It rained, it poured, but it was a great 20 miles. We ended up at this old landmark halfway - Bodie Lighthouse. A man who took part in the painting of the lighthouse back in the day for $3.00/day (by hand) spoke to us. Everything was beautiful.
Some serious bikeage and some of us in front of the nags head sign.
After that we had some time to dry off, clean up, and do some dunes. Pretty serious hills. Man I love this lifestyle.
If you get a chance to climb Hatteras, you should. It's the tallest lighthouse in America. Off the coast is considered "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because two currents (Atlantic and I think Labrador?) converge and create really bad currents/seas. More ships have died there than any other location on the Eastern Seaboard, including an old ironclad, the Monitor. The light got moved, I think when I was in 6th grade, I remember watching it, very cool =P There was an older light, I don't remember if it's still there though. A lot shorter, which was good, because the new one got struck by lightening once which is why a huge crack runs down one side of the tower, but bad because it was virtually useless to ships far out. It got damaged during the Civil War I think, so again, not sure if it's still there.
ReplyDeleteOcracoke is also nearby, the second oldest light in America. Can't climb it though. Last time I went in the summer months, I got eaten alive by bugs on the island though, so wear bug repellant if you go there.
I looked up Bodie on Wikipedia, apparently you saw the third light, not the original (never knew, been there a bunch too). This is from wiki:
The preceding Bodie Island lighthouses actually stood south of Oregon Inlet on Pea Island in an area now under water. The first was built in 1847 and then abandoned in 1859 due to a poor foundation. The second, built in 1859, was destroyed in 1861 by retreating Confederate troops who feared it would be used as a Union observation post during the Civil War. The third and current lighthouse, with its original first order Fresnel lens, was completed in 1872. In 1932, the light was upgraded to an electric lamp by using oil-fueled electrical generators. It remained manned until 1940, when lighthouse was fully automated. In 1953, the generators were disconnected and power was supplied from the commercial electric grid.
Trivia: it's pronounced "body" around those parts, folklore saying because a lot of bodies from wrecks washed up. Spooky.
Ok, that's my rant to the post, as promised. I'll try to dig up some trivia on each place you're heading to/from, might be interesting, or I might just be running my mouth too much, as usual. Toodles!
i've been to that lighthouse in that picture, sharif.
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