The Outer Banks

Greetings from Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks.

We had quite a day today. We visited the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island–got to see the tiny earthen fort there–and then drove the 50+ miles down the Outer Banks to the Cape Hatteras light house. We climbed up the thing–162 feet with 258 steps to get up there–and the wind was howling at nearly 40 mph when we got to the top–a line of thunderstorms was approaching, and it was BLOWING. Needless to say, we were plenty tired and feeling rubbery legged by the time we got down. The National Park Service ranger on duty up there took a photo of us with the digital camera. Hopefully, I can Susan to post that photo in the next day or so. What a view, though. It’s easy to see why people fall in love with it down here. I could easily see myself living here for the rest of my life.

Tomorrow is Civil War day. The local expert on the Civil War in the Outer Banks, Drew Pullen, is giving me a tour of the sites associated with the 1862 Burnside Expedition, and then tomorrow night, I speak to the Outer Banks Civil War Roundtable. The group is only about a year old, and it already has nearly 50 members. It sounds to me like this group is off to a great start, and I was very honored to learn that I’m the first author that they’ve brought in from the outside to speak. I think it’s going to be a great day.

I will report on the Civil War tour later in the week.