The Carolinas April 21 - 30, 2012

I’m not sure how we picked the Carolinas for our next destination but once we started researching all the things to see and do there, we knew it would be tough to squeeze it all in. As usual, I told Kathy all the places I wanted to see, she combined them with all the places she wanted to see (fortunately, most were of interest to both of us) and she managed to plan a route and timetable to fit most of them in.

We saw the Biltmore House in Asheville and Great Smoky Mountain National Park on a prior trip and I was stationed at Shaw AFB in Sumter, South Carolina for 17 months from 1974 to 1975. Kathy had also been to a few places in North and South Carolina before. Since then, Kathy had also read some books where the stories took place on Sullivan’s Island near Charleston and on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Those places were on her list but as you’ll see, we really packed a lot more into the 10 days of this trip.

We flew into Charlotte where we stayed for two nights. Charlotte has a nice downtown area that we walked around to see. We stopped in the 50-story Bank of America building and saw a series of three 18’ X 23’ murals depicting “making/building”, “chaos/creativity” and “planning/knowledge” inside the atrium. We saw some nice Victorian houses in the Fourth Ward district and spent several hours seeing the recently opened NASCAR Hall of Fame trying out our skill on the various interactive exhibits. We both raced in the virtual stock cars and I spun out and crashed several times.

The second night in Charlotte we donned our Sacramento Kings jerseys and saw the Kings beat the Charlotte Bobcats 114-88. The Bobcats’ majority owner is Michael Jordan and I know he can’t be happy that his team set a record this year for the worst winning percentage in NBA history. They do have a beautiful state-of-the-art downtown arena and we are still hopeful that Sacramento will one day have a similar arena. The fans and arena employees were nice to us - they were probably too embarrassed about their team to give us a hard time.

From Charlotte, we drove to Kings Mountain National Military Park just south of the border in South Carolina. I never realized how many major battles of the Revolutionary War were fought in the Carolinas until I started looking up National Park sites to visit there. After the war came to a stalemate in the North, British Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis decided to move the war to the south. Kings Mountain battlefield was where patriots from Virginia and the Carolinas commanded by Col. William Campbell routed loyalists under the command of Maj. Patrick Ferguson. Ferguson was either very macho or stupid as he wore a red plaid shirt to this battle. One of his two American “girlfriends” tipped off the Patriots as to what he was wearing and he became an easy target being shot off his horse. His men propped him up against a tree where he died.

Ferguson’s second in command, Captain DePeyster ordered the white flag raised but the patriots continued to shoot the loyalists until their commanders finally were able to regain control and stop the carnage. Apparently, there was a lot of animosity between the two sides. We didn’t let the steady rain stop us from hiking the 1.5 mile battlefield trail there.

Out next destination was Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. We took the tour of the State House there. I’ve seen 32 State Houses/Capitols now and this one has one of the nicer interiors. But what sets this one apart is on one side of the exterior, six stars mark cannon ball damage from when Gen. Sherman’s troops came through on their march to the sea. I remember driving by this State House when I was stationed at Shaw AFB and noticing the Confederate flag flying above the dome. I couldn’t believe they were still flying it like that. About 10 years ago, enough people protested and they finally removed the flag from the dome but it still flies at a Confederate memorial in front of the State House. Possibly to make amends, the state also erected a large monument to African-Americans at one side of the State House – the first state to do so.

From Columbia, we drove about 30 miles to Congaree National Park which protects the largest contiguous area of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the United States. We hiked on the 2½ mile long boardwalk through the tranquil floodplain seeing some of the 80 species of trees including Water Tupelo, American Elm, Cherrybark Oak, Lobolly Pine and Bald Cypress with its “knees” sticking out of the water. I’m glad this large swamp area is now protected because much of this type of hardwood forest has been cut down.

From Congaree, it was a short drive to Shaw AFB. I wanted to try and find my old barracks there but when I got to where I thought it was located, it was gone – replaced by modern individual room barracks that looked like 3-star hotels. I guess I served in the wrong era but I’m glad to see today’s airmen have it better!

Our final destination of this day was Charleston (yes, we drove from Charlotte to Charleston in one day seeing all of the above along the way). The next morning, we caught the first ferry to Fort Sumter National Monument. Being a Civil War buff, Fort Sumter has been on my “must see” list for a long time and it didn’t disappoint. We only had an hour on the site but it was well worth it seeing this fort that still wasn’t completed when hit by the first shots of the Civil War. We also enjoyed the cruise around Charleston Harbor seeing the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown along the way.

One interesting fact about Fort Sumter: Confederate Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard had been a student of Fort Sumter’s Union commander, Maj. Robert Anderson at West Point in 1837. He did not look forward to firing on his old friend and former instructor but was ordered to do so and the rest is history.

After Fort Sumter we walked around the beautiful historic district of Charleston. We followed the walking tour in our AAA Tour book and saw dozens of 17th and 18th century houses, mansions, churches and other historic buildings. It reminded me a little of Savannah, Georgia but without all the squares. The Rainbow Row of colorful buildings along the Battery in Charleston is a favorite subject for artists. Charleston was bombarded by Union forces throughout the Civil War but only surrendered on February 18, 1865. I was surprised to learn that in 1886, a large earthquake (between 6.6 and 7.3 on the Richter scale) damaged just about all the buildings in the city.

I had hoped to see the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley which is housed in a conservation laboratory in Charleston. The Hunley was the first submarine to sink a ship with a “torpedo” and was recovered from the ocean floor in 2000. Unfortunately, the laboratory was closed on the day we were in Charleston and we couldn't alter our schedule. We did see a life-size replica here in Sacramento several years ago but I still hope to see the real thing someday.

On Folly Island just south of Charleston, we hiked about a half mile to a nice secluded beach to see the Morris Island Lighthouse. The lighthouse’s first-order (the brightest of seven orders) Fresnel lens was activated on October 1, 1876. Since then it survived a powerful hurricane in 1885, packing winds in excess of 125 miles per hour and the above-mentioned earthquake in 1886. Unfortunately, it may not survive a man-made hazard - a series of jetties built for the purpose of deepening the main channel. The jetties worked but they also altered the sand transport patterns at the entrance to the harbor basically submerging Morris Island. The lighthouse now sits roughly 1,600 feet offshore but it is in the process of being preserved.

The next day, we headed north and the first stop was Sullivan’s Island where we saw the New Charleston Lighthouse. When first activated on June 15, 1962, the lighthouse featured an amazing 28 million candlepower light, produced by carbon arc lamps costing $900 apiece. It was the second brightest light in the western hemisphere. Unfortunately, it was too dangerous for the keepers and too bright for the surrounding neighbors so plate steel was installed in the landward side and the light was eventually downgraded. It is definitely not your traditional lighthouse but looks more like an air traffic control tower. The tower's unique triangular shape allows it to withstand winds of up to 125 miles per hour.

Still on Sullivan’s Island, we visited Fort Moultrie overlooking Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor. The first fort on this site was built during the Revolutionary War and the third fort on the site was used during WWII to protect Charleston Harbor from German U-boat attacks.

After Fort Moultrie, we visited Charles Pinckney, National Historic Site, a few miles further north in Mount Pleasant. Pinckney had a long career of public service including Governor of South Carolina and a U.S. Congressman. He also was involved in the creation of the U.S. Constitution. This site includes the site of the Snee Farm where Pinckney once lived. It’s a beautiful site with Magnolia trees with huge blossoms and lots of Spanish Moss hanging from the trees.

After crossing back into North Carolina, we stopped at Oak Island to see the Oak Island Lighthouse completed in 1958. It is also rather unusual because it has a round concrete tower with three wide stripes - black, white and grey. The colors were actually mixed into the concrete so it would never need painting.

Near Currie, we visited Moores Creek National Battlefield. This is where on February 27, 1776, patriots defeated a larger force of loyalists marching toward a rendezvous with a British naval squadron. We hiked the one-mile trail which meanders through the battlefield and includes several monuments.

By the time we stopped by the USS North Carolina battleship in Wilmington, it was closed but we could see it’s an impressive ship. In the parking lot, a guy pulled up and offered to sell us his book about ghosts on the ship. He claimed he sleeps on the ship and has seen a lot of paranormal activity. After returning home, I watched a segment about the haunted USS North Carolina on “Fact or Faked”.

After one night in Wilmington, we drove to Hackers Island where Cape Lookout National Seashore is located. Besides beautiful beaches, wildlife, etc. the big attraction at Cape Lookout is the Lighthouse built in 1859. This lighthouse is famous for its unusual black and white diamond pattern. It is located on the South Core Banks about three miles from the visitor’s center. Even though it was about a week too early in the season to be able to climb inside this lighthouse, we still planned to take a boat to the island to see it up close. Unfortunately, it was too windy for the boats to run so we had to settle for seeing the lighthouse through a spotting scope in the visitor’s center.

We had a 4:00 p.m. reservation for the car ferry to take us to the Outer Banks but since we couldn’t go to see the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, we decided to try and catch the 1:00 p.m. ferry instead. Since this was not yet the high tourist season, they still had some space on the 1:00 p.m. ferry and we took it from Cedar Island to Ocracoke Island arriving about 2 ½ hours later.

We were now on the Outer Banks (OBX), a 200-mile (320-km) long string of narrow barrier islands jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina and the southern tip of Virginia. The OBX is a fascinating narrow strip of ever-changing sand dunes that over time has been hit by many hurricanes. The treacherous seas off the OBX and the large number of shipwrecks that have occurred there have given these seas the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic. The descendants of the original English settlers still speak with a distinctive brogue accent.

On Ocracoke Island, we saw the Ocracoke Island Lighthouse built in 1822 - the second oldest operating lighthouse in North Carolina. We were able to go inside it but the stairs were not open. There appeared to be a wedding party there as the lighthouse and keeper’s quarters make a scenic photo backdrop.

We drove another 15 miles to the next car ferry that ran every hour but did not take reservations. It was about a half hour before the next ferry but there was already a long line of cars ahead of us. We got in line and after finding out the ferry held about 30 cars, I figured we would get on the next ferry without a problem. That was before two big buses and some other vehicles pulled into the “priority lane”. When the cars started driving onto the ferry, we started to have doubts we’d get on but we were actually the last car on! This ferry took us from Ocracoke Island to Hatteras Island and Cape Hatteras National Seashore where we checked in to our hotel in the town of Buxton.

Since it was still light, we drove a mile or so to see the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, probably the most famous lighthouse in the United States. This lighthouse was completed in 1870 and at 208 feet tall, it’s the tallest lighthouse in the U.S. It had a first-order Fresnel lens that was replaced in 1950 by a modern beacon. It also has a great black and white spiral stripe. The lighthouse was closed for the day and we had reservations to climb it the next day, but it was great seeing it in the late afternoon light when hardly anyone was there.

That evening, we walked from our room to the beach about 50 yards away to enjoy the surf of the Atlantic Ocean. Our room also had a porch with chairs overlooking the ocean but from our level the ocean was barely visible above a sand dune. This was definitely the nicest place we stayed on this trip because of its proximity to the beach.

The next morning, after I avoided running over a 5 foot-long rat snake that was crossing the road, we arrived at the lighthouse when it opened at 9:00 a.m. The Park Ranger let us go in to climb the spiral staircase a little early because a large group of children was also going in at our time. After climbing 247 steps, we went out on the platform and were rewarded with a great view of the surrounding island, beaches and ocean.

We could also see the original site of this lighthouse. That’s the other incredible fact about this lighthouse: because the beach was eroding over the years, the lighthouse along with its two keeper’s quarters was moved in 1999 a half mile to its present location. How they moved it was a real feat of engineering. They sawed through the base, lifted it up on hydraulic jacks and slowly moved it using a system that is too complicated to explain here. I actually bought a book explaining the whole process.

Driving further north on the OBX, we stopped at Bodie Island to see the lighthouse there. This one was completed in 1872. The same innovative foundation used at Cape Hatteras was repeated at Bodie Island, with stacked timber pilings below the ground and granite blocks above the base. In fact this lighthouse looks very similar to Cape Hatteras except it is shorter (164 feet) and the black and white stripes are horizontal. Bodie Island lighthouse along with its original first-order Fresnel lens is presently being restored and work should be finished by 2013.

The next stop along the OBX was the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, just south of Kitty Hawk. This National Park site has been on my “must see” list for a long time and it was even better than I expected. Besides a great museum, they had a granite boulder marking the spot where the Wright Flyer left the ground on December 17, 1903. Smaller stone markers chart the paths of the four flights that day and show the distance each flight traveled and the time in the air of each flight. The first flight was 120 feet and 12 seconds the fourth flight was the longest at 852 feet and 59 seconds.

On the top of nearby Kill Devil Hill where the Wright Brothers tested their gliders, stands a 60 foot-tall Art Deco monument to the brothers. There is also a reconstructed 1903 hangar and quarters/workshop, a life-size sculpture recreating the first flight and another building with exhibits and a movie. The National Park Service really did a great job with this memorial to two brilliant brothers who changed the world with their invention.

We still had a few hours left in the day, so we drove further north almost to the Virginia border to see and climb the Currituck Beach Lighthouse built in 1875. What stands out about this lighthouse is it was left unpainted exposing the beauty of over one million red bricks used in its construction. The Keeper’s houses and several out buildings have also been restored. The lighthouse is 162 feet tall, has a first-order Fresnel lens and 214 spiral steps to the top. Between climbing Currituck Beach and Cape Hatteras lighthouses, we got some pretty good exercise on this day.

We ended up driving almost the entire length of the OBX. We tried to see the wild horses just north of Currituck Beach, but the road ended and we didn’t want to get stuck in the sand.

We stayed the night in Kill Devil Hills and the next morning drove a short distance to Roanoke Island where we stopped to visit the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. This is where the Lost Colony was located. The Lost Colony of 150 people was the first British settlement in North America established in 1587, 33 years before the pilgrims established their colony in Plymouth. The first English child born in the Americas, Virginia Dare was born in this colony. When their supplies ran low, their leader, John White returned to England in order to bring back supplies. White however, was unable to return for three years and when he did, there was no sign of the settlement or the colonists. There are many theories as to what happened to the Lost Colony but none have been proven. Perhaps the ongoing archeological digs in the area will solve the mystery one day. On the site is also a monument to the Freedmen’s Colony which was a safe haven for runaway slaves during and shortly after the Civil War.

We next headed toward Raleigh along the Alligator River where I spotted only one alligator mostly submerged underwater. In Raleigh, we took the tour of the State Capitol – not one of the nicer interiors but the exterior is one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture. We also saw the North Carolina Museum of Art.

The next day, we drove from Raleigh to Greensboro to see Guilford Courthouse National Military Park where on March 15, 1781 the North Carolina militiamen commanded by Nathanael Greene were defeated by the British commanded by Lord Cornwallis. Cornwallis lost many more men than Greene however and chose not to pursue the Carolinians. Cornwallis moved his troops back to the north and surrendered in Yorktown on October 19, 1781 – seven months after his “victory” at Guilford.

In Greensboro, we also took the tour of Blandwood Mansion, the restored home of two-term North Carolina governor John Motley Morehead. Originally built as a four room Federal style farmhouse in 1795, Blandwood was expanded to six rooms in 1822 with Federal architecture period details. Then is 1844, a more extensive expansion took place. The square footage more than doubled with the addition of a “Tuscan Villa” style wing making Blandwood the oldest standing example of Tuscan Villa architecture in the United States. Neighbors and visitors must have been amazed to see this type of architecture in the mid-1800’s.

On the last night of our trip, back in Raleigh, we attended the Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Concert in an outdoor amphitheatre right downtown. It was my fifth Beach Boys concert since 1965 and all the surviving original members reunited for this tour. They still sounded good and played 42 songs in just over two hours.

The next day, we drove to Concord just outside of Charlotte to see the Hendrick Motorsports Museum and shops. On the way there, we drove by Charlotte Motor Speedway. From there we drove a short distance to the airport in Charlotte and caught our flight home.

We saw eight lighthouses and ten National Park sites (actually eleven but Fort Moultrie is counted as one site with Fort Sumter) on this trip. We drove 1,624 miles in our rental car. Overall, we had great weather and we had some nice hikes in the woods. I even saw my favorite bird, the cardinal a few times. We both learned a lot of history that will stick with us a lot longer after seeing first hand where it took place. I always want to learn more after trips like this so I bought two National Parks books that I read after returning home: one about the Wright Brothers and one about the Revolutionary War.

To view 62 photos from this trip in a slideshow that can be paused, click here: Carolina photos.