Ocracoke - Installment No. 1

Ocracoke... ahhh...! In a round-about way, and with many detours and forks in the road, we discovered Ocracoke. That was eleven years ago. We have been trekking it down there ever since for two weeks of beach, water, fish, ahhh...! To this day, I still find no reason to alter our family tradition. It's got everything we love in an island destination, and none of the stuff we are trying to escape. No golf courses, no big hotels, no malls, no waterslide or putt-putt parks, movie theaters, Harris Teeters, rush hour... heck, there isn't even a stoplight on the island! If you like to fish, read, ride your bike, do a little (and I mean little!) shopping, fish, surf, boogie board, four-wheel on the beach, fish, grill out, and generally kick back -- Ocracoke should be on your list of desinations.

Ocracoke has a history dating back to the 1700's. And it is where Edward Teach (Blackbeard) met his demise. It has a rich history of fishing and trade. Accessable only by ferry, the island constitutes about 16 miles of National Seashore...sand, dunes, maritime forest, birds, fish. To the NE is Hatteras Island, to the SW, Portsmouth Island. "Dr. Beach" dubbed Ocracoke the number one beach on this 2007 list (much to the chagrin of some locals, who didn't really want anymore traffic!) There is no development on the ocean side - no 'McMansions'! The town is small, salty, and centers around Silver Lake. Many folks leave their cars at the house, and prefer to bike or walk. The speed limit is 20 mph... There is public camping on the island, foot bridges to the beach, and 4X4 accesses.

Did I mention the fishing is awesome? The fishing is awesome. The island is close to the Gulf Stream, and abutts an enormous estuarine system along Pamlico Sound. When you are on Ocracoke, you are litterally surrounded by water. Besides Ocracoke and Hatteras Inlets, there are many channels, holes, shoals and flats to fish. Offshore there are Wahoo, Dolphinfish, tunas, mackerels, grouper, barracuda, Spadefish... Inshore there are Redfish, Bluefish, Weakfish, flounders... Off the beach folks catch kingfish, pompano, drum... the list goes on and on. I'll save my seining stories for later.

Bottom line: we arrive delighted, and return with deep tans and wonderful memories. Go there!