceptional Americans are and we can’t do that.
This invention spurred public confidence in lighthouse infrastructure and Congress appropiated funds for the third and current version of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse which was lit in 1870. The structure is situated on a couple of acres of land, directly across are the keeper’s quarters, the residence for the staff and groundskeepers.
Click here to view my Cape Hatteras Photo Album
As a native North Carolinian, viewing this lighthouse gave me a strong sense of nostalgia. I realized I’ve seen this lighthouse before, in fact everywhere, specifically in a frame in every french restaurant bathroom in North Carolina! I’m looking at you Vin Rouge. For some odd reason, there is a trend of business owners decorating bathrooms with Carolina lighthouses and french naked women in some weird signal of open-mindedness and connection to the culture.
The day ended on the sunny shores of the lighthouse beaches, here are some pictures I captured of the sunset. Carolina sunsets have very few rivals.
Hatteras Village
The village of Hatteras is small and quite intimate, and all the residents have a synchronized bedtime. After 11pm, I only saw two cars on the road the entire night. There was only one place to eat on this particular Monday, a higher end seafood restaurant called Sandbar & Grille. Don’t have much to say about that place other than Trump voters are still mad and pressed and not too pleased about my black, queer pride! Hatteras Village is the last stop you can get to on the outer banks by road. To continue on the journey through the outer banks one must take a ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island. I mustered up the courage to take that brave journey across the unknown seas.
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