Three Lighthouses

On our first full day in North Carolina, we saw three lighthouses! The first was the Bodie Island Lighthouse. It was early enough in the day that the fog had not burned off and we were the only people around. The lighthouse and cottage were in excellent condition judging from the outside and I read later that the latest restoration had been completed in 2013.

Further south along the barrier islands was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. This lighthouse was in the news a lot in the late 1990s. It was moved over the dunes and further inland at that time because the shore had eroded to within a few feet of its base. It appears to have survived the move quite well. Both the Bodie Island Lighthouse and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse are open seasonally - but we were there a few weeks before that so did not climb either one.

The third lighthouse was near the other end of the barrier island - the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. This one is different than the other too in that it is located in a more settled area and has many trees around its base…and it is also unpainted. Evidently it was never painted. Architecturally it is similar with brick façade and iron structure at the top to hold the ‘light’ source and lens. My husband climbed the steps to the outdoor gallery and discovered that it was very windy at the top! I discovered when I was preparing this blog post that Google Maps has a view from the top of this lighthouse!